I'm getting a little tired of second and third place trophies. I've been to 8 shows and have 4 2nds and 2 3rds but no 1st places this year. I may need to up my game somehow. I really can't complain, I have enjoyed all of the shows, they were all for good causes but they never have a class that I fit in. I end up in special interest competing against tractors, firetrucks, boat, etc. It doesn't seem right that they never have a class for sports cars other than Corvette.

 

Jim
I feel your pain with the classification of the Crossfire at various car shows, especially those sponsored by a Chrysler Dealer or an all Mopar show. Maple Grove had a Mopar only show and race, in this case, no class for our car, but lumped in with "the newer cars" such as Chargers, Vipers, and Challengers.
At this show ALL of the trophies were awarded to cars no older than 1971 models and the was a noted Mopar supplier voted for Best of Show.


I went to two different Chrysler shows sponsored by Chrysler dealerships and the sales staff was still bitching about the bath they took on the sales of our cars, resulting in NO recognition.


Enough ranting from me, just what I've experienced!


By the way, why no show at Carlisle this year, I was looking for you.....


Dennis
DTMenace

 

While, I enjoyed meeting you and several other Xfire owners, I was really disappointed with the way the judging was done. I looked at several classes pretty closely, including ours and for the most part the best cars didn't win and some, like yours, didn't even place. I don't need to pay a $55 entry fee and $100+ per night to have a large club vote for each other and dominate the awards. At a show that large with those prices, they could have professional judging. There is no question about ballot stuffing last year as a car that was put into the wrong class won in that class???? So, I will probably not attend Carlisle again, there are plenty of good shows with worthwhile charities to go to. I may not even go to the Carlisle sponsored event at Bloomsburg this year, it's a nicer venue but no awards and I'm just stuffing Carlisles pockets, I'd rather go to charitable events. Also, no other Xfires have ever come to the Bloomsburg show.

 

95% of all the local shows around here do not even use classes any more. Most have a Top 25, 40 or 50 along with 6 or 7 Specials and a Best of Show. There was one earlier that had Top 75 and next week there is a Top 80, Top 10 Bikes and a bunch of Specials. Some of the shows have Top 10 or 15 1990 and newer and maybe Top 30 or 40 1990 and older which means the Crossfire has a 1 in 10 or 15 chance against a ton of Corvettes and Mustangs.

The best show I have been to this year had Top 40 pre 1980, Top 20 1981-2000 and Top 10 2001-present. In addition they had 3rd runner up, 2nd runner up, 1st runner up and Best of Show in each catagory. I took the Daytona to that one and got the Best of Show in the 1981-2000 class. The Crossfire has been to two shows so far and won a Top 75, two shows next weekend that I may take the Crossfire to if the weather cooperates.

 

My wife's new job required her to work a bunch of weekends this summer. I decided to put my effort into going to as many shows as I could stand. I have been taking my vehicles to shows since 1981 and the most shows that I have attended in any one year was maybe 10, and the most awards in one year was 5. This summer I have attended 23 shows in 23 weeks and I have won 15 awards.

The plan was to show the Daytona (my best car) and the Crossfire (second best) most of the time and the Jeep 3 or 4 times, mostly those days there was a decent chance of rain. Unfortunately it seemed that almost every weekend of May, June and early July it was raining or threatening to. As a result the Jeep ended up going to 12 shows, the Daytona 6 and the Crossfire 5. The Jeep ended up with the most wins (7) that included a Best Truck Post 1990, and a Top 10 at a show with about 60 cars (that one shocked me). The Daytona was 4 for 6 which included a Best of Show and a Best Mopar. The Crossfire ended uo 4 for 5 giving it the highest winning percentage. It failed to win anything at the first show I took it to but, has won four in a row since then, which happens to be the longest streak of the year.

After attending this many shows I can honestly say that while I enjoyed it I will never do it again. This was a one year experiment. Next year I am thinking more like 12 shows, 5 each for the Daytona and the Crossfire and 2 for the Jeep.
I have to say that I was shocked at how well the Jeep did considering it's 105,000 miles and it's original paint and interior. I think the white paint hides a lot of it's flaws quite well.

 

Well done. It is a chore getting ready for one each week but then again, I don't have anything better to do. I was out of action for a month when I had my second stroke but rebounded to get 2 firsts in my last two shows, with one more show this Saturday. After that I will probably just take a drive or two on nice days then put The Ghost away until next year.

 

The last show is over! No awards at this show, strictly a benefit for the Childrens Hospital, I'm ok with that! There was a surprisingly big turn out, a lot of cars that I don't usually see and many that I do. We all had a good time and now most of the cars will go under wraps for the winter. Looking forward to next year!

 

I am kinda of going through what can only be described as car show withdrawal. I was into the shows back in the 90's but then the past ten years or so I averaged maybe 2 or 3 a year. 2014 I did maybe 9 or 10 and this year I ended up at 23 shows, 10 cruise ins and 7 cars and coffees.

A local church had a "car show" last Sunday evening from 6 to 8 pm that I stopped by for about an hour. It was more of a cruise in but, to be honest it was their first attempt. The youth group organizer was walking around asking drivers for suggestions on how to improve the next time so I offered my 2 cents worth. My number one suggestion was not to wait till November 1st and, especially the fist day after daylight saving time ends.

The best local cars and coffee is still going strong (while the weather holds up) and I stopped by there yesterday morning for awhile but, I just took the wife's Mazda 6. Like you I will just enjoy the car on nice days until spring. Congrats to you for coming back from your second stroke and finishing on a winning note.

 

Well guys, I've been attending a Cars & Coffee every Saturday morning just south of West Chester, PA off Route 202 South.

The nice thing about it is the get together informally. There is a good turnout each time (100-150 cars). The hours are between 8:00-11:00 AM. There is a variety of cars, from exotics, muscle cars, new and old, great owner discussions. The vast majority of the owners do not attend traditional car shows.

I seem to enjoy this type of "show", more than the traditional show.

BTW, I met another Forum owner that lives approximately 8 miles from my home.

Dennis
DTMenace

 

Down here Crossfire is part of the 'exotic' Chrysler cars


Viper and Prowler


So guess where we always end up?

 

I started attending the cars and coffee last year and I totally agree with everything you said. What I like best is just being able to show up, park the car and mingle. At regular shows once you get there you go to work getting it ready to be judged. I didn't even know there that many exotics in the Cincinnati area, C&C is where you have to go to see them. I don't even like coffee.