Iabsolutely love going to car shows, whether it's a gathering of the local AMC Gremlin club, a larger mixed regional event or an enormous show such as the Specialty Equipment Marketers Association (SEMA) event held every year in Las Vegas, Nev.
Many of my hosting duties take me to shows all over the country, where I sign autographs and meet great people and see a lot of cool rides. No matter where you go, you'll either see something - or meet someone - new and interesting.
And no matter where you go, the sign in the window of the cars reads the same: "Please don't touch this car unless you are ...naked."
Since there are few naked people at car shows, you would think that the vehicles are left pretty much untouched. But there's always someone who thinks they know better ("surely they don't mean me ...") or someone who just doesn't realize they happen to be leaning against a $100,000 car with a $20,000 paint job, grinding their wallet chain up and down the front fender and door.
Does anyone really wonder why there's a sign in the window that reads, "Please don't touch this car unless you are naked?"
As the cost to properly and entirely restore a vehicle - depending on condition and how difficult it is to source replacement parts - can easily top $50,000, owners are much more skittish about bringing their cars out. Can you blame them? But a car show is just as much an educational experience as it is a beauty pageant. It's important for youngsters, especially, to learn and know this part of their history since it's not taught in school. For every kid who runs up and slaps the door of that $100,000 car with two ice-cream-covered hands, there's another staring inside with wide eyes and hands in their back pockets as the parents explain what the vehicle is.
Often, it's something like, "This is what grandpa used to drive."
"Realllly? Grandpa drove this car?" the youngster will look up and ask in earnest.
It gives old cars meaning and purpose aside from just looking great in the bright sunshine. It's about learning, remembering, respecting and sharing information.
Car shows are really cultural experiences, and the owners who dare exhibit their prized possessions are answering a lot more questions. Owners of old cars aren't just owners.
Their experiences and knowledge are vital to the education process. They're expected to be historians, and they need to strive to make car-show experiences fun and memorable for youngsters and not in a bad way.
