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Do you have signs that go with your car to explain details, what it is (or isn't!), what it's worth, what it cost??????

Do you have a poster you display? Reviews? Pix of famous people with cars like yours?

How do you do it? Old real estate sign repainted? Artists easel? Small boy with sandwich boards? Stone cairn?

What do you think it is important to say (or not say?)?

Good question! I think every person is different, and is going to give different answers, from "I don't do anything but let the car speak for itself" all the way up to "I go all out with displays, sign boards, still lifes, videos and every thing else".

That being said, I'm also interested in the responses on this one. I'm in the process, as we speak of updating an Excel file which highlights some of my car's pertinent information and some of the things I've done to improve it, what's next on the list, and what's down-the-road a bit as far as project work. Since my car is a '53, I started another tab in the same Excel file called "1953 At-A-Glance and start outwith some compare and contrast then and now as far as salaries, price of a gallon of gas, etc. I also listed the popular music and tv shows of the day as well as key highlights of world events for that year. Nothing fancy, it'll just be printed out and placed in a binder with some clear page protectors. I also plan on photo-copying my owners' manual and other info and putting that in there, along with the color chip samples.


I did buy an aluminum drive-in tray and some fake food from a nostalgia site to hang on the side of the car. We'll see how that plays out.

What's every one else doing?

Personally, I hate car shows. They are usually hot and always boring. And I got tired of trying to explain that Packard was NOT a division of GM, Ford, or Chrysler to people that have never heard of the marque let alone driven one!

We enjoy driving our cars on local, regional and national tours, usually VMCCA. I guess the tours become "rolling car shows" because we do create a lot of interest with hundreds of thumbs-up. As to the "vitals" of our cars...they're in my head, for interested people to glean from me personally.

Believe me, communing with fellow tourers, sometimes under the hood of a car that won't go, is the coolest part of the classic car experience.

Or, have you ever sat around a campfire on a fishing trip, "discussing" the day over a couple of cold ones, and bragging about the ones that didn't end up in the fish well...its sort of like that!

Below are two photos I took last summer...one from a tour and one from a show. You be the judge!

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Here is one more photo from a tour my local club hosted last year. It was a "Kodak moment" with our '41 Clipper and a fellow Packard guy who traveled several hundred miles to tour with us! We had a great week. NICE!

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I'm almost in Denny's camp. I don't "hate" car shows though I certainly dislike and avoid those that are 90% new Mustangs, Camaros, Dodge Chargers (or whatever they are), and the like. Gee, I can go to a showroom and see them. I enjoy attending (as a spectator) the several Concours in the area (Greenwich & Fairfield Cty in CT, Monmouth in NJ) and enjoy shows like the CCCA Grand Classics, shows with a heavy loading of pre-WW II cars, PAC regional shows and events, etc. I'm pleased to "show" my car at those kind of events, but rarely (3 or 4 times in 40+ years) bother to have it judged. But like Denny I mostly enjoy driving in tours. I go as much for the camaradarie as to see the cars, but primarily for the driving experiences. Being between two overlapping PAC regions and a very active local club limited to cars 25 years or older, plus an AACA region limited to cars 50 years old or older, I generally have at least 3 or 4 events a month to attend, and often partake in at least one PAC driving tour or National each year; often the best (to me) part of these events besides the driving is the tire-kicking in the parking lots into the wee hours.

I enjoyed car shows for the first 15 years of going to them. But I guess I kind of got burned out on them. I don't have any cars good enough to take to a show anymore, but I hope to soon.

What I find the hardest is to not chime in when I hear people giving out wrong information about a car. If you try to correct them, they either get angry, become argumentative, or convince them. It is tiring.

Also the people who always want to touch your car.

I do enjoy seeing & hearing from people who get excited from having seen my cars. I enjoy hearing the stories that people tell about the experiences they had in a "car just like that".

I go to about 5 car shows a year. My reality is I live in a remote small city with few alternatives so if I don't attend the shows the car gets little use. The car season runs from May to September so I often wonder why I even bother to own an old car. I have a plastic placard made at a local print shop that gives some specs. on engine size, cost, weight etc..
Mostly just street rods and 60's muscle cars (yawn) at the shows with the odd Model A but I am too far away from any of the big classic car shows to attend with the Packard so I usually attend what is available locally. My car, being a big dark 4 door with blackwalled tires, is quite naturally ignored by the boomers and younger age groups set that think a '55 Chev with a SBC decked out in chrome valve covers is an antique "classic car". Except for the odd older fellow or woman who recognizes the Packard name and what it once stood for I don't get many lookers.
At a local show last summer I was dozing in a lawn chair at the rear of the car when a young woman in her 20's came walking alongside the car looking in the windows and started asking me if it was really a 356CID straight eight with 165 HP and and other details about the car. I was astounded that someone her age would be so knowledgeable until I remembered that I had placed the placard on the front of the car where she had obviously just read it (but at least she did read it!) and that was what is important.

Hmm? I guess I'm odd man out here. I attend about four or five shows a week. I usually wind up with ACOlds and his
brother(s) and we go to shows where we can have a decent dinner or at last a good sandwich. Yes, there are a lot of new camaros and Chebbies there, but they are just a different branch of the group that likes autos. I have a framed blurb sheet that I hang up from the open hood and I usually stay close to my car unless there is some auto that I really want to see, like a 1928 Franklin or 48 Continental convertible, that also show up at some of these shows. The blurb sheet lists the options and totals up the original price of the 400 with the options I have. I also list those businesses that contributed to the final vehicle. Such as who rebuilt the wire wheels, who painted the car, who did the upholstery, etc.

Sorry - the doc file won't show. I'll get a picture later.

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I keep thinking I ought to do something, preferably heroic of course, but every time I clip out the excess baggage I end up with nothing.

I have been working with the theme "How is My Car Different?", but it sounds better in concept than on paper.

I have several reviews scanned and printed about 17"x48" on foam core which could be set on an easel--but do I want to go to that much trouble??????

What I should do is put a large cooler in the trunk and sell cool ones on those hot days.....

If I ever get air installed I could stay in the car and sell admission for 15 minute periods, to defray the cost of gas.....

Seriously, it seems to me that we owe something to ourselves and our marque--but what and how?

Question for Randy: I downloaded the sheet and printed it on 8 1/2x11 paper. Do you have it printed bigger? If not, do you get comments on type size? I've been trying to go at about 24 point (Garamond, which sets small) on my sheet and am concerned about readability then......

Here's a pic taken at the Summit Stude-Packard show so you can see how big the framed blurb is. I printed it using MS Publisher - it takes four 8 1/2 by 11 sheets to print it. The type is large enough to read without squinting

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