Car Shows, It’s More Than an Award

I recently attended a local car show, and our entire team won an award. With excitement, I made a Facebook post thanking everyone involved and the car club hosting the event. A comment on my post made me think about car shows and the value of an award. The comment read: “I was stunned that a gorgeous 1970 Mercury Cougar there with Flawless paint, custom interior and Engine Cougar was not awarded anything!!! Shameful.”

In a typical situation, you may have spent the last four years working on your dream car. You have countless hours, money, and hard work in restoring your vehicle to your specifications. Now that it's running and detailed, you're ready for your local car show. You get to the show an hour early, so you set up your display and your photo diary. After dusting it off and polishing, you go to register your vehicle. With all the confidence of winning the top twenty, and may the best of show, you patiently wait until the judging. Hanging on to every vehicle called over the intercom, your anxiety about winning increases. When you realize you didn't win, you feel it wasn't fair. “How come I didn't win? I had one of the best vehicles here, it's perfect. Flawless paint, custom interior, LS swap, and a lot of performance upgrades”. You tell yourself as you blame the judges and the car club hosting the event.

Car show judging typically includes exterior and interior condition, cleanliness, originality, and overall impression. Judges evaluate factors such as paint quality, bodywork, and upholstery, as well as the engine bay, undercarriage, and details like chrome, trim, and functionality. Several methods are used to score. Point-based: a point system in which judges deduct points for imperfections in each category. Grading: uses a letter or number system, with lower numbers indicating better condition. Standardization-judging systems: set high standards, using standardized scores and statistical methods to account for differences in judge ratings. Some shows are awarded by luck of the draw, where entries are selected at random with no particular scoring.

With all these different criteria, sometimes car shows are judged on “people's choice," which often relies on personal preference, general appeal, the owner's popularity, the overall display, or even the car's general type, like a popular make and model over a rarer model. This method is sometimes criticized for being a "popularity contest" rather than an accurate assessment of quality.

I feel, for the most part, judges try to approach their decisions honestly, especially when there is more than one judge. Sometimes, judging something when perfection is involved can lead to internal conflict, because the pursuit of perfection is usually unattainable. Perfectionistic judgment often takes a black-and-white, all-or-nothing approach, which can be counterproductive, leading to anxiety in the judge's mind. It's easier to accept that nothing is perfect, and there is a focus on mistakes or imperfections.

So, not winning that anticipated award is not the end of the world. Car shows offer much greater awards. The opportunity to connect with like-minded people, the chance to see many interesting classic cars, and just the straightforward enjoyment of others viewing your hard work and investment. At the next car show you participate in, enjoy the day and have fun, even if you're not winning anything.