Here in So. Cal. we have car shows- ad nauseam. It seems like every school, church, or "good cause" has a car show any more as a fund raiser. Throw in the the "cars & coffee" EVERY Saturday and pretty soon seeing the same cars over and over again is like walking through a dealers lot.
What we don't have enough of is car shows with a swap area. And, sadly those that do have been significantly seen a reduction in participation. Somewhat local to me are the Mopar Spring/Fall Flings. They are billed as "The Largest Mopar Car event West of the Mississippi. I've attend these events for over 20 years now (lots of generic parts to be found, not just Mopar). Especially since the economy tanked the swap area is about 50%-60% of what it use to be. And, more and more it is either becoming re-pop items or very obscure items few would need (dual plug Hemi valve covers) that the seller wants ridiculous money for. Often the latter is someone who made a boatload of cash in their 20's-40's but as they approach 60 their income has dropped significantly and that 1980's $1,000 set of valve covers would seem to them (but few..., if any others) to still command a sizable return on the investment.
A month ago there was a greater L.A. Ford/Mustang show on a very prominent property ($10's of millions of dollars). I was rather surprised that the volume of cars was limited given the population of the drawing area. I could have seen everything quite well in half an hour. And, I overheard some of the organizers stating if they came back next year it would be in the $10,000 range for the venue!!!
So, while I still appreciate a car show every now and then I don't take them all in and when I do I'm usually 50-50 on enjoying it. Nothing is sadder than to see a car someone dropped $50,000+ on 10 years ago. And, today the colors, graphics, wheels, interior all look pristine - but severely dated. I'd rather see "works in progress" and have a meaningful conversation with the builder than to hear some guy talking about spending $25,000 on the car "finished" he just bought.
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