Now that the car show season summer is over (in the northern hemisphere, at least), it seems like a good time to reflect on the types of shows available and their respective pros and cons, and consider our individual preferences regarding them. England has had a pretty good summer for such events, so let’s check the options:
Option 1 – the informal Friday evening gathering outside an English pub
The Royal Oak pub in Barrington, near Cambridge, is on the largest village green in England, which clearly was put there as a place at which to show classic cars. Throughout the summer, the first Friday of the month is an all- welcome informal park and show night, with no visible organisation. Like most good pub events, it just happens. The cars, which range from 1920 Aston Martins and Morris Cowleys to Vauxhall Victors and Ferrari 430s and all points in between, occasionally total over 80. And did I say it’s outside the pub, which serves real ale, the warm British kind?
Option 2 – a combined car show and flying display at a Royal Air Force station
The RAF station at Abingdon closed as an operational military airfield in 1992; since 2001, it has hosted the Abingdon Air and Country Fair and its wide range of activities and attractions, including a classic car show and a very professionally orchestrated flying show. As an aviation professional during daylight hours, it seemed a great combination–and seeing an aircraft you’ve been involved with professionally (RAF L-1011 Tristar KC1) perform is quietly satisfying. Abingdon was the home of MG for over 50 years, until 1981, and the marque was well represented.
Option 3 – a large and varied show in the grounds of a stately home, on a family centred weekend
Knebworth House, north of London, hosted its usual annual classic car show on Father’s Day, in June, with professional organisation and marshalling of cars by type and age. Points deducted for the unexpected arrival of rain.
Of all these options, this one is probably closest to a generic car show, if there is such a thing.
Option 4 – a car show associated with a small flying display and open access to Europe’s best aviation museum
The Imperial War Museum Duxford, in eastern England, is probably Europe’s best aviation museum, also featuring a strong land warfare collection as well as the famous, and internationally funded, American Air Museum. Every summer it hosts at least one car show of one sort or another. One show theme this year was Spitfires, Merlins and Motors. A great range of cars, a flying display and a Merlin and Griffon engine each being run up on stands. Yes, really!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Rho2v3PmA
Option 5 – a convoy of 200 cars around a small market town, finishing with a general display in the town gardens
Wallingford in Oxfordshire hosts an annual parade of classic cars. It starts out from a recreation ground on the edge of the town, then forms a convoy through the town centre, round the bypass, back into the town and parking up in the central gardens for the rest of the day. Despite having had family associations to Wallingford for 20 years, I discovered this event only this year (!).
There’s also a good display associated with 100 years of car production at Morris Motors (later BMC, BLMC, and now MINI) factory in nearby Oxford.
Option 6 – an all classics welcome gathering in the centre of town, on a midweek afternoon, for charity
Near Luton, north of London, Harpenden Village Rotary Club organise an all-welcome classic car show, known as Classics on the Common, with nothing more than some tape barriers, a few hi-vis jackets, and a lot of smiles, on the common in the centre of the town. Cars are parked exactly in their order of arrival, so the immediate variety can be exceptional, with a 1930 Bentley next to a Hillman Imp, The support from the community is outstanding. Shame I had to leave early!
Option 7 – as part of an agricultural fair and steam rally in a farming village
Swavesey Steam Rally, near Cambridge, includes a large classic car, truck, tractor and steam-traction engine show, alongside the agricultural elements. Again, a very informal and welcoming atmosphere and a wide range of cars, even if I was parked next to 3 Singer Vogue estates (it’s not often you can say that!)
Option 8 – a single-marque gathering at the grounds of the Queen’s country home
This year’s Mazda MX-5 Owners Club national rally was at the grounds of Sandringham House, the Queen’s private country estate, in Norfolk, eastern England. Over 1000 MX-5 of all types, including imported Eunos and Miata roadsters, gathered in bright early autumn sunshine.
Option 9 – the festival of transport in one of England’s motor towns?
Luton was home to Vauxhall’s manufacturing and engineering activities for over 90 years, and still has a strong motor industry presence along with its proud heritage. Each year, the local classic car group organises a Festival of Transport – essentially a classic car show, but with some old trucks and buses included. CC has seen some of it already–a huge range of cars and a very strong (and proud) Vauxhall presence. Not so much for non-car people, though.
Option 10 – the best part of your local village fete
The British village fete has been an integral if ever gently-changing part of village life since, well, forever, and our local one includes a small turn up and show classic car display. So, after the cake competition, the Cubs and Brownies dancing and show ponies, but not too far from the beer tent, you’ll be able to see some classic cars. In our case, they ranged from a 1930 Morris van, in well-used condition, to a late-1980s Corvette, of all things.
So which would you choose, and why?
How about this kind? 🙂
Seriously, all of those sound like fun. I’d love to have a leisurely trip to the UK and see cars along with steam trains, steam trucks, canal boats, old buildings, and everything else. Oh, and lots of wandering/hiking, which I know is big there too. One of these days…
What a perfect picture that completely sums up my opinion of these cars. What that girl is to women in general, the lowrider 64 Impala is to cars (with apologies to Zackman). 🙂
Are you suggesting she’s had hydraulics installed? 😉
Definitely some type of after-market mods there somewhere.
Obviously the Latin American 2014 remake of the Dukes of Hazzard.
So she must be Margarita Duque.
Unfortunately, this is what passes for an antique car show in the US anymore.
Beautiful workmanship, nice cars, they not antiques so please keep them from the antique shows.
Although I did not grow up on a farm, I came from a farming family. Therefore, anything that mates old cars with steam traction and other old agricultural equipment gets my vote.
Second choice would be one of the more random shows, either an organized one or one that just sort of pops up on its own.
Single-marque shows often become too much of a good thing.
I think option 3 comes pretty close. I prefer both quality and quantity of the classis cars I’m interested in. Nice sunny weather and a relaxed atmosphere do the rest.
I don’t come to see big houses or planes with a few old cars as a sideshow.
For me this means the US classic car show in Reuver, the Netherlands. First sunday in september, only pre-1978 US cars in a good condition. It is, in my opinion, by far the best show for classic US cars in my country.
Pictures of this year’s show:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/appie462/sets/72157635384054529/
What fabulous pictures. This show has better variety than most shows I have seen in the U.S., which seem so over-populated with 60s and 70s muscle cars.
BTW, that black Cadillac Fleetwood on the second page that you have labeled as a 61 is actually a 63, and the virtual twin of my second car that I bought for $400 in 1979. Mine was, of course, not nearly so nice. Who knows, maybe mine eventually made its way overseas to someone who could afford to give it the love it needed.
+1 Need to go to Europe to see a really nice selection of American cars not overdone 🙂
I had an obsession with a ’61 Bel Air or Biscayne two door sedan as a kid, and I haven’t seen one in way too long.
JP, the pictures are not mine. Mr. Appie Deijcks takes these pictures at all the US classic car shows here and puts them on the web.
The cars come from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. They’re all there, from a pre-WW2 Cadillac V16 to the seventies land yachts. Like I said, it doesn’t get any better if you like unmolested classic US iron in my country.
About the black Cadillac. I checked the plate (EK-23-90) on the official Dutch website. It’s registered as a Cadillac 6039 E and its first date of registration is feb. 18, 1961. This is also the first date of registration in the Netherlands, so that simply means that a Dutchman bought this mighty Cadillac brand new.
When I lived in Indiana, I liked finding unexpected gatherings where all the “show” cars were parked in the center of town around the town office building. Usually the center was closed to traffic.
The other was the James Dean festival…. next to the abandoned high school he went to in his day. Of course Labor Day weekend in Auburn was a real treat.
Option 2 for me,I like air shows as well as cars especially if there’s a Spitfire.
For those in western Canada / northwest US, the All British Field Meet is a one day event held in VanDusen Gardens in Vancouver, BC in May.
Pics from last year here –
http://www.westerndriver.com/?page_id=5721
Next year’s is on Saturday, May 14th
Option 3 for me too. Every year we have a large classic car show on the grounds of an old lakefront resort lodge where I live and spent my summers growing up.
A “cars plus something else” show is always good, I’m thinking of the local Naval station open day with car display, or a large steam & traction engine weekend that also features anything mechanical.
Variety is the spice of life – if nothing else because you often get the same cars at a show year after year.
ps “1930 Bentley next to a Hillman Imp” – pics or it didn’t happen!
No picture of this but both were there.
Got an Imp van next to a Daimler SP250 Dart
I ran across a “cars and other things” show in Matlock, Washington a couple of years ago.
Cars were actually in the minority here.
This is an annual event and it’s only out of sheer laziness that I haven’t been back.
Here in sunny southern Arizona, things get turned around. Tucson comes back to life, with a vengeance, in October. Next Saturday we get one of the biggest car shows in the area, with usually well over 400 cars on display. And with temperatures likely to be in the low to mid-80s (Fahrenheit), it should be a spectacularly good day. And there are other car shows that happen during our cool season.
The thing with Tucson is that we sort of hunker down in our air-conditioned homes during the summer. In June and July we had 39 days in a row with high temperatures over 100. The trade-off, though, is that winters are relatively mild, with low temperatures in the 30s, occasionally dipping down into the 20s or even the high teens, and snow making a rare appearance every few years. Daytime temperatures get into the 50s or 60s. The snowbirds flock to Tucson in increasing numbers starting in October, but they have usually all left by mid-April. After mid-May, there is the great emptying. All the snowbirds have left, and the University of Arizona has had commencement. Then we locals rejoice, for we have our streets back, and we can boast about our dry heat before the monsoon rolls in at the end of June.
From what you’re showing, I’ll take any of the alternatives – as long as we’re talking an English car show.
Notice what’s missing from those shows? Hot rods, cruisers, low riders, ricers, modern baby boomer retro cars, modified cars. All the crap that pollutes just about every American “antique” car gathering be it a Friday night cruise in to a serious antique car show – unless they’re deliberately not allowed on the property. Which happens all too seldom nowadays.
No, I have nothing against hot rods, etc., or hot rod shows. Just keep them separate from antique (aka, restored to factory original) shows.
I really hope that’s what English antique car shows look like, and not just some selective cherry picking.
I can’t believe that I’m agreeing with Syke on this question, but having a home (away from home) base in Cambridge and having frequented some of these venues brings me back. A good local pub, good company, a good ale or single malt, interesting conversation and a car/plane/traction engine to look at on a sunny English day is about as nice as it gets. There will be no mention of Broughams at this point, because I don’t want to provoke an aneurysm. I’m venturing a guess that the author possibly works at Marshalls?
Hi Dean,
Yes, I did work at Marshalls from 84 to 89, and still live and work in the area, in aviation.
You might be surprised at some of the Americana at Barrington, even if they weren’t the 5 star Brougham….
I went to a vintage farm machinery expo recently there are photos of it on the cohort very few cars there but we have plenty of cars only shows for those who dont like trucks and tractors. and summer is on the way.
I’m thinking that my favourite would be any marque and any era, with an open entry hillclimb event.
Rock up, hire a helmet and pay to do a couple of runs.
Not only do you get to see lots of interesting cars, you also get to hear them in anger. Plus, there’s a central event to throw in some competition.
Think Goodwood hillclimb, but more ‘of the people’. Perhaps the Retro Rides Gathering is closest to what I’m thinking.
http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/08/retrorides-gathering-prescott/
I’ve been to most of the above types of events, usually as a participant not just a spectator. There is a community airfield not too far away that holds a combination car show and fly-in, but unfortunately I’ve never made it to that. Also, our evening cruise nights are usually held at mall parking lots, not in such nice settings. I rarely get out to any cruise nights anymore, having to get home after work to help deal with our rugrats.
I like variety in my carshows, just not anything newer than about 1980 unless it’s rare or modified. Yes, your new Mustang/Camaro/Challenger/etc is special, just like everyone else’s.