A little organization of a show field does not create a "us versus them" attitude. I have not been able to make the 13 hour jaunt out to Carlisle but I certainly have heard many talk about it, and the fact the cars on display are organized into categories has been something I have heard people compliment the quality of the show for.
On the other hand, I have heard people who have top quality restoration or customs considering going to the Nats but say they aren't going to take their car to the show unless they can get invited into one of the feature displays, as they don't want to get stuck in the "Fun Field". Suggest they are snobs all you want, but if these cars that many spectators are excited to see aren't there, they aren't there, and that diminishes the quality of the show. I was registered to bring my MCACN Concours gold winning Challenger to be in the Mr Norms display at Moparty and sadly the trailer I was promised to borrow to bring it fell through, and instead I just came as a spectator. I hopefully will buy a trailer by next year and won't have to take a chance on getting let down again like this year, but I am now thinking more about if I am really motivated to bring that car, or if one of my more "nice driver/local show" quality cars would be more appropriate, and that's where I am leaning given that although I think Moparty is a great show, it is not an appropriate show for a high level show car as it is currently organized.
It might not be practical to organize it to the level of Carlisle, but it could be organized somewhat better I think, with maybe 4 or 5 show car areas such as post 1990, pre 1990, truck, and customs for example.
Everyone talks about how the Nats has gone downhill so much over the years, and many have told me how much they hope Moparty will take over being the great show the Nats used to be. So far it's a great start! I watched a lot of drag racing and it was excellent. Maybe some of the racers have some concerns or ideas for improvement though? A good friend of mine participated in the rally racing both last year and this year and loved it, has nothing but praise for how that part of the show was organized.
My point isn't to rip on the show, on the contrary just give suggestions to help improve it from a great start. I have been involved with MCACN for 10 years including working at the show, and Bob Ashton strives to make the show better every year, he's always open to suggestions for improvement. And the show does get better every year! As he always reminds us during the employee meetings, the people who display their cars at our show spend a ton of money on transporting their cars to the show, entry fees and hotels etc and we must bend over backwards to make them feel appreciated and to feel that their effort and money spent was worthwhile. And I believe we succeed and that the vast majority of participants at MCACN are very satisfied with their experience. This should be the attitude of every car show organizer. twocents