Car Shows and Cruises

Is it just me or maybe some of you that find cruises/shows to be boring?
Before I had a car to take, (had only a drag car) and and went to hang out Loved'em.
Now with cruise worthy car to participate....BORING .🙄
Still have a racer mindset I guess.
Went to a cruise last night, beautiful evening. Talked about anything but cars....🙁
Also have learned that everyone will tell you everything about their car/life🙉.
Don't want to hear anything about the car their looking at...

Get used to people telling you everything wrong with YOUR car, and about their uncles ex-wife’s brother-in-law that’s got EXACTLY the same car, except it’s an Edsel with a LS-swap with 6 Chinese turbos that does 4-second 1/4’s and finished second at Indy last year...

LOL......We've met the same people. 👋

You still having cruises and shows there? I’m jealous, all of ours have been canceled or delayed.
I can only think of one guy like that I’ve encountered in recent years. He’s tall, wears a cowboy hat, and has a Santa Claus beard, who has told me long winded stories of his early 90s era Ford or Lincoln or something completely uninteresting like that (in one ear out the other). Fortunately being easy to spot, when I see him coming down the row I’m parked in, I get up and walk off to take a walk and look at all the other cars so I am able to avoid him!
The main complaint I have here is that cruises are very cliquey, if you are new to an event you may not feel welcome walking around where groups of friends are sitting around talking, and ignoring everyone else. I have been going to local events long enough I know many people and usually find friends I enjoy seeing and chatting with. But sometimes I’ll go somewhere where I don’t know anyone, and sometimes in those situations, after I check out the cars, I start getting bored and pack up an leave.

We did the car show scene for years until we bought the drag car and switched focus. Now that I sold the racecar, going back to taking my Roadrunner to shows or cruises just doesn't do it for me either. I get more enjoyment by running local errands with it vs going someone to park. I'm a "seen one seen them all" sorta person but I can watch pass after pass without getting bored.

To each their own, thankfully this sport has enough "angles" to intrigue everyone.

We used to go to shows every week, but not anymore, and not for the last several years. For the most part, they bore me to tears. The same people with the same cars spewing the same BS, listening to the same 25 moldy oldies blasted over a PA system by DJ Frank, blocking off parking spaces because "That's Hollywood Joe's spot, you can't park there," people bringing their poorly behaved dogs...no thanks.

I will say that the shows I've gone to at Summit Racing (other than the same 25 moldy oldy music thing) have been very nice, with a huge variety of cars.

The Harley guys get it. They actually RIDE their bikes. Poker runs, charity rides, Harley shop parties, etc. You don't see them having bike shows, sitting on hot asphalt parking lots listening to Beach Boys. That's for the car guys, apparently.

I'm tired of the same old, same old stuffed shirt car shows, too. The best part of them anymore is driving to and from them. And having dinner after they're over.

And who came up with calling a sit-around car show a 'cruise'?

Haven’t done a show in a decade or more for those reasons. I still enjoy going to cruise ins to meet up with friends. It’s a good excuse to get out and drive. But I usually leave early because it gets boring. I like supporting the people who sponsor the cruise in especially if they’re a restaurant. 😊
The fun I have with my car is wrenching on it and driving it. Not sitting up a chair next to it and waiting for people to come by and hoping people will come and ask me about it.
Yesterday I had it out and was at a red light and the guy next to me wanted to hear it. In week so I have him a three second display of power. That guy loved it and it always feels good to me to feel an adrenaline rush from seat pinning. Get those cars out and drive them.

We went to a small local cruise last night. I also have a dedicated drag car that is not street legal. We drove our 2014 Challenger. Met up with some old friends we haven't seen for a while and we had a good time. In the same town there is an old fashioned drive in that started in 1966. My parents and grandparents used to take us there back in the day. It felt good to see some muscle parked there again.

You guys should try Crusin the Coast , I too was tired of the sit around shows and people talking about their uncles 440 hemi 383. Crusin the Coast you drive up and down the beach and explore the local fooderies. Happens in October on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Ain't that the truth. I'll gaurentee I was the only kid in my elementary school who knew The Twist, Little Deuce Coup, or 409 off by heart. I cringe when I hear them now as an adult.

The thing about "show" cars is they aren't that much fun to drive so people just sit around and talk about how cool they are. When I go to a cruise in anymore I just chug through and set off a few alarms with the big cam and short mufflers. I stop and park so people can check under the hood and see whats making all that awesome noise. I make one round and get back in and do my burnout and cruise back home banging gears all the way

Gus

I was amazed at how many people that attend the local classic car shows know so little about old cars. It seems to be more of a social event for older people than it is about old cars. Many times I ask people about their car and they don`t know much about them or even work on them themselves. That is why I like to go to different shows as much I can so I can see different vehicles as going to the same shows over and over gets boring.
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I wish there actually was “cruising” at a Cruise Night. I too get bored at Cruise Nights or Car Cruises which is why I don’t go to very many. However, it is more fun if some of my friends are there but that usually isn’t the case as my friends who are into cars live far away. I would much rather do something where everyone meets at a certain place and then we all cruise to some other destination. My friend Ray told me about a show that I believe happened yesterday where everyone met at a retail store parking lot and then they all cruised to a neat restaurant in the mountains. This show was organized by local Police and I believe it was outside seating only. I would love to do stuff like that and I would have if my engine was not getting rebuilt.

Mainly during car show season I only go to two get togethers that my car club has and Carlisle and the Nationals. I will sprinkle in one or two cruise nights per season but some years I didn’t go to any. I know a lot of folks criticize the Nationals but I love the night life—the cruising, the illegal burnouts, the band and the car show at the Dodge dealership. Wherever you go Mopar people are there and there are cars to see. Part of the real fun of the 500 mile trip to Ohio is our small caravan that we have going out there. Carlisle, while a great show has no night life so I usually wind up sitting around the parking lot with my friends.

Bottom line I love driving my car.

I also agree with the OP about how folks like to talk about their car and I get it they put a lot of work into it or a lot of money and they are proud of it but I find it is usually a one way conversation. They care nothing about me or my car and they just kind of talk at me not to me it. This is why when my friends are there it is so much better.

I have a few friends into bikes and I have to admit I get jealous when they get together and go on one of their rides to the shore or some other cool destination.

A real DRIVER that gets a bunch of THUMBS UP..., has wonderful working AC ... stops on a dime and for sure gets out of its own way ... that’s my new Scatty !

Lots of guy here have an idea what a car cruise should look like, so why not step up and organize one we can all enjoy?

Pick a starting point, pick a destination, and plan a route to get there, off the interstate, but on hard surface roads. If your not very creative, you can start and end at the same location, and do a 50 or 100 mile loop. Those that like to cruise can, and those that like to sit and talk can. The best runs are those with a few places to stop, that may be too small for everyone cruising, it mixes up who you may be cruising with, and changes the scenery. Another thought is to have a car poker run, 5 or 7 stops, everyone gets a card at each stop to try to make the best poker hand. The winner gets the kitty.

Back in the old days, these kind of things were called "Reliability Runs". 3 trophies, hard luck, for someone that had some sort of issue, clubs choice, the car your club (or group) liked the most that actually cruised (no repeated winners), and a long distance, the guy that came the farthest to join your cruise, if you want to go that far. Gene

There are plenty of people who enjoy cruises as-is, and I hope that they continue to have a time and a place to hold those cruises and enjoy them. It's just not for me. As far as organizing something different, there are countless other things interest me more, and are more worth my time, than doing something like that.

The next cruise we are going on will leave town and go thru some small towns in N.E. Iowa. It will end at the starting point at the mid 60s drive in. Should be a good time!

Oh man, I have coffee coming out my nose after I read this! I hate these guys that try to reserve spaces for friends. I had the same thing happen at a local cruise - "You can't park there, that is for my buddy". I parked there. His buddy never showed up.

I've been to 2 cruises and you pull your lawn chair out and sit.. thats not for me.. told my buddy
that I wouldnt be doing any more of them.. we both new a bunch of the guys there but it is
totally lame.. so now we end up with a destination to go to.. I love to drive my hot rod not sitting

I like the Poker Runs the best. Though this tends to be a motorcycle thing, our car club and several others do them around here. A little more planning as you have to have your route and about 5 stops arranged in advance, But WAY more fun.
Drive for 45 minutes--stop and have a mini-show and a drink. Drive for 45 more minutes--stop and have another mini show and a drink.
Lots more fun and you get to drive a lot of miles, especially if the countryside is nice.
And not as expensive as racing--less breakage.

i prefer cruise nights where you can eat. i roll in, get something to eat, socialize a little but and cruise on out.. shows suck being trapped all day somewhere for the most part.

mostly what we do with the cars anymore is drive them to a destination.. the shore, somewhere to shop, etc...etc...etc basically drive it anywhere and everywhere.... a lot more fun...

i'm helping to put on a covered bridge cruise with a bunch of friends this weekend.. i only invited people i know and we should have a great time as long as the weather is good..

Theres a cruise two miles from my house ( as is the famous hot rod party at the farm) I take my D150 there now that its allowed, ( 25 years and older ) I got thrown out a few years ago as it wasn't old enough it seems to many new Vettes, Mustangs etc were coming taking places that old cars couldn't park. So they put a limit. I only go once in awhile mainly because theres a good italian restaurant there we have dinner at during the cruise. In Carlisle theres a drag strip a few miles from the fairgrounds that holds a Mopar race the Friday evening of the meet, I go every year and have a blast.

we go to one cruise. Hot Summer Nights in Beaver,Pa. All kinds of cars....stock classics from the '20s,Hot Rods,Musclecars,and some newer stuff. Plenty for all tastes. It's an hour from us, so we get to have a nice drive to and from the show.They shut down the center of town, plenty of food. I park so I don't get trapped so we can leave when ready. Takes hours just to walk around. If we happen to be driving by a local show, we may stop, but it's usually newer stuff.

Reminds me of a cruise I went to when my 79 Cordoba wasn't quite 25 years old yet. I went to roll in and was stopped. "Sorry, not old enough, have to be 25 years". I look over and there was a '79 LRE sitting in the lot. I asked "Then how is that LRE truck in there, we are the same year?". Answer: "Oh, that is one of the organizer's trucks." Yeah, never went there again.

I prefer the smaller and shorter weeknight cruise ins where you grab an ice cream, sit around a little and leave before it gets too dark.

No cars shows this year that I'm aware of due to the virus.

I only go to the large shows these days, which is about 3 or maybe 4 of them. Hundreds of cars show up so there is always something new to look at. I usually walk around and look at the cars and don't say anything to the owner other than I like their car. Too many will go down the "this car is worth a bunch of money" road so it's best to keep the conversations short to avoid that. I like to admire the cars for what they are not to talk about rarity and money so much.

I used to go to the local dragstrip all the time, and now I only go once or twice a year. The cars have gotten faster, but also more boring to look at. Very few guys racing Chrysler products here compared to years ago so it's all early Camaros, 68-72 Novas, and 302 powered 80's-90's Mustangs. Also our track has next to no shade so at the end of the day you are burnt and used up.