Ford Focus Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Serious question about Car Show judging.

Jump to Latest
5.8K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  1svt4u2c  
S
#1 ·
In light of all the problems we have run into with car show judges in the past few years I have a question.

What would it take to start a small judge/custom car association?

We have had sooooooooooooooooooo many problems with judges in the past that it seems like (at least in the Texas area) we could use an organization that caters to the car show crowd...and are not just there to collect a paycheck.
 
S
#3 ·
Egz said:
What sort of problems?
Click to expand...
The number ONE problem I see at every show is DISORGANIZATION! Granted there will be a little chaos with every show...but lately it seems to be getting worse. They cant keep track of judge sheets, they dont know that a TSX does not belong in an RSX category, and things like that.

Education. I have ran into so many judges that are not car people. So in turn they just simply do not know some of the parts you have put on the car. And it has been my experience that these are the judges that do not like to talk to the owner of the vehicle. They think they already know everything and will go off of what they know.

Ridiculousness. I went to a show recently where the judges were getting drunk and getting high. WTF MATE!

Lets not forget my number one pet peeve....people getting awards for a car that looks ALL KINDS of thrown together. All they did was just chunk parts at it. There is no theme...there is no flow...there is no real customization...its there just to be there.

Number 2 pet peeve. Cleanliness. I have watched awards get handed out to cars that had some water thrown at it...and thats it. No tire gel, no armor all...just wipe the dirt off the paint....call it a day.

These are just a few....
 
#4 ·
For the reasons stated above, I have quit showing my cars at shows. I go to talk to other owners, take pictures, and enjoy the show. If I put my car on display, I write "Display only" on the cards so it is not judged. When my Reiger equipped ZX3 lost to a bone stock mid eighties Cougar parked next to me, I gave up on car shows. My Mustang loses to other Mustangs that are red with chrome wheels, and random lick-n-stick crap, and not to mention that in a popular vote, he who has the most friends...WINS!

I did go to a Ford show once that your car was judged as you drove to the show area by a select number of judges. I ended up winning, but I went with the Contour club, and they were upset to lose to a Focus.

In the end, I have determined it is just better to compete against the clock rather than with votes. I really don't know how to fix the judging issues at car shows. Popular vote shows are just a popularity contest.
 
S
#5 ·
There isn't much you can do about the popular vote/people's choice awards.

But I am talking about major car show judge reform...by people that know the ins and outs of a car. Not just mod wise...but cars in general.
 
#6 ·
I've had experienced at shows that the car club with the most entries gets all the awards....and some of those cars in those clubs are not cars that I'd be happy to be seen in.

I lost to a stock SRT-4 once.....so that led me to believe that most shows are "rigged" in sorts.

An alliance would be a wonderful idea....but it's just getting the word that there is a Car Show Judging Alliance out there that would be the hardest part.

dave.
 
S
#7 ·
I wanna work to where we can put an end to all that.

I have a lot of friends that are into the custom car show thing and the biggest complaint coming out of each show is how the cars are judged.

If some kind of change isn't made then these contestants are going to stop coming to these car shows.

And let me clarify....
We go to shows and show our cars because its what we enjoy. It is our passion. We go to have a good time and enjoy shooting the crap with our friends. But at the end of the day we paid for the show and would...AT THE VERY LEAST...like some kind of fair judging/class breakout. We dont pour our heart and souls into these cars just to have a judge just glance at it and move on.
 
#8 ·
yea i can think of a lot more off the top of my head too haha. my biggest pet peeve is why cant there be judges totally unrelated and unbiased to anyone actually showing in the show. down here a lot of times the judges are really good friends or belong on the same team as some of the contestants.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
S
#9 ·
jasinger said:
yea i can think of a lot more off the top of my head too haha. my biggest pet peeve is why cant there be judges totally unrelated and unbiased to anyone actually showing in the show. down here a lot of times the judges are really good friends or belong on the same team as some of the contestants.
Click to expand...
I think it gets tricky here.

I have been in our show scene around here long enough that I am pretty much friends with everyone. And not a single one of them would get any special treatment.

I think cars should be judged by your peers...and fellow enthusiasts. I for one am harder on my friends then I am on people I dont know at all. So they know they have to be at the tip top of their game or I am calling them out on it.

Thats how I roll...lol.
 
#10 ·
I think it is okay for the judges to be friends... they just need to be of such moral character that they can be unbiased in what they look at.

If the criteria is very specific, that helps... and it also helps if the competitors know exactly WHAT they're being judged on.

Sure, a lot of it is subjective, but a lot of it isn't. The non-subjective stuff SHOULD be easy if the group is well organized.

While I'm not a big carshow participant myself, I appreciate clean, shiny cars, and I've found myself frustrated at the results more than once.

I've seen the judging by peers thing done before, and it seems to work.... the whole "people's choice" thing kicks ass.
 
#11 ·
Step 1: Get involved with running a show for some club so you can help pick the judges.

Step 2: Give the judges some specfic criteria that you want them to use when judging.

Setp 3: Once you find some good judges recommend them to other clubs.

A very good source of judges is your local antique car club. These people are used to working with very, very specfic criteria and look at everything down to the last little nut and bolt.

The first time I had my truck judged by one of them was a real experience. I didn't know what to expect since this was my first judged vs. popular vote show. The club putting on the show required that we be available to the judges when they came to our vehicle.

First he walked around the truck looking at it from all angles even squatting down to get a low level view. Then he asked me to point out all the modifications(I had them listed on my display board) I had made and asked why I had done some of them. Then he looKed over the engine bay, the bed, and the interior(even looking under the seats for trash). Then he laid down and looked under the truck at the suspension, etc.

I had figured I would place 3rd or 4th so I was very suprised when I got 1st place. I made sure I talked to the judge to find out how he judged. He said " The truck looked good, nothing out of proportion, etc.. It was very clean even the undercarriage. The modifications were well thought out, nothing outrageous. And the modifications were done well, no sloppy welds, etc."

You can see the truck on my website in my sig. Also the info below the pic is what I had on the sign boards in my display.
 
#14 ·
Just touching base on the popularity thing, I once entered a car show at a local collage campus where one of my friends went. He also has a infra red svt, but its a 5 door, and has a JRSC on it with a few other goodies. At the time of the show, I only had an intake, ford racing pulley, rear engine mount (which you cant see from a top view of the engine bay), and a tune (and I didn't have anything showing that I was using the X-Cal II or anything like that). Long story short, I almost didn't want to stay for the awards, but I decided "Hey, I payed to enter this car show, I might as well be respectful enough to go see who won what." Well, when they got to my class and called out "3rd place goes to....." not me (ok, I know I didn't get second)......then "2nd place goes to...." not me (ok, I know I didn't get anything at all)...."And first place goes to..." When they called my name, I was shocked! I just stood there, and one of my buddies had to literally push me and say "Dude, thats you, you just won first place!"

At first I was happy, after the show, I thought about it, and realized that he was there....his car was showing....he had a bunch of friends at that school....his car cant get judged...when his friends saw my car, and he told them he knew me, and I get first place because of it. Like I said, I'm happy I got first place at that show, but I think someone else really deserved it (I kept my trophy though :lol:).

That said.....People's choice ROX!

-Matt
 
Ford Focus Forum
posts
3.6M
members
67K
Since
1989
Forum community dedicated to Ford Focus owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about RS/ST performance, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
TEAM Pit Stop Ford SVT Focus Headquarters Forced Induction & Nitrous MK I Tech New Member Introductions