Yeah so I was dumb founded this weekend at the car show. After spending 6 tideous hours detailing her up and getting ready for the show I didn't even place. Anyone want to know why? Well let me tell ya... the (insert explicitive of your choice here) judges put the HHR in the Chevy Mini Truck Class. The damn thing doesn't even have a bed to make it a truck! WTF???

 

Sorry dude, new cars don't do to well with judges at shows. You might as well elect to opt for "no judging". One major problem with the HHR is what class they stick you with. Some time trucks, sometimes I'm stuck in the "tuner" class. Another bad point is that the HHR looks much better with it's hood DOWN, and when you opt for judging, you are required to leave the hood UP, the HHR looks much better with the hood down. Bottom line is you don't have anything rare there. I've won more trophieswith my rusty 72 buick than I will ever win with my custom painted panel, despite low production numbers. Last car show I was at , a guy rolled up in a brand new Challenger SRT. Got a lot of attention, everyone wanted to see, but he's not getting any points for showroom condition cause it just rolled out of the showroom.

 

More luck next time ... your gona be

 

LoL one of our SoCal HHRs members won a trophy in the PT Cruiser Class!

 

Unfortunately, this is true. In the mid '90's. I used to show my '82 Collectors Edition Corvette at Corvette shows. I won 1st or 2nd place every time. Most of the time it was the only one at the show. I'll bet that was why I won. On the other hand, I also had an '87 Corvette that I would also show, I never won anything with that car!! Looking back at it, there were always plenty of '87's at those shows.

The bottom line was, with my '82, it was rare, the '87, well, not so rear.

Maybe they will put you in a different class next time and you would have a better chance at winning! Good luck at your next show!!!

 

This last weekend I was in a car show in Stockton, Ca., and they had a retro class. Several HHR's, 1 PT with a tear drop trailer and 1 SSR. Harvey was lucky enough to win first place. My wife and I spent about 4 hours cleaning the engine compartment down to the last nut and bolt and not one judge asked to see the motor. So you never know what the judges are looking for.
Needless to say if you don't want to have a heart attack at each show, go just to enjoy, this sounds good but is hard to do.
I was happy to see a retro class
See ya down the road
Bud-Harvey

 

I have shown cars for the last 25 years.

The key to winning besides having a good car is to look for shows that have classes that fit your vehicle.

All cars do not fit all shows unless your a stock 1955 chevy or the like.

Once you get into modified classes you need to choose carefully as with an HHR your not going to be an easy fit.

Learn the shows and go back and support the ones who cater to you type of vehicle.

I look for sports car classes for mine as even with a few mods they let me into that class. I have been to shows where they plop ypu into a class with pro street cars and such which makes for a mismatch.

Also look for shows that judge on how clean the car is and well prepared. This levels the field and makes for a more fair show. Popular vote should be avoided at all cost. Unless you have a lot of friends.

 

I really enjoy the "car show scene", not only to compete, but I also like to meet and talk to others with the same interests as me. I spend the first couple of hours before the judging starts preparing for the judges. But after that, I like to walk around and meet the others that are there and talk about cars. I am always amazed at who or what may come up in conversations.
Ya, it is nice to win or even place 2nd or 3rd, but you can't beat the times that you spend talking with the other contestants.

It's all part of the "experience".

 

I have a 46 Ford sedan and a 55 F100. Both of which have one best of shows many times when they were 1st completed. Now, they rarely get a nod. I didnt build em to exclusively show as they are driver's. Ive had my HHR in a couple of car shows and it just does me proud to have it as clean and shiny as possible for that day. I have a few flaws in my paint and my alloys werent perfect from day one. Im cool with all of that.

 

I ran into a similar situation a couple weeks ago at a show. They put me in a "domestic all" class which paired me up with Impalas and vettes...I asked them didnt they at least have a SUV class, which they did. And they proceeded to tell me that an HHR was not an SUV...i just looked at him stupid and asked if he wanted to see the title. GM classifies it as an SUV. It didnt help...