I've never entered a vehicle in a show. I like attending shows, but the idea of competing in them never really appealed to me. But this past weekend I entered the long-term Ford GT in the 22nd Annual Westlake Village Auto Show. As an automotive enthusiast heading toward my fourth decade it was probably past time.
I didn't really plan on winning anything, but I cleaned the GT up and put it in the "Exotic" category, figuring I'd look at the $25 entry fee as a "preferred parking" charge, plus it included a free T-shirt...
Throughout the day the GT drew lots of attention from show goers, many of them asking questions like "What year is it?" and "How many of these did they make?" With the wife standing in to answer questions on occasion I was able to stroll the show and enjoy the other cars, including one Saab Sonett and one Dodge Challenger R/T SE.
Of course I stayed until the awards were announced -- just in case. Low and behold, I got second place! And what took first in the exotic category? Another Ford GT, this one an original model from 1967.
I can live with that.
Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 10,820 miles
benson2175 says:
06:49 PM, 10/ 9/07
Congratulations. A beautiful car.
estreka says:
09:15 PM, 10/ 9/07
Congrats! Did you get your $25 back?
I would love to submit my car in one of these.
daytona_500 says:
09:27 PM, 10/ 9/07
Nice trophy, I'd sure like to go to one of these shows or enter a car, if only I had one that was worthy!
scott65 says:
12:33 PM, 10/10/07
Cool! Congrats Karl
SubyTrojan says:
01:35 PM, 10/10/07
Did any Enzo Ferraris even attempt to compete in the show? Hehehe Or did they all get BEAT by the mighty GTs? After all, Karl's car is an "Enzo Beater!"
http://66.160.188.111/roadtests/1319
editor_karl says:
02:05 PM, 10/10/07
No Enzos. There was one F430, and it won the "Italian" category. But then again, there was only one Ferrari in the show (the only competition I remember him possibly having was a Fiat 124...).
desmolicious says:
04:10 PM, 10/10/07
Oh man, I wish they gave that trophy to the Fiat!
daytona_500 says:
05:35 PM, 10/10/07
You guys should have tried entering the long term Ferrari 308, you know, give the F430 some competition!