OK, I must be in the minority but after attending, judging and showing at car shows for over 30 years I've come to appreciate craftsmanship. If there is a car entered that I can go see on any new car lot in the country, it does nothing for me, be it a Mustang, Challenger or HHR. The guy gets 1st place cause he's a good porter? Because he wrote a big check, I'm supposed to be impressed? NOT!

 

I am usually not impressed by a stock factory vehicle with furry dice on the mirror. Takes more than that to impress me. I am impressed by something like a 67 Corvette that looks like it just came off the show room floor.
The Teazer HHRs had some good looking ideas on them but I did not like a few of the things they did. For the most part I was very impressed by the Teazer cars.
That is real workmanship and customizing, putting AutoZone plastic chrome strips on the fenders and door edges or hanging dingleberries from the mirror is not. IMHO. So my opinions of craftmanship on show cars may be a little different to. Curly

 

You forgot to add those fake fender vent stickers from AutoZone.....those are the worst appearance mod ever...

 

be nice, youll offend someone

 

I have them but I am not offended. When I first saw them I also thought it was silly and expensive and vowed never to get them.

A couple of my mods are VERY out of character for the way I usually build my cars. Generally I only am concerned with function. When I first saw the phony vent stickers I made fun of them, and joked with my son how stupid it was. Plus the price most places charge is RIDICULOUS. (I have seen them for close to a hundred bucks) I did think that they fit the look of the HHR. But the concept was almost as silly as attaching a phony hoodscoop. I studied our hood/fender design to see if anything functional could be made, as well as checking out how they were attached on classic cars at shows. Alas, our hood overlaps a lip around the engine compartment. It would take massive bodywork to have functinal vents. I also noticed that most of the ones from the factory were not functional. Then, I was at Autozone and saw a set of the vents on sale for $9.99. I figured for that price I will go for it. Now I really do like the way they look. I rationalize to my self that it is not much different than having a 'Chevrolet' emblem people put in the same location.

The other thing that is out of character for me is the vinyl flames. I usually dont place much importance or emphasis on things like that. Originally I went to my friends shop to just have a banner on the front windshield to conceal my white EZPass box. He did that in black, then dressed it up with the little yellow flames and suggested something on the sides. I guess things got carried away.

 

Totally agree with you there Curly, especially since most "stock" cars from the 30's thru the 70's are frame-off restos and those definitely show lots of craftsmanship!

 

I second that. There is a huge difference between having an old classic car that was meticulously restored to factory original specs and buying a new car, adding a few simple bolt on things, and calling it a customized hot rod. It can be measured by the amount of thought and sweat that went into it. I intentionally did not mention cash since there a lot of things you can do to be creative that wont break the bank.

 

At a recent car show I attended , a late arrival produced a big crowd very quickly when he pulled in with an 2009 Dodge Challenger RT, basically off the showroom floor and into the classic car show parking lot. About 2 dozen people gathered around for about 20 minutes, then the challenegr left the show early. He did not expect to win anything, just showing off his new car. Was anyone impressed?no, Amused, yes, it gave lots a chance to see the car with the big hype up close.

 

This tread is getting squirrelleeeeee, so I say just vote for the SQUIRRELLLLL.
See ya down the road
Bud-Harvey

 

I'm with you, bud!
Squirrel and moose win!

Vote for whoever and for whatever reasons. This just decided that I will continue to vote, but not post why anymore...

ALL of ours cars look good for yourself--as Bud says, stock, mild or wild, Harvey loves them all!

@..rockin' the chrome.pink.black