VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Hershey October 2017

Anyone else make the fall Hershey AACA meet? I couldn't have been more disappointed in the dismal showing of Chevrolets at the show. I went specifically in the hopes of seeing another 23 or 24 Superior Touring car. The only car in that era was a 1926 Coupe that was well done and a poorly restored 1927 Touring in the Vendor section for sale at 29K. I went 2 years ago on a Friday but missed the judging event on Saturday. So this year I went on Saturday hoping to see the nice cars rolled out of their trailers. No so much!

I also noticed that there were not as many early cars on the show field. There usually is a slew of Model A's and there were not that many at all this year.
I thought that the show was great! There was everything from a Greyhound Bus to a WW1 truck.

I have been attending the Hershey Meet for many years, mostly looking at the early cars, DPC and HPOF classes. It is true that you do not see many early Chevrolets there, so when you do see some, it is a real treat! I do remember when I was younger that independent car clubs would have shows on Sunday by the old stadium, including Chevrolet. I drove my 1934 there a couple of times, and there may have been some cars of earlier years there too. I do enjoy this show, you can check out cars of all makes that you may not see that often.

The sad part is with this great hobby of ours is this is such a changing market and seems like it is on a downward trend. Here in Massachusetts we had this 50 year plus huge SSAAC Antique Car Flea Market with thousands of vendors and old cars for sale here in Mansfield Mass. That has now ended with no more for next year! Just a note when I was a little kid I was at that first Antique Car Flea market with my Dad Club and it was in a field and they charged 50 cents to get in or set up a spot! I also remember my Dad saying that no one would ever pay 50 cents to walk around a field full of rusty old junk parts!
Rory
1934 Chevrolet Standard DC Sport Roadster for sale
1933 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1934 Ford 4 Door Sedan rolling frame under construction
1933 Ford 4 Door Phaeton

"The sad part is with this great hobby of ours is this is such a changing market and seems like it is on a downward trend"
I couldn't agree more with that statement! Makes wonder what will happen in the next 20 years or so... the next generation doesn't seem to have much interest in preservation. I use every opportunity to pass on what I have learned and help keep interest alive.

The internet has changed EVERYTHING! Now that there is WiFi at the swap meet area it only got worse. Swap meets for the most part have become a thing of the past. The only event I vend at is Hershey, mostly for the social aspect. I am glad that the Hershey Region keeps things in check and tries to keep the vendors focused on automotive related items. We saw a lot of people walking around this year but very few were carrying any parts. Many of the buyers I encounter are bottom feeders, looking for a deal to flip it on ebay. I am selling antique toys so that tends to attract those people.

I had a really nice (pretty close to perfect) 49-50 Desoto luminted hood ornament that I sold on Wednesday. It was priced fair and well below the cost of re-chroming it would be. I had a guy come up to me and offer half, I did not even answer him I just gave him "the look" I knew he did not own one because if he did he would have bought it on the spot. He came back again offering me $10 more each time, when he walked away he was looking for shade to see his cell phone, I knew he was checking ebay to see what the prices were. I told him my bottom line or don't even came back. He did come back paid the price, and I asked him which model he was restoring, (again I knew he did not own one) He told me " I have to be honest with you, I look to buy things here and flip them on ebay" I then told him "being we are being honest here, I had it on ebay for the past 4 months at a buy it now price for the same price that he paid, and I only had 6 people view the item" I did wish him good luck with his venture.

I am about $2500 in the red before I even head out to set up, and I only have to drive 250 miles to get there. My goal is to break even give or take. If I am just going to show a car it is around a $1200 weekend. Maybe cost has something to with it, and people are picking and choosing which event that they are going to do that year based on their budget. To show a car at Hershey is a tough thing to do. One year it took us about 1 1/2 hours to get on the show field, and 2 hours to get off. We don't even go to the banquet anymore, just too rushed. By time we get back to the hotel room to shower it was 6 pm, then drive over to the Hershey Lodge for the cocktail hour that starts at 7pm there is NO TIME to relax. The last few times I showed a car we did not even go to the banquet, just showed up for the awards. I told my son after this year that I am going to take a few years off of showing a car. Maybe others are just taking a year or two off

I try to attend 1 to 2 VCCA National Meets and 2 to 4 AACA National Meets each year. I do have to say that there are more Chevrolet's at the AACA Meets then the VCCA Meets, which I never could figure out why.

I too noticed that this year at Hershey there were a lot less of pre-1930 vehicles of all makes. The shocking part was that there were only a handful of Model A's, and T's

Charlie (41speciadeluxe) and I are neighbors vending, and we are lucky that the Stanley Steamer guys have vending spaces directly across from us and get the privilege to see those 100+ year old vehicles for 4 days, and it even got to the point where it was common hear the boilers purge off steam. Like Charlie and his son Dan, the Stanley crew are GREAT NEIGHBORS.

I am sure that there is a change in the hobby, and it is aging. I do find it ironic that the same guys who called my 60 Impala a used car in 1990 are going to meets in a 1985 vehicle, and telling me what great cars they are and that is over 25 years old. I grew up in the hobby and stayed with it. My three sons did and only one has a car but really does not have the interest. He has my Dad's driver turn key 54 Belair and it just sits in a garage, most of the year. He just does not have the time, and has trouble making the time to enjoy it.

One thing that I think has made the hobby more difficult is the vast array of vehicles. Fifty years ago most were interested in cars of the 20's to 40's- a span of about 20 years. Today that span has risen to about 60 years-20's to 80's and there is a lot more to chose from.

Steve D,

i agree. Right now it seems the Chevelle is the most desireable Chevrolet except maybe the Corvette.

It's and excellent point and oberservation you make.

Charlie

I think there is more interest in touring than showing. I have attended three national tours and have one regional tour to make this year. I did not do any shows and only one swap meet. I have been in the hobby 57 years. When I started my '31 was not old enough for some events.