How to Win a Car Show for Less Than $100
Two hours. Thats how long I spent detailing the engine in my Hummer H3 from Budget Rent-a-Car. I spent another 2 hours detailing the rest of the car and discovered how dirty rental cars really are (how old ARE those M&M's?). In the summer, when I'm not racing my Porsche Boxster S, I'm at a car show, showing it off with my other racer friends and their BMW/Audi's. Replete with racing numbers, sponsor decals and helmets, we put on quite a different show from the normal pristine examples of automobilia from decades past. However, due to my Porsche being in the body shop, I was left without a car for last Sunday's Car Show in Oklahoma City. Over coffee, I came up with the brilliant idea to RENT a car at the airport, detail it, and see how it would do against all the other vehicles there, just for fun. At the Will Rogers International Airport, I was presented with three options, a Mustang V6 Coupe, a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder, or a Hummer H3. The H3 was the cleanest, so $75, rental insurance and a distorted sense of reality and I was in with a chance! $25 in cleaning supplies later, I had the most pristine rental car in the MidWest. Several hours later, I was holding a plaque declaring my Hummer H3 had received first place in the truck category at the show. So if you want an award winning show car, call up Budget in Oklahoma City, they have one for rent…
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Now I know why I never go to car shows.
First, congrats on the win! While I wouldn't expect a stock clean H3 to win 1st at a car show, I'm not surprised either. Some of those car show judges fixate on how clean the ball joint rubber covers and CV boots are. Also, I'm going to go out on a limb here and ask, what detailing supplies did you use?
We need more guys like Mike to offset my friend who took his rental to the drag strip after pumping up the tires and disconecting the exhaust pipe.
I read a story a couple of years ago about a guy who rented a Shelby Mustang from Hertz and entered it in a car show. Highlights the ridiculousness of the judging at car shows. I've gone to several but never entered. I decided that I didn't need some judge to pick apart my '58 Chevy Apache Fleetside. I know I like the way it looks, and I wouldn't want to change anything just so it could win a trophy at some auto show.