I heard from so many how great the Columbus meet is at National Trail Raceway, so we went this weekend. It was definately a mixed bag, the weather not withstanding. The racing was good with at least 6 Mavericks in attendance in the Pro Eliminator class. They did a pretty good showing with most making it to the eliminations Sunday. There was a beautiful orange/white Mav full blown doing exhibitions. It was a great sight seeing Mavs do battle with the Mustangs, Fairlanes,and the Blue Oval rest. The classic car show was a disappointment as was the swap meet and the car corral was almost empty. There were only about 30 or so classics and only one Mav, pretty as it was. The vendor area was dismal. Talking to a few who have been there in past years, I was told that this was the worst year yet. The consensus is that it is turning into a drag racing event with the rest being lost. It's a shame. Looks like if you want to be at a large show and have a good choice of vendors at the same time, Carlisle is where you have to go. The swap meet in the fall and spring in Columbus at the Expo Center is still supposed to be very big. I guess I'll have to check that out next.
wes, if you go to fall carlisle this year get a room now if you can, its about 3 times the size of the fords at carlisle.. i took my dad out there with me a few years ago and we went almost into Harrisburg and still couldn't get a room.. i don't even remember a car show there, i know the swap meet area covered the entire fairgrounds.. don't get me wrong it was an awsome swap meet, but we only got to be there one day
The Carlisles used to be great. The rule the Millers had was that you had to have something automotive in your swap space to attend. Now, people bring a couple of old shop manuals and the other 99% of their tent is used table saws or purfume or sunglasses or scarecrows. I no longer have much use for the show. Even the cars in the corral have Barrett-Jackson pricing. Blech!
That seems to be the trend at most swap meets now, Max. We have several larger swaps each year near here in Butler and Lawrence counties and you see the non-automotive vendors there, also. I hear the same criticism from others about that at these meets. I feel the same, but there's little can be done about it. I guess the promoters are more concerned about selling spaces than what is being sold. Like everything else, the bottom line rules today. The only one that seems to minimize it is the 3 yearly swaps in Canfield, Ohio. These are very nice swaps and a lot of vendors sell there each time. Another problem, at least by my view, is that the lion's share of vendors seem to sell GM parts. Someone told me that this is a geographical thing as the Northeast is primarily GM. This, I'm not so sure of, but I could be wrong. Either way, there are too few Ford swaps.
Well Wes, it certainly is about the bottom line. The Miller's used to just have two swaps a year. It was packed with automotive only products, and people flocked to these shows. Then the Miller's got greedy and started Fords, Chryslers, Imports, Trucks, and all sorts of other crap, and now there are so many shows that many vendors can't afford to attend them all. Since the many quality vendors started pulling out, crappy ones started replacing them. Once the crappy vendors moved in, the crowds got smaller and less "automotive" The Millers really watered it down and diluted a really good thing. I vended there for ten years and my company for 20, and we finally pulled out altogether in 2000. Our sales were about 1/5th what they used to be. It's just a damn flea market now. I wish them luck.
You definately sound a bit bitter, Max. I can't say I blame you. There was only one tool vendor with new stuff and like you said, it's mostly a flea market of sorts. Yeah, there was Stilwell's and CJ Pony Parts with new stuff, of course mostly Mustang new stuff, but you couldn't even find a decent selection of tools if that's what you need. The flea markets even have tool vendors! I don't know what you sell, but whatever it is, it wasn't there! There wasn't many off automotive vendors other than die casts and the like. There simply wasn't many vendors at all. Maybe with attendance and participation being as badly off as it has become, the Miller's may have to take a hard look at their bottom line after a while. I won't hold my breath, but with such a sparsely attended show at this year's was, they couldn't have made that much.
you couldn't even find a decent selection of tools Don't those tents full of "Made in China" tools pi$$ you off!
