Key Takeaways

• Car events range from casual Cars & Coffee to exclusive Concours d’Elegance, but all connect people through a shared love of cars.
• The price of the car isn’t what makes a car special, it’s the people who own the cars.
• The stories and memories behind each vehicle show how cars bring people together across generations.

Every weekend in every state, there are events for people who like cars. They’re as simple as Cars & Coffee where anyone who cares to get up early enough to secure a spot can show up with their favorite car and talk to like-minded people. There are also plenty of events that are a bit more particular.

Vetted car events don’t let just anybody roll on up and show off their ride. These events are more exclusive and require an application, an entry fee, and approval from the folks in charge. There’s a huge difference between your local cars and coffee and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance at Monterey Car Week, but they’re also very much the same.

A Love Affair With Cars

Whether you’re sipping champagne on a lush green lawn dotted with one-of-a-kind cars worth millions of dollars or walking the parking lot at the local grocery store with a cup of coffee and checking out the neighbor’s old Mustang, it’s about people and the cars they love.

Every car at every car show has a story. There’s a reason the guy standing beside it chose that car in that color from that model year. It’s never happenstance. It’s always something done with careful thought, no matter the price of the car in question.

I was invited to be a judge at the Sandhills Motoring Expo Concours in the Village. This annual event is held in Pinehurst, North Carolina, not far from Pinehurst Resort and Country Club, which is host to this year’s US Open Golf Championship. It’s fancy stuff.

Lush Lawns And Parking Lots

The town itself is, well, adorable. The houses are beautiful, the lawns are well-manicured, and the center of town has lots of little shops full of things you don’t need, but suddenly must buy. There’s also an abundance of coffee shops, which came in handy first thing in the morning on the day of judging despite the heat.

The invite to judge came from the Chief Judge, Wilbur Strickland, who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Mille Miglia Warm-Up USA a few years ago. He and his wife drove a beautiful 25th Anniversary Edition Porsche Boxster. My teammate and I drove an Alfa Romeo Stelvio. As novices, we were all winging it a bit and there was a fair amount of confusion, but it was fun, and we enjoyed every minute.

The fun we all had at that rally is what prompted Wilbur to reach out and ask if I’d be a judge at the Sandhills event. I was absolutely game, but also absolutely terrified. I’d never judged anything more serious than a chili competition at our local grade school. Sure, I know a lot about cars, but judging cars?

The Art Of ‘French Judging’ American Cars

He assured me that I knew more than enough for the task as the event uses French Judging. This isn’t the kind of judging that requires looking at a car and knowing every part number, every nut and bolt, and an encyclopedic knowledge of the vehicle in question.

French Judging considers the overall impression of the vehicle. Yes, it is about the car and its importance within the car world, whether it’s a good example of the car in question, and if it’s well-maintained. Original equipment also matters, but it’s the overall impression of the vehicle that helps decide if it wins, not whether one single screw turned a half degree too far to the left is incorrect.

My category was American Sports Car thru 1979 which means I got Mustangs and Camaros and Barracudas. Bright and early on Sunday morning, me and my fellow judges Jack and Chris (who happens to be the president of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance) set about picking a winner.

Kicking The Tires

There was a list of things to check, interior, engine, trunk, but also on our list of directives was to talk to people. To find out their stories and why the car we were looking at was the one they chose to show. I couldn’t necessarily tell you the details of every car, but the stories, those were everything.

There was Dan, the proud owner of a 1970 Chevy Chevelle in the most beautiful blue with white racing stripes. A military serviceman, he finally found the car he’d always wanted and had the time to complete the restoration after multiple deployments. That the colors also happened to match his alma mater, Penn State, made it even more perfect.

Then there was Don and his wife, Diana, who were there with a 1966 Shelby GT 350. I spoke to Diana, who told me that when she and Don started dating, he let her know she didn’t have to act like she was into cars. Growing up in a family of car enthusiasts, Diana was possibly more into cars than Don, so she cleared up that misconception real quick. The two show the car together as a husband and wife team, and it’s hard to tell who’s more excited.

So Many Stories

Perhaps the best story came from Brittany, who was there with a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, and her husband Daniel, who showed a 1970 Chevy Chevelle. That Chevelle originally belonged to his Dad, but was sold. Daniel saved all his money and after graduating high school, bought it back for his dad. The two restored it together. His dad also did the paint job on Brittany’s Camaro shortly before he died. The cars are a link to those memories.

Every single person I spoke with had a story, how they finally got their hands on the car they wanted since high school or how it was the car their parents drove. A lovely older lady was there with her late husband’s 2014 Porsche Boxster that they once bought together and she talked about how much he loved that car.

It was a car show, but it wasn’t really about cars. It was about how cars bring people together. How they forge memories of places and times that are important and create bonds from one generation to the next. They might look like metal and glass and tires. They might be old. They might not run very well. It doesn’t matter. The love, friendship, and memories behind each one makes them all perfect.