Ever been held hostage at a car show or cruise-in ?

[Kern Dog]

Sometimes I think that for some car guys, these events are their only social outlet.
It doesn't matter if I bring my car or are there only as a spectator. I'll see a guy looking my way and out of social decorum, I'll say hello. Apparantly, some of these guys MISinterpret Hello as TELL ME EVERYTHING THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING.
Now before you get mad, I don't mean to belittle anyone. I have the ability to walk away, but I hate to be rude when I suspect that the guy isn't intentionally annoying. When an older or elderly gent captures me, I'll politely listen. I have found that many of them are interesting people with many great stories to tell. I'll bet that their families have no idea what great men they are. They don't bother me. Its the CLOSE TALKERguys with bad breath. Its the guys that only shower on Saturday night and the show is saturday afternoon. Its the guys that want to blab on and on leaving you no break to talk back.
I know that what I need to do is just politely excuse myself, but I find that hard to do. I guess I just need more practice.

 

[Moparsmitty]

It happens. I don't mind talking to anyone if they are courteous and actually interested in having a two way conversation about my car or whatever. Sometimes you get the annoying yakker or the town drunk. What I usually do is grab a rag out of the trunk and start cleaning my wheels. I usually lose them after two or three wheels but if they are persistent, you mught have to do the bumpers and grille too. As a last resort I go to the fake incoming call on my cell phone. Everybody has their cell on vibrate so just act like someone called, grab your phone out of your pocket, put it to your ear, turn and step away like you need privacy. Takes a little acting but it works for me every time. Kind of fun to do actually. Good luck.

 

[BIGSHCLUNK]

I usually end up with the drunk or the guy whos brother (cousin, neighbor,father) had the 440 HEMI

 

[Meep-Meep]

I know what you mean and I too find it hard to pull away. People really like seeing the old cars on the road and I'll even go as far as saying it makes their day when they stumble on one or a few. So I just give it 5 mins and politely excuse myself. Being polite is the best way to not give us old car owners a bad name. I'd hate to be associated with some of those Porsche owners. You all heard the porcupine joke, right?

 

[65 Plymouth Satellite 426]

I Think This Kind Of Behavior Has Happened To Most Of Us! I Guess Its Part Of Cruise Night Sitiing There Listening To A Bunch Of Life Experiences And Bull-****!

 

[Kern Dog]

I enjoy the guys that ask questions about the car or want to know how I fixed something. To me, that is a conversation. The guys that are somehow able to breathe through their nose while talking nonstop are a medical miracle.

 

[2059]

One of the nice things about being an anti social a$$. on the surface I appear to be "un-approachable" (my wifes term, not mine). I didn't/don't take my cars to shows or cruise in's however, I do drive them occasionally and you get approached when getting gas or stopping for a bite. the conversation is usually very short and polite but not leisurely or drawn out. Maybe my personality is residual of 30 years in management... NEVER SHOW WEAKNESS!!!:yes:

 

[CtownChris]

Face it when you own a really cool car you deep down want some attention. It goes with the territory. Hell people pull in my drive at home when they see the car to chat if I am out side cutting the freakin grass. I am cool with that. A greasy half drunk guy gets 10 secs of my time and I have to make a phone call. Now if a drunk chick is hangin around I might make more time if she is decent lookin.

 

[Rt jam]

Its the guys that want to blab on and on leaving you no break to talk back.

I too politely listen, even if I'm late for a date. Love a good car chat but the no break talkers, I just walk away while there're midsentence.

 

[eric383]

I always enjoy shooting the breeze with car real guys. The ones I don't want to talk to I give em the brushoff.

 

[70rr-brian]

One of the nice things about being an anti social a$$. on the surface I appear to be "un-approachable" (my wifes term, not mine). I didn't/don't take my cars to shows or cruise in's however, I do drive them occasionally and you get approached when getting gas or stopping for a bite. the conversation is usually very short and polite but not leisurely or drawn out. Maybe my personality is residual of 30 years in management... NEVER SHOW WEAKNESS!!!:yes:

This sounds like me. But funny story. Just last week my hot water heater blew its pilot light assembly. I checked for the part locally with no luck. Could have gotten it next day for like $80 + shipping. Anyway, the wife was having none of waiting another day so I broke down and called Sears to come fix it. Guy quoted me $180 when he called. W/E this is what the old lady wants so come on out. Guy shows up and is down in the basement installing the part when he looks over and sees the Roadrunners original rims leaning against the wall. He asked what it was off of. I told him and his face lit up like a kid at Christmas. Told him the car was up in the garage if he wanted to see it. He was all over it. He stayed for about another hour just talking cars. Guy really knew his stuff. One of those guys you like talking to.

When it came time to settle he said tell you what...us car guys have to stick together. I am marking the part as warranty and giving you a break on labor. Ended up costing like $70!!!

I told the wife...yeah the Roadrunner just saved us $100 on the repair. She's not a big fan of the cars. And she says...I swear I just don't get it. She was referring to all the attention the car gets. LOL

 

[Budnicks]

Meeps, what is the porcupine joke ??

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This sounds like me. But funny story. Just last week my hot water heater blew its pilot light assembly. I checked for the part locally with no luck. Could have gotten it next day for like $80 + shipping. Anyway, the wife was having none of waiting another day so I broke down and called Sears to come fix it. Guy quoted me $180 when he called. W/E this is what the old lady wants so come on out. Guy shows up and is down in the basement installing the part when he looks over and sees the Roadrunners original rims leaning against the wall. He asked what it was off of. I told him and his face lit up like a kid at Christmas. Told him the car was up in the garage if he wanted to see it. He was all over it. He stayed for about another hour just talking cars. Guy really knew his stuff. One of those guys you like talking to.

When it came time to settle he said tell you what...us car guys have to stick together. I am marking the part as warranty and giving you a break on labor. Ended up costing like $70!!!

I told the wife...yeah the Roadrunner just saved us $100 on the repair. She's not a big fan of the cars. And she says...I swear I just don't get it. She was referring to all the attention the car gets. LOL

great story... the wife's/girfriend's most of the time, don't get the connection we have with cars & fellow car enthusiast...

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I haven't been to too many car shows in recent history, never really been a show guy, more of a racer at heart, function over beauty, but use to do displays allot when I was racing all over, had to do displays @ Checkers, Shucks & Kragens parts stores, got paid to do it too, as part of my sponsorship deal... When I would take my 23 T Altered, instead of the Newer 80's-90's Pro cars out of the trailer, especially when the Altered was Blown... I got all the people that knew someone, from the hay-day of 60's-70's drag racing or would have photos in their wallets of their old Altered or there favorite cars, my car looked allot like the old Nanook of the North, with a slightly different paint scheme {purposely, it was a clone, my favorite car as a child} & it was named Wild Thang, it got many older people, mostly the older guys who knew everyone from the 60's & including some attractive older woman or MILF's, get very excited & they would open up & tell me their stories.... Or I would get the little kids & sit them in my cars, I knew they would be hooked for life after that... I kind of hated it at 1st, but I began to really enjoy it after a while, met some great people, got invited to man BBQ's & heard some great stories... It's funny how people connect thru cars, especially old cars & especially in the heartland...

 

[jburt]

Myself and another guy park next to each other at the shows and cruise nights. We have a small bucket in the trunk of my car and whichever one of us gets the "I had the exact car 25 years ago,but mine was green with a/c and an automatic with a 383 Hemi" talking guy has to toss a dollar in the bucket. (for the beverage fund)

 

[kidmopar]

at one time i had a 66 barracuda and i was in the parking lot when an ederly gentleman came up and said sonny, i used to have a studebaker just like that!! i said its a plymouth,, he said u got taken son u got a studebaker there!! i had to just walk away,,, shaking my head, wondering whens the last time he had his eyes checked,,, sigh

 

[Dennis H]

Greg, as you can tell I am a social outcast. I usually put up with more than others as this is one of a very few social outlets. Very few even know what the Coronet is. Gas stations are another example. I want to fuel and get the hell out. Often, some want to chat. I do it. Last time I was at a gas station in Laughlin, Nevada a drunk came by to tell me of the famous Mopar racers from the day that he knows. He had a 16 ouncer in a brown bag and had to cut it short to get the bus. The good news is that when I left there, I was on route 66 in a big block Mopar and smiling from ear to ear.

 

[eric383]

The porcupine joke.......Do you know the difference between a Porsche and a Porcupine? In a Porsche the pricks are on the inside!

 

[Bruzilla]

Hate to say it, but some of you guys are sounding like the hot babe with all the cleavage showing who gets offended when some guys are only looking at her chest. She doesn't have her boobs hanging out to keep them cool, she's got them out to get noticed, and that's why most of us drive these cars. Just because there's more frogs than princes gazing at those boobs, or our cars, is just a fact of life.

I'm DAMN proud of my car, and the city and teams it represents, so I have no problems taking time to talk to anyone about any of those subjects. The nice thing about taking a Pittsburgh Sports-themed Road Runner to a car show is there's always someone wanting to talk about Mopars, Road Runners, Pittsburgh, the Steelers, the Penguins, or the Pirates, so my time is usually spent standing near the front of the car talking to one person after another the whole time I'm there. I kinda like that, especially when I'm across from a really nice Mustang or Camaro with an owner who's spending hours cleaning and recleaning his ride because he has no one to talk to because everyone is busy checking out "that Steelers car".

 

[Sonny Black]

I always enjoy shooting the breeze with car real guys. The ones I don't want to talk to I give em the brushoff.

E, we were very patient monday. we had a bit of that annoyance but handled it well!
the 1st 15 min was not bad BUT the next 20 had to pratice forbearance.:edgy:

Sonny

 

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Myself and another guy park next to each other at the shows and cruise nights. We have a small bucket in the trunk of my car and whichever one of us gets the "I had the exact car 25 years ago,but mine was green with a/c and an automatic with a 383 Hemi" talking guy has to toss a dollar in the bucket. (for the beverage fund)

we all know they only made a 440 HEMI!

 

[HawkRod]

Driving ANY old car in nice shape is a magnet for people. Gas stations, diners, driveways, etc. The car pulls people in.

I have to say I kind of like it. It is part of America. Sure you meet all kinds of people, from knowledgeable car guys and gals to people who talk like they know but really don't - but to me, that is just a slice of this great country.

One of my dreams is to drive my car on a vacation out west, taking mostly small roads and stopping at small town diners, shops, gas stations, etc. I think it would be cool to experience the country in a classic car, especially since you would meet lots of people. You never know, one of the cool ones could become your next good friend!