So lets say participating in a show is something you do because your proud of your vehicle. Is pride limited to collector cars or can you be proud of your new vehicle? Does it make a difference if you worked hard to fix it yourself or if you worked hard to swing the monthly payment? Does working on your own car give you the right to say your car is better than someone who pays to have their vehicle worked on? Do shows have to be divided into catagories for owneres who do all the work, owners who sub out half the work, owners who buy all the work? Perhaps they should be divided by how much the owners are capable of spending on their rides? Perhaps performance is the factor, wait, no, there are turbod Neons out there that can outrun many a restored muscle car.
If you don't like the way shows are organized or run or how awards are handed out, you do have the option of not attending, voicing your complaint with the organizers, or hanging out with guys who share your thoughts about said shows and creating your own organization. For instance, I will never be member of Goodguys because my Challenger, as a 74, is out side the scope of their charter. But then again, so is my '80 Dodge. My '80 is typically looked down upon by many people, even mopar folks, as an emissions era decal car. At least until they see it run. It has put many a big block muscle car on the trailer at the races. Is it less of a hot rod because it was born outside the golden years of 68-72? Am I less of a hot rodder because I built a less popular car?