Our Favorite Car Shows in Texas

While some car owners drive their vehicles to and from work or get groceries without a second thought in their minds, many of us find amazement and beauty in the idea that hands have created something spectacular. 

Beautiful paint filled with metallic flake and pearl. Hand striped designs are used to accent the body and give character to an otherwise flat canvas. Leathers pleated and stitched to perfection, tightly wrapping the dash and seats.

Yeah, I know: Words of beauty. 

A show car built to such a high standard is often considered a work of art. With warm sunny weather encouraging owners to hit the roads and local shows, Texas’ warm, dry days encourage perfection to hit the streets. 

With so many shows to choose from, these are the must-attend events throughout Texas. 

Why Go To Shows?

Passing so many cars on your daily commute, you may wonder what benefit you have from hitting a show. During these drives, you even see some pretty cool cars. 

While it’s true that you may see a show car or even just a nice representation of a car on your daily drive, you often don’t get the opportunity to surround yourself with every color and design out there, all at once. 

Do you enjoy classics? Is your favorite color hot pink? What’s the chance of you seeing a hot pink classic on your daily drive? 

Car shows are about bringing everyone together, regardless of age, sex, or social status, into one place for the purpose of enjoying the art of cars. 

Are you building a car of your own? 

Meeting new people that either have or are building similar cars will allow you to build a community of knowledge. While some builds, such as early Mustangs or Chargers, have a major aftermarket available, many cars do not. This means finding missing parts could become a full manhunt. 

Imagine you own a 1960 Ford Fairlane, a 1-year production car, and you need a very specific piece of trim. By yourself, you would have to keep an eye on the internet and hope if one was posted, it would be in good condition, and you would see it before every other guy trying to build the car. With a community, someone may have the part available or may inform you if they come across one. 

Types of Shows

Before you pack up the family and head to a show, it’s important to get an idea of what you want and what will be there. Each show will have its differences, and knowing what to look for may help. 

Shows can also feature a mix of aspects, meaning a showcase show could also have daily cruise-ins and events.

Showcase shows often require pre-registration, and cars parked in pre-determines spots for multiple days. These are often indoors and showcase some of the top builds out there. 

Cruise-ins involve everyone meeting or cruising into a specific location and have remained the staple of car shows. Many of these shows are single evening events, but multiple day events do occur. These are the perfect family events and are extremely common weekly, monthly, or during fairs and festivals. 

Most likely, your local diner or group will begin holding regular cruise-ins.

Themed shows are events with a specified purpose. This could be an era, such as the 60's night, or a building type such as imports. These can also be great events for the family with themes such as trick-or-treating around Halloween or Santa and the Easter Bunny visits.

A local group generally holds club events, and while other cars may be welcome, their club or their focus may be showcased. These can be groups, such as your local lowrider groups, or manufacturers based like a corvette or Camaro club. This includes auto clubs holding events at tracks, such as the SCCA, NASA, or other sanctions, giving you a platform for safe, informative on-track learning. 

Concours shows are specific to Concours cars, or cars pristine to the factory originals and rated by judges to a certain prestige. These are common with early model cars, which are a rarity in and of themselves but can be seen throughout most post-industrial generations.

Culture-based events often focus not only on the cars but the culture surrounding them. Japanese culture events have grown in popularity, usually filled with music, crazy builds, and car games such as limbo or rev competition.

It’s common for grassroots sports events to be accompanied by a car show as well. This means a public autocross or drift event may advertise a show or cultural event. This means you can show up, look at awesome cars, then kick back in the stands and watch some racing. It’s recommended to bring earbuds during these events, as they can be extremely loud, especially for young kids. 

Builds

When looking at checking out a new show, it’s important to understand what kind of cars you could come across. While many shows allow nearly every style of build to participate, others may be more strict. Even when anyone can participate, often specific groups or styles will be prominent. 

If you’re looking for a certain style of build, you’ll want to understand the difference between:

• Classics

• Concours

• American Muscle

• Cruisers

• Lowriders

• Donks

• Hoppers / hydro cars

• Street build

• Pro Street

• Imports

• Stance

• Bosozoku 

• Modern

• Purpose Builds (such as offroad, racing, or replicas)

These and many other build styles can apply to anything from vans, cars, trucks, bikes, and even scooters, with most build falling into multiple build styles. 

GoodGuys

When looking for a great show, there's no better place to start than GoodGuys, but what exactly is it? 

GoodGuys Rod and Customs Association is a group with more than 70,000 members worldwide holding multiple events, including 3 amazing events in Texas at the Texas Motor Speedway. 

GG LMC Truck Spring Lone Star Nationals

LMC Trucks has partnered with GoodGuys to bring you racing, shows, vendors, and more featuring pre-1987 builds. 

Are you looking for a new car? This event will even feature a large For-Sale Corral and swap meet area where you can find everything you need.

GG Maguire’s All Star Get Together

A new event hitting Texas, Maguire’s would like you and all your muscle car friends together for racing, a track cruise, vendors, and much. 

A new event for 2021, American muscle of all years, and American powered hot rods are welcome, allowing you to check out classics and modern builds under one roof.

GG Summit Racing Lone Star Nationals

Bringing pre-1987 hot rods, muscle cars, customs, cars, and trucks to one place, Summit Racing is sure to bring a weekend of racing, family fun, vendors, and much more to this national event.

Hot Import Nights

Focusing on the import culture, also known as the tuner scene, Hot Import Nights (HIN) will bring food, music, art, parts, cars, and much more to the Dallas Market Center in 2021. This one-day event is sure to pull in every Nissan, Mazda, Toyotas, and more to one place. 

Fan of performance? It will be there. 

Do you want stance? Expect the lowest of low.

HIN events across the nation bring enthusiasts and builders under one roof with their must-attend events. 

Torres Empire Super Show

With a passion for ground draggin’ classics, chrome from bumper to bumper, and hoppers hitting full tilt, the Torres Empire Super Show is your lowrider culture must-see. 

From traditional Cutlass to mini trucks and more, you can expect heavy flake, airbrushing, and lines from some of the best artists in the country. 

Concours d'Elegance of Texas

Some days, you just want to put on some nice slacks, maybe that fancy hat, and walk through a quiet garden of the rarest and elegant cars to be made.

While many Concours shows don’t require a dress code, we all could use an excuse to look on point. 

You can expect cars from the late 1800s, models, and manufacturers you’ve never heard of, and cars you should most definitely be cautious as you admire their beauty. These cars will be judged on “purity” to the original build, down to every stitch and method the parts were painted. 

HotWheels Pro Tour Dallas

Most car enthusiasts out there started pushing small toys around a living room floor, and for many, their collections of dicasts still grow to this day. Yes, the toy sections are raided every day by guys and gals in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, and older chasing mini cars.

Ever wanted your car to be a HotWheel? 

The HotWheels Pro Tour does just that, explores the world for unique one-of-a-kind builds to turn into toys. This show will be packed with some of the coolest and craziest cars the country has to offer, with major builders being regulars. 

This is the perfect show for your loved ones of all ages. What better way for an old-timer to bond with his grandkids than over cars.

The Perfect Show

With so many amazing styles and builds tucked away in garages and shops across Texas, car shows are the perfect gathering of passion and community. 

Regardless if you’ve been passionate about hot rods for the last 70 years or you’re a young kid with your first set of wheels, car shows are about having a great time. While it’s great to hang out with the same guys, it’s fun to get out to different shows and experience something new. 

Car shows are about the details, from the paint to the upholstery, down to the rims and tires. Even you can get your hands on the market's top-of-the-line show parts with RAW Wheels and Tires. 

What makes Rent-A-Wheel different? 

Choose your vehicle’s exact make and model, and you will be presented with a massive list of high-end options to fit your build. At amazing prices, you’ll be sure to have the hottest kicks at the next show. 

Show quality parts aren’t cheap and for good reason. You want quality, right? 

If money’s a bit tight, but you just have to get those new shineys, consider a rent-to-own option that puts your wheels on today, and pays over time. You can expect free shipping, mounting, and balancing when using a RAW dealer. 

Sources:

https://www.rfidtires.com/how-many-cars-world.html 

https://thenewswheel.com/dos-donts-classic-car-cruises-show-etiquette/ 

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/concours-d-elegance.htm