Every day it feels like there are more people trying to remind us that we’re different than there are trying to remind us that, deep down, we probably have more in common than we are usually allowed to acknowledge. This cuts both ways as sometimes the differences are important to us. The differences have meaning.
The challenge of modern life is recognizing those differences while not allowing them to overwhelm our shared sense of humanity. Well, the greatest challenge of modern life is recognizing a shared sense of humanity, other challenges include knowing whether or not to get the insurance plan for your phone and picking the correct seat on an airplane that’s not too close to the bathroom but not too far from the front door.
I mention all of this because this last weekend was the great Galpin Car Show and it’s one of the coolest events I’ve been a part of as a car geek. This whole year has been kind of amazing as I’ve had the chance to attend the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England and Monterey Car Week in Central California. I’ve managed to see more of my dream cars this year than I probably saw in the first two decades of my life.
More importantly, I’ve met an incredibly diverse group of car enthusiasts that include NASCAR heads from England and English car enthusiasts from North Carolina. People who have dedicated some portion of the limited time we get on this planet to not only preserving cars but to sharing them with other people.
I don’t want this to just be empty platitudes. There’s a lot that sucks about being alive in 2024 even in a place as generally safe and prosperous as the United States. I think a lot of us are wondering how it’s possible that family members and neighbors can say things that might seem anathematic to what we were raised to believe about our country.
Is there a way back from this? I have no clue. I’ll just say that car culture, to me, seems to maybe have one small answer. Goodwood was great, but it was mostly for motorsports fans. Monterey has a wild mix of cars over the course of the week, but they’re largely divided into different geographies and different days.
The Galpin Car Show was the largest and most diverse car show I think I’ve ever attended. From people into Model Ts to fans of the latest hypercar, there weren’t just a ton of cars, there were representatives of almost every kind of automotive appreication. You’ll sometimes see a range of vehicles at a Sunday morning car show and, at times, it can Balkanize a bit if there are just a few distinct groups.
I’m not sure what happened on Sunday, but there were so many cars from so many distinct car subcultures that it turned into this massive lovefest. The muscleheads were checking out the microcars, the Euro car snobs were digging on the lowriders, and pretty much everyone was losing it for the out-of-this-world hot rod collection.
There wasn’t much talk of politics. There was just openness and curiosity. It wasn’t that people suddenly changed their preferences or even their biases, it’s just that everyone was open to understanding why someone loves a perfectly preserved Lincoln or how they made a custom firetruck for their dog.
It reminded me that, while we all have our things, it’s really just one big car culture. That if you do it right, it’s just a safe space to open the sunroof of your mind and let a little sunshine in.
We’ll have another post with some video talking about more of the great cars we saw this weekend, but I wanted to share some photos from our own Griffin Riley that give you a sense of just how diverse this show was in every way.
These photos focus a little more on the people than the cars, which I find beautiful. A car show without people’s just a parking lot.
 
 
All photos: Griffin Riley for The Autopian
The car events of my early adulthood were very structured and homogenized. Almost exclusively American cars, cut off anything newer than the muscle car era. Derision of anything newer if it was brought up at all.
I was at Galpin this year, first time. Met Matt, Jason, David and Mercedes. While I got a bit overwhelmed when the crowd really started showing in numbers, the show itself basically was the car show I always wanted. You see the pictures, and even that doesn’t necessarily do it justice.
What is that in the picture just above the Uncertain T?
Cool to see the Uncertain T out and about again.
Agreed. It can be easy to lose sight of this ideal if all you do is look at comments on social media. I will never understand the impulse to anonymously tear strangers down via the internet for no other reason than a difference of valid opinions.
Personally, the older I get, the more I realize how important it is not to ‘yuck other people’s yum’, so long as their yum isn’t hurting or unduly inconveniencing anyone (or is at least is something done in good faith, and not just trolling). Just because something isn’t for *you* doesn’t mean it doesn’t work for someone else. The differences within our broader similarities are the spice of life. If everyone liked exactly the same shit, well, where’s the fun in that? Life would be awfully boring.
God bless you, Matt. We all need this reminder from time to time.
PS: the show looked amazing!
Amen, Matt. Give us some advance warning about timing for next year’s show … I’d love to find a way to come out. Looks like a blast.
Amen and amen.
One of the coolest interactions I’ve ever seen was at an impromptu “show and shine” – an older boomer dude with a gorgeous, pristine Studebaker Hawk, proudly showing it off to a 20-something backwards-behatted FNF tuner bro, who was all in, having had no idea that anything that awesome was being made in America all the way back in the 1960s.
Then Tuner Bro gave Boomer Dad the same kind of walk-around on his candy-colored WRX, pointing out and explaining the modifications he had made, and Boomer Dad was just as floored getting an explanation of what people are doing to cars these days.
By the time they shook hands and parted, America was a better place to live.
Beautiful post.
Perfect.
I have to say, I’ve seen way more of this kind of positive interaction than negative ones.
I try like hell to be inclusive, and would say the response is 95% positive. At C&C, I’ll walk up to someone, compliment them on their lift or lowering, then ask how they got the pinion angle right or how they managed to stuff that much tire under there. That generally gets a positive conversation going.
I failed with what I’ll call The Viper Boys, but I don’t feel they are there to be part of the broader community, but rather to show off. I did try, but these guys with their body kits & massive wings covered in instagram & YouTube stickers didn’t seem interested in talking to a guy who showed up in an old Subaru. I got way more out of a conversation with a middle-aged lady who brought her kids in an Elantra N.
The only time I have ever, ever followed someone’s IG from their back windshield to tell them what I thought of their ride? The jackass I get stuck behind sometimes on my commute home, who has the shittiest low-rider S10 in the entire state of Florida (which is SAYING SOMETHING), the tailgate of which has been removed and replaced by a giant bank of subwoofers pointed directly at the car behind, playing the loudest and shittiest hip hop you ever heard – precisely the experience I’m hoping for when I bolt out of the office at quitting time. What a perfect way to relax on the drive home. Whenever I get stuck behind this asshole, I can literally see the pain of my fellow drivers on their faces around me – eyerolls, disgusted head shakes, looking down and pinching the bridge of your nose, the body language of being absolutely done with this.
I found the “best” photo on his page and left a comment informing him that literally the entire city hates his truck because of this “modification,” and he needs to stop doing that shit right now before he gets himself into a fistfight he will not win. Once his fellow Florida Man has had it and goes after him, there will be another two dozen people rochambeau-ing to see who gets to hit him first, who has to hold him and wait their turn, and the top prize: who gets to stuff a rag in the gas tank filler neck and light it.
I’ve never had subwoofers pointed at me, but have idly dreamed of some sort of electromagnetic cannon I could point at that kind of offender which would overpower their head unit and play, say, polka.
Totally agreed. Which is why I do get pretty dismayed when people bring politics into shows, which I’ve seen more of than I would like.
I live right by Woodward Ave, which many of you know is the site of the “Woodward Dream Cruise”. Up until about 2016, the only complaint I ever really had was that it was impossible to cruise the cruise, because it was the world’s longest traffic jam. It was a celebration of all things automotive. Anything automotive was welcome to the party.
Around 2016, it took a turn. It has become common for people to festoon their bro-dozers and other cars with trump flags, etc., and parade around. So here’s the thing: this is supposed to be a party to celebrate the automobile. The only disagreements I would expect at such an event are things like Ford vs. Chevy, Totem Pole vs. Teds (if you are of that age), etc. Good natured and celebratory.
Bringing politics to a car show is like proposing to your significant other in the middle of someone else’s wedding…
I won’t ever go back to King of the Hammers for the same reason.
Are we going to get an episode of “Jason Drives” with the Bathtub Buggy?
That’s exactly what I posted on which car should David use for his wedding, just trade Beau off for “Elise” and he’s set to go with Jason driving. That’d be the most unique car ever for a wedding!
Man, I have got to get back out there for that next year.
When you have all these high quality builds surrounding you that are the result of years of hard work, applied knowledge, research, etc, and showcase individuality, it is easy to sing Kumbaya.
The rest of the world lumps us all together, and the majority of the “enthusiast” vehicles I see on a daily basis are either modded to be anti-social, or just conspicuous consumption. Pop and bang BMWs that sound like a gunfight from over a mile out, fart can econoboxes that try to give you hearing damage, lifted rubber band tire trucks that no longer do truck stuff… all of these owners are people I would never want to be associated with by the wider public.
If your lifted truck looks like a dog that you can’t keep out of a muddy puddle, I’m all in.
If your lifted truck looks like a SEMA build that has never left the pavement, that you would fight someone for driving it through the dirt, I probably have even less use for you than I have for your stupid truck.
What about the lifted trucks that look like your dog trying to take a dump? 🙂
After much introspection and deliberation I can confirm that just about every car I can agree with as culture expanding and something I can find common ground with. However I really really really struggle with stanced or Carolina squatted vehicles. They just seem to be too dangerous to be street legal. Maybe as a new form of demolition derby vehicle or YouTube restoration series. Otherwise I just can’t grasp why you would want them. Could just be me though.
What’s dangerous about stance?
Well, I object to cars that are lowered without correcting geometry to the point that less than half of the tire is actually making contact with the pavement. I’ve seen plenty (less these days: there’s been a crack down around here) of severely lowered cars that the driver has a tough time controlling. Like a kid who had heated the springs to drop it on the bump stops. I started by giving props for sporting a Citation, then told him I had been impressed with one belonging to a friend. After a few minutes, he admitted that it couldn’t be aligned in that state and was unstable at speed.
I used to see a slammed, poked, and stretched Honda whose rear tires looked to be at a 15° or more angle, and would dart around if he tromped on the brakes. I do object to cars I think can’t be easily controlled if they’re going to drive in public. I have family here who also drive these streets
I guess 1/5 of the contact patch of the tire is touching the ground. Stress on suspension components that could cause breakage. Setting off airbags when loading them on trailers to name a few.
Squat trucks are literally the only auto trend that makes me break into uncontrollable laughter every time I see one. I’m not making that up. It is literally a reflexive response.
There are trends I have liked, and there are trends I have disliked, but squat trucks are the only one in my half century life that instantly make me bust out laughing. I can’t help it.
It is certainly ridiculous that is for sure.
If you care about cars, in any shape or form, you’re in. In other words, if you’re not a car agnostic/ambivalent person, you’re one of us.
Unless you have recently acquired a blue Diablo replica, in which case may the lord have mercy on your poor soul.
Come on people now
Call on your brothers
Everybody get together
Gotta a love one another’s ride now
Thanks, great photos from Griffin. I always wanted to make a bumper sticker that reads
“After the aliens show up we’ll all just be HUMANS”. (Earthlings)
Cars help over a billion of us human beings get around every day. Car culture helps remind us that we don’t have to think of cars as just appliances; they can also be an expression of individuality, creativity, and fun. When that’s the goal, that’s car culture, and what makes it a Good Thing.
Which pretty much automatically excludes the show-offs using cars just to be obnoxious and force their way into the center of attention.
Can’t do much about the grayface sourpusses who just abjectly hate on any car that isn’t showroom-stock; that’s a them problem.
For the rest of the world, car culture in all its forms can put a smile on a lot of people’s faces, and needs to be cherished.
I’m with you to a point. While I’ll probably never own one, I kind of unironically love donks. Lowriders aren’t really my thing, but I can still appreciate the incredible artistry that goes into many of them.
But I draw the line at people who are actively hazardous to those around them. Coal rollers and people who drive stanced cars in public on dangerously installed wheels and tires can bite me.
Honestly, that’s kind of my philosophy on life. If what you’re doing doesn’t hurt anyone (including yourself), then by all means have at it. Want to dress up as a giant squirrel and swing a foam sword at a bunch of other people dressed up as various animals (to pick out a couple of generally mocked demographics of enthusiasts)? Sure, why not. Are you constantly at your local library submitting formal requests that they remove books for “obscenity” or whatever BS reason? Fuck off. You don’t get to tell someone that their lifestyle is obscene.
Two specific examples, but I find that this test is very helpful in determining whether I just don’t like something or if it’s actually bad. Often they’re not the same thing.
I contend that the two examples you gave are not “Car Culture” just anti-social behavior in a car. I’d say the same thing about street takeovers, it’s the same behavior you saw in 60’s movies when greasers flooded the soda shop and made scene.
Coal rolling maybe, but I would argue stance is a part of car culture, just one that should be exclusive to trailer queens since those cars should not be driven.
And the thing is that as soon as you start defining what activities in a car are and are not “car culture”, you’re gatekeeping. I think my argument would be that all of these things are part of car culture, but not all are equally valid. The stupid teenagers who blast through a busy pedestrian area in their lifted deleted diesel are a part of car culture whether we like it or not. That doesn’t mean I have to embrace that part of it though.
I understand the reluctance to gatekeep but I think legality and safety are decent places for gates.
Legality is by its intended function a gate.
You would think, but it seems there is some confusion
I welcome the chance to hang out with greasers, soda shop flooders, scene makers, coal rollers, stancers, low riders, fancy Italian car owners, Anglophiles and American muscle car owners to name a few supposed automotive counter culturists.
Who is to say that who among the car culturists is anti-social. For example, the coal rollers, ironically may be saving the environment because their particulates are reflecting the sun and cooling the planet…
And the stancers? Unsafe? I haven’t a clue but I’d love to know what sort of CV joint, half shaft madness those guys employ to un-wobble their wheels.
I read an article – maybe it was here – about some fellow (DT?) who scoured the SEMA show looking for vehicles that were so jacked up they had to disconnect at least one of the driveshaft yokes converting monster trucks into docile two wheel drivers…The horror! Few of those vehicles would ever see a dirt road or any kind of road. So does that make the owners disingenuous or are they just really good automotive artists but challenged engineers? (Also, I’m getting excited to take my annual pilgrimage to the SEMA show where all sorts of anti-social vehicles and owners are present. Hoonigan anyone? Did anyone despise the late Ken Block and his drifting exploits?)
Maybe I wouldn’t like the coal rollers or Italian car owners as a group. I don’t know, but I’d welcome the chance to hang out with them at least for a few minutes of conversation. Maybe some of them would enjoy chatting with an EV owner and occasional British car restorer.
Who is to say that who among the car culturists is anti-social.
Pretty sure it’s society, I mean it’s right there on the tin..
I get the sentiment… but I don’t agree with the premise.
There is _not_ one car culture. We may share an interest in things with wheels… but I think it’s fairly easy to make appropriate moral judgements about how we express this interest.
Rolling coal? Nope. Brodozers? Nope. Street racing? Nope. (Tesla? Nope… but only because it enables Musk. I appreciate the engineering). Hooning? Nope.
As people we generally have more in common that not… but just like everything else in life… some car enthusiasts are just asses…
Just because you hate Elon Musk doesn’t mean that Tesla drivers can’t be true car enthusiasts. What an absurd thing to say.
That’s not what I said. Every group I mentioned is made up of “true car enthusiasts.” But it’s hardly “one culture.”
And I have no problem stating that buying a Tesla these days is difficult to morally justify. That wasn’t always the case.
I understand how awesome the show was, and I agree with everything said in the article. But I just can’t get past that headline, which is super wrong.
There is absolutely not one car culture. All of us true car enthusiasts are one band together, but I think the majority of people driving cool or flashy or modified or hopped up cars are not enthusiasts in the same way you or I am, and like cars not for the love of cars but for an outward conspicuous consumerism reason.
Not to gatekeep, but I’d put people who just bought a car to have an expensive car in a different camp from car enthusiasts. The same goes for rolling coal and street racing, which are different things using cars.
Exactly, there is car behavior and behavior in a car, maybe that’s a way to look at it.
Antisocial or dangerous behavior in a car isn’t an expression of car culture any more than robbing a bank is an expression of money management.
“Not to X” is always followed by a statement that does exactly X. I’m sure there’s a Law somewhere saying so. 😛
Sounds like you agree with me that a lot of ‘car guys’ are in a very different camp from us Autopians. But coal rolling, street racing, and showing off your flashy BMW are all cultural phenomena, centered on cars, so they’re car culture. Which is why I say that car culture is split into multiple camps and that car culture is certainly not one culture.
I will say, if you actually get to know them(I don’t think many of the goody two shoes here on the Autopian have), you’ll discover that most of the folks street racing or hopping up their diesel pickups are 100% grassroots gearheads through and through. You and I may not agree with the legality or morality of their actions, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are genuine enthusiasts.
If I start with common ground (we both like cars), I find I can often enjoy talking to someone whose actions I don’t agree with. It helps me to keep in mind that I did way stupid shit when young.
Had a long conversation with a guy at Advance Sunday: he’s a street racer, both cars are cat-deleted, and he’s on a restricted license. After talking mods, I mentioned the decade when I was always on restricted license, then the attitude change that having a kid prompted—and pointed him to a few of my favorite empty roads. And that I deleted my cat once: couldn’t stand the smell, and now pony up the cash if I need to do exhaust. No condemnation, just, ‘Yeah, I’ve been there’.
I plant seditious seeds where I can
You are so right about the car enthusiasm that people share, even among people who’s values differ. Car enthusiasm often reveals bonds between people of differing belief systems.
Long time ago I met this fellow who was restoring a TVR Griffith, a tiny sports car that looked like a tick about ready to pop, appropriately stuffed – some say ill advisedly – full of Ford V8. Anyway we hung out for about an hour and he showed me all the things he was doing to put the car back together. Seemed like a real nice fellow. Turned out to be a con man and serial killer of some repute.
I’ve always wondered if the enthusiast cars that people own reveal their true calling…For example, Jeremy Clarkson says all Jaguar owners are ne’er do wells, and I’ve owned several. Perhaps that’s why I got along so well with the killer.
This show is AMAZING! I cannot believe all the Galpin dealerships shut down for this show, it must cost a fortune to put this on. So grateful to go to this fantastic show every year.
I love diversity in a car show. I also love inclusion.
12 or 13 years ago, I remember one of my friends plasti-dipped his whole car black.
Then he put a bucket of sidewalk chalk next to it and let everyone just draw whatever they wanted all over the car. Remember to have fun in your own way, folks!
I went to the Portland Roadster Show in the late 00s one year, when rat rods were first showing up. One of the best was an awesome 30s Dodge pickup, whose 70-something owner was even more awesome. He cracked dad jokes with my friend and me while we admired his rig, which was a mix of bare metal, patina, black permanent marker graffiti, and various “adornments.” It was a hilarious thing to see behind a literal velvet rope on a convention center floor. As I leaned over to get a closer look at my favorite detail – a fake rubber pile of dog poop on the running board – he said, “Hey! Not so close! Ya might knock some of the dirt off!”
Good reminder to be kinder to each other. We all need to get along.
As something to bring to shows, I can agree, donks, stanced squatted, cool to show the work that’s done and the persons vision.
But when I see them daily driving and they either can’t go over speed bumps cause they’re too low, or can’t take a turn cause they’re too high, or blasting high beams to the sky at night, and my car has to pass inspection every year but somehow they’re able to skate by like that, it bugs me, save it for the show/track.
Nope, the stance-nation types with the stretched tires and the squatted truck dudes and I have nothing in common.
We live in the same town.
End of list.
Wow!