88 Shark

All right... I was at the NJ state fair Last night, for thier classic car night. I was the only 928 there, (and I think the only Porsche in general). About 20 minutes after I got there, the guy next to me said " boy, I am only here for 20 minutes and I already have greasy fingerprints all over my car" . I said get used to it, people at this fair have no "car show Etiquit". Just after I said that A pack of 11 or 12 year old kids, I think on an outing from a camp, with ONE chaperone, walked by..... They all loved my car, and proceeded to touch every inch of it, I said ok, I can wipe the prints off... about 10 minutes later one of the kids decided to SIT on the hood and talk to his friend!! That was all I could take, and proceeded to give them a lecture on car show etiquit. That is the worst I have seen at any car show, and I have participated in a bunch. Anyone else have a similar problems at car shows with thier car.

s-carsgo

WOW... I've never seen that sort of thing happen. In fact at most of the shows I have been to people don't even touch the cars and parents are constantly reminding their kids not to touch.

The only time I saw someone touch my car was at a hot rod kind of show... perhaps etiquette does not apply there as it does as the German shows I have gone to.

AO

That's New Jersey for you!







Seriously, I don't think you overreacted. Next time cary a baseball bat. The kids won't even breathe on your car!

sharkmeister85

I'm gonna guess its the "state fair" thing. I would think a lot of people are going there for reasons other than to see the cars on display (and could care less about them). These are not "car" people who love and appreciate beautifully maintained and preserved cars. Therefore, they do not give the "respect" we and other affecionados would and expect. At events that are specifically billed as concours or car "shows" the people attending are far more likely to be there for the cars and treat them with the proper respect.
Glenn

docmirror

A State fair.
B N'Joisey.

pewter82

I've seen plenty of "Please do not touch" signs at car shows...but your right kids and some adults are oblivious to the work that is involved with getting a car ready for show.

JEC_31

At a little parking-lot show, I once saw a hot rod with an industrial safety sticker showing fingers being cut off.

Even the anti-bling primer-and-rust rat rods with Indian-blanket interiors don't put up with TOO much touching.

Fingerprints - no big deal.

But sitting on a car? No way, not ever ever ever never. Most cars - your life is forfeit.

Alan

Are you overreacting? - heck no !

If anyone want to sit on my car they had better ask first - be female, under 150lbs, hot! and preferrably naked (just so they don't damage the paint you understand!)...

So far no takers... maybe thats the sign you need on the hood though...

Alan

Roger

Unfortunately, that's normal. My neighbor owns a couple of cobra replicas along with a fully restored 57 t-bird. That's his biggest fear about going to these shows. He goes to meet other enthusiasts (who respect the work that goes into preparing a car) but everyone else just doesn't get it.

His his biggest fears include:

Person with a purse
Person with a stroller
Children
Person with a camera

Roger
87s4

Mike Frye

Excuse me all you New Joisey bashers, but this is not indicative of typical New Joisey rudeness/lack of consideration.

That manifests itself almost exclusively on the roads , as in: 'Hey this Parkway is kind of a nice drive, whoops a toll... Seventy cents! I just paid a quarter to get on this friggin' road! What the hell. Hey that guy just cut me off and then flipped ME the bird, what's up with that?!

Hey, what are those kids doing on that bridge? WHOA, is that a rock they just tossed in front of me? Holy Crap! They broke that ladie's windshield. Let's get outa here!'


No, I think Glenn nailed it with the 'State Fair' thing. I go to a local car show in Point Pleasant along the main street. Many cars have signs asking people to 'please don't touch', but people know and appreciate it if that's what they're there for. They keep their kids and dogs and strollers away from what I've seen.

You're definitely not out of line and I would recommend putting up signs next time you go to a combination car show/anything else.

rixter

at Pcar events I generally don't worry too much, all other shows I stay VERY close to my car
if I ever caught someone trying to sit on the fender they'd probably have a very sore a$$

88 Shark

I had "do not touch" signs made for my last car, but, they went with the car when I sold it. So, I do need new ones. Every time I relive that moment in my mind I still get pissed. I have been to many car shows in NJ, generally they are very considerate of the cars. I have no Idea where these kids were from, but, I think I got through to them, they were pretty much running away looking over thier shoulder when I was done "talking" AT them. I don't know waht I would have done if the kid actually put a dent in the hood!!

VehiGAZ

It's has nothing to do with NJ, and nothing to do with state fairs - it's KIDS these days! They have no respect for anything! When I was their age...

Heh-heh... facetiousness aside, I'm serious. I brought my sharky to my friend's microbrewery for one of their "open house" nights, and his kids leaned right up against it in about 5 seconds. (I actually suspected that he put them up to it to get a rise out of me, but I think they were operating on their own).

Steal some velvet ropes from the movie theater and put those around your car next time.

Sopko

This reminds me of a story when a neighbor's kid decided to dump mounds of sand on the hood of my father's 924 to create a race track for his Hotwheels. I can still hear the pitch of my mother's voice when she discovered the kid sitting on the hood playing with his cars. The kid was lucky my mother stumbled upon him and not my father! Yes, my father had the hood repainted and no the neighbor did not offer to help pay for it.

Ed Scherer

This reminded me of another rather astonishing incident at SITM 2003. See DR's zoomed-in view (and his related comments) of a photo I took there.