Charlotte Auto Fair

J

Josh Horton

Two of my friend's and myself took our hearses to the Charlotte Auto Fair. My friend Cassandra talked to someone that was suppose to be over the Auto Fair months ago. He told her, if we could guarantee 10 hearses we could be there as a club. Well we couldn't get 10 hearses. Cassandra has a friend with a car club, he saved us 3 tickets for our hearses. That is the back story, to tell the rest of the story.
We meet up and got there about 7:30am. Got inside and rode around trying to find to where we were suppose to go. Finally got parked and wasn't parked 10 minutes and Cassandra said "We got to leave". We were escorted out, by golf carts, one in the first and one in the rear. She didn't tell us until we got back to her house why we were made to leave. She said some man said he was offended, because his wife died 3 days ago. I didn't hear anybody or I would have made sure someone was offended. We did nothing to offended anybody, we didn't have caskets in the back, no skulls. All our hearses that we had there were pretty much stock. We found out later that there was a 68 hearse painted like the ghostbuster car parked inside. Darrell the other hearse owner wrote an email to find out way we were made to leave, for no reason.
This is the first time I have ever been asked or made to leave any car show or cruise in.
 
I wonder if the wife had died in a car accident in her corvette if the show leaders would have asked all of the offensive corvette owners to leave..... I doubt it.
 
I would not have left and fought it. I was asked to leave one (and only one) car show years ago because some one was offended because they lost their son the year before. I told them I would not leave so they called the cops. The cops came and I told them the story and that I was offended by a car there because a good friend of mine died in one just like it. The officer told the car show organizer that if I had to leave that car would also have to leave to make it fare. Guess what they let me stay, and I even got a peoples choice award at th end of the day!! I guess more people were impressed than were offended!
Stick to your hobby, dont let them push you around because someone is offended, after all your car had nothing to do with that mans wifes death.
 
To paraphrase from an earlier thread...Anyone offended by a funeral coach is cordially invited to get a disposal quote from Waste Management,Inc.

I really don't understand the fuss.Why would funeral homes pay premium prices for premium custom-bodied coaches if the bereaved did not insist upon showing their love and respect by means of a first-class last ride? When I got into the driver's seat of my '73 S&S to take a test drive,I swear I could feel all that love and respect,and even if I did buy it for non-funeral purposes(it was to haul PA for my band) I made sure not to "goth it up".BTW I bought it on the spot.Here are a couple of current pics.
 

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I have never been asked to leave a show field for any professional car we have shown. But, if they tried to throw us off, they would have heard lots of polite arguments from me. My feelings are that if you pay to enter a show, unless it is only open to specific cars, you should stay. You pay, you stay, period. Professional cars have come a long way, due in no small part to the founding fathers of the PCS, to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude. To that end, we owe it to them to handle our protests respectfully and intelligently. Let's not undo the status we have in the old car hobby, by acting in a negative, or disrespectful mannere.
 
Josh, I'm sorry you were made to leave. That stinks.

Folks, if this happens to you, the best solution is NOT to argue with any bystanders or with show organizers. That will only escalate whatever bad feelings anyone has. It'll leave you branded as some kind of "troublemaker" and get nowhere, not to mention lowering the public opinion of professional cars and owners.

This can be best addressed administratively. And, as a Board member, hopefully it will.
 
I do believe a letter should be drafted. can you find out a name and address of either the president or contact person for the event and the locale news paper. both of whom the letter should be sent to. :twak: the Ida that not only were you asked to leave after being invited and paying. but being paraded off the field to. all because one member stated at they were offend by the type of car you brought to the event. will mustangs offend me my best friends girlfriend had one when they got married and she left him. I've hated mustangs and all mustang owners male of female ever since. get them mustangs off the show field now I say, including the one I brought

my wife died 3 days ago and a Hearse carried her to her grave. wounder if he would have rather a wheelbarrow done the task. then he could hate anything with one wheel instead of 4
 
My response.......

Would have been to walk away and leave the car right where it was parked. If the guys wife just died he ought to be home grieving, not at a car show. Then if they towed it I would file a lawsuit to embarrass the snot out of them. All without making a scene on the showfield, Steve is right about that.
 
Where we were parked you have to go though two fences. I have been to the Auto Fair many times and never been where we were. There are no vendors only car clubs. So the "offended", was suppose to be a "car person". I serious doubt he was.
I have seen many hearses at the Auto Fair, including Tony Stewart's hearse. As in another post there was a 65 combo there. Most people don't know what a combo is, so it would be called a hearse by the general public. Why were they not made to leave? I would have understood if we had made a scene, but we didn't.
 
Darrell went to a cruise in Sat morning. He said couple of people said they saw us at the Auto Fair. They saw we were made to leave.
We went to a cruise in Sun at the Tilted Kilt in Charlotte sponsored by a Corvette club. We parked at the side, because they were only a few cars inside the roped off area. We didn't get parked and they told us the pull our hearses into the roped off area. We told them about the Auto Fair and they we are always welcome at their shows. Even invited us to a show at the Zmax dragway. It's owned by and beside the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Also the car club we were suppose to be with at the Auto Fair, invited our hearse club to go with them to the Run to the Sun at Myrtle Beach in March. There are over a 1,000 cars at the show every year. :respect:
 
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