<VV> Survivor cars, beaters, and...

[Vairtec Corporation]

The topic interests me.

At any car show, should there be a class offered for

"Survivor" cars, cars that remain essentially in their original state 
and, while not perfect are well-preserved?

"Daily Drivers," which could be anything -- junk, nice, or damn nice?

"Beaters," cars that exist for no purpose other than transportation?


Regarding "survivors," I see the appeal.  Survivors should not be simply 
any unrestored car, but cars that have survived in their original state 
and in flawed but generally nice condition.

"Daily Driver" is, I think, too catch-all a category.  You could be 
driving a near-show car daily, or a junker daily.

And "Beaters," well, at a car show they turn me off.  I have been to 
some car shows where one or more entrant has a rolling piece of crap but 
is proud of the fact that it is still a running driving car.  I'm sorry, 
but at the core of the hobby is the preservation of the vehicles, and 
preservation mean more than making it run while the cosmetics rot away.


Now, persons with long memories will remember that I once owned the 
Corvair that recorded the lowest score ever in a CORSA Convention 
Concours.  Was it inappropriate for me to enter that car -- a 
ratty-looking Greenbrier that I had driven coast-to-coast for the 
Convention -- in the Concours?  Perhaps.  At the time there was no "car 
display" event, and I wanted to show off my having made the trip.  In my 
defense I later restored that van and showed it at a subsequent Convention.


But for there to be any classes for "survivors" et al there needs to be 
a set of standards that guide eligibility, just as classification rules 
determine the appropriate classes for fully-restored cars.  So:  Should 
there be such classes?  If so, what should the standards be?


--Bob Marlow