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History rolls into town for vintage hotrod car show

Millions of people have a passion for cars. They especially love hotrods. Make them vintage hotrods and you’ve got a magic formula.

This is a fact that wasn’t lost on Gary Meadors, who recently staged his 25th annual Goodguys West Coast National Car Show at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, Calif. – this year featuring 3,500 mint condition classic vehicles that made the pilgrimage from across the United States.

The three-day car show, Aug. 26-28, was also highlighted by exhibition booths representing 300 manufacturers, the crowning of America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod, Builder’s Choice awards, live musical entertainment, and a Saturday night fireworks display.

Some of the vintage car owners were guests at The Rose Hotel and parked their prized hotrods (pictured on this page) in our secured garage.

The Goodguys’ car show has become quite a popular and abiding tradition.

As the Pleasanton Weekly reported, Meadors knew he was onto something special way back in 1987 when he launched the Goodguys West Coast Nationals at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds and 2,124 vintage hotrods showed up.

Twenty-five years later, Pleasanton, Calif.-based Goodguys employs a full-time staff of more than 30 people, produces 21 national events in 13 states, and has an association with 70,000 worldwide members. Its events attract more than 1 million visitors annually as well as more than 50,000 vintage automobiles.

But it’s the local show that Meadors considers his signature event, thanks to its venue at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds, featuring shade trees, smooth roads, lush lawns and air conditioned buildings.

Pleasanton city and business leaders are more than happy to host the Goodguys annual classic, in part because the event delivers an estimated financial impact to the local economy totaling $6.1 million, according to calculations from the Tri-Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Meadors used to promote hotrod shows for other associations before stepping out on his own, according to a report in the Pleasanton Weekly. That summer, he, his wife and their two teenage sons put all their resources and energy into shaping a national series of Goodguys’ auto shows.

Industry insiders and rival vintage car-show promoters bet against Meadors, saying his effort was doomed to failure. Not only did Meadors prove the cynics wrong, today he has removed himself from the organization’s day-to-day operations and handed the presidency to his youngest son Marc. That leaves the elder Meadors with plenty of time to cruise the nation in his own vintage hotrod.

In addition to its car shows, Goodguys also publishes a 200-page four-color monthly magazine and has an entire line of specialty merchandise.

If you missed this year’s car show, don’t miss the next. You can stay abreast of Goodguys upcoming local and national car shows by visiting this website.

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