| Going to be very difficult to make comparisons. There are many different
ways of scoring show cars in the US. Many work on the 100 point scheme
but others don't. In fact the AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America -
which runs some of the most important shows) uses a different sytem. They
award each car a set number of points to start (say 300), and start
deducting points from there.
To add to the confusion, many people advertize cars as '100 point restorations'
that haven't been anywhere near a judging competition.
A true '100 point car' or a 'Hershey Junior/Senior First' is most likely better
than new. Over restorations are a way of life in the US show circut. The
reason is $$$. Having won such an award, the owner can set a much higher price
if he wants to sell. Such cars are almsot never driven more than a few yards,
live in covered trailers and heated garages.
The level of competition in true '100 point' events is fierce and often
vicious. I once saw an owner almost hit a judge who claimed something on his
car wasn't original...and the owner had bought the car new and never changed
the aledged non-original part! The words exchanged were not for delicate ears.
Then there are many, many other shows where the judging is a joke. I own two
cars that I have shown in the past; one is restored, the other an original,
one owner (me) that has not been restored. You should hear the mis-information
that some judges 'know' about both cars. It's a laugh to me, very sobering
if you are serious and have spent a lot of time and money on a restoration.
I've seen cars exactly like mine with incorrect engines (wrong year) not get
marked down but such things as gloss vs semi-gloss paint on the inside of the
engine compartment cause points off. (How do you tell gloss from semi-gloss?)
Last year I saw a XK140 Jag win a major show. The car was beautifully presented
but the owner claimed that it was origianl (something like 5k miles on it). He
had obviously spent a lot of money on the preparation. It was flawless....
except....it had a later model engine AND the interior had been redone AND
the car had been repainted. BUT he said it was original and the judges
believed him!
There are also shows where the public and/or entrants vote on what they like
best. Nothing to do with points or accuracy at all. (I prefer this system,
btw.)
The whole point of this is that the '100' point system is just about useless
for judging a car outside of the particular event it earned the rating. If
you don't know the venue, or weren't there, you can't really tell if the
car is better than new or maybe just a nice fix up.
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