America’s Most Beautiful Roadster

Unless you’ve been hiding under a 24″ billet wheel somewhere, you’ve most likey heard that the Grand National Roadster Show went down this past weekend. Most reports have labeled it as a great show with some killer inventory of all types. Pictures certainly support that (Dig them here, here, here, etc…). There has, however, been an incredible amount of disappointment over the lucky car selected to wear the title of “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster.”

The reasons for that disappointment are numerous, dramatic, and most of all – repetitious. It seems like every year the guys at the GNRS pick a really smooth beige or red car, hand over the trophy, and call it beautiful. And every year, we have the same debate over judging techniques, style, politics, traditional vs. contemporary, etc… Frankly, I’m tired of it from both sides and feel as though it’s time to take some advice a friend once gave me.

“I don’t ‘get tired’ of anything. Instead, I change what makes me tired.”

I figure it’s about time to test that advice out and start the changing. Now, I passed this quote along to a couple of buddies through email and most of them responded by asking me when and where I was gonna hold my indoor roadster show. While that’s an interesting proposition, I have to admit something here – Indoor car shows just aren’t my thing and the thought of HAVING to be cooped up at one for two days straight makes me nauseous. Plus, we already have a Grand National Roadster Show and the history that comes with it. Why throw that away?

Instead, I propose we create and hand out our own award to the entry that we feel actually meets the standards of the cars that made this show “grand” to begin with. There will be no connection with the promoters, no politics, no check sheets, and no bull shit. We will be mavericks with a trophy and a purpose and the winner will be the most beautiful damn roadster in America.

The process is simple. Before the show, we will pick a panel of ten (give or take) guys that share our passion for history, craftsmanship, style, and thought. Each will be given a blank sheet of paper to write the name of the car that they feel most deserves the title. On Saturday night, we will then allow the H.A.M.B. to vote on the cars which the panelist have nominated. On Sunday, the award will be presented shortly before we run like hell for the border.

Mavericks I tell ya…

Starting next year, The Jalopy Journal will no longer recognize the promoter’s pick as America’s Most Beautiful roadster. Instead, we will recognize our own.