The Weekly 3

On Saturday, we had our 10th Annual Car Show at Miles Through Time Automotive Museum. I opened the museum in 2017 with a car show and have done the same event every year since.

Putting on the show is stressful, expensive, and a lot of work, but it serves a couple of major purposes. The first is that it is a fundraiser for the museum that has compounding effects.

The other purpose is that it allows people that don’t have a vehicle on display in the museum to come be a part of the museum for a day. All kinds of cars, trucks, and motorcycles show up.

The point of our annual show has never been about being judged and trophies. It’s about sharing what you’re into, what you’re working on, even what you bought. It doesn’t matter.

We get everyone together and give them a platform to check out each other’s interests and talk to people. So many shows get divided by individual interests, and the complaints start rolling in.

Cars are too new, too old, too foreign, too basic, etc., and rather than talk to someone who brought something different, they are a lot of times ignored or shunned. I see it all the time.

There is a place for specialty shows. Concours shows, AACA shows, shows structured with judges that can make fair, educated decisions.

Outside these types of shows, predominantly local car shows, they’re just fundraising events, usually for charity. Even if it is “judged,” I can almost guarantee that the judges are just picking whatever they like. The reality is, though, you can’t blame them.

There is no fair way to judge these kinds of shows; they are just going to pick what they think is cool.  They aren’t going to get into any backstories, and a survivor car is probably not going to present as nicely as a car that has had $100k dumped into it.

There is no great solution to this conundrum. There are always going to be people who want to win, even if it is just a piece of paper printed at someone’s home saying they were in the Top 10 at a local church show, and if they don’t, they will be mad.

My people are the ones who go to shows because they want to be around other people who also like cars, trucks, and motorcycles. They want to see what people bring out and share what they have. The bonus is that it also helps charity.

Whether it’s a show to raise funds for a specific family in need, a church, a charity, or a museum, the proceeds raised help make a difference, and you have to spend a few hours having a good time.

Of course, if the local show is put on by a local promoter and all the proceeds go into their pocket, you may look at it a little differently. However, if you remove the “trophy” aspect from any show, you can just focus on having a good time.

The best “trophy” can be measured by how many people come up and talk to you about how awesome your ride is. Genuine admiration trumps plastic tchotchkes.*

*(A tchotchke (pronounced chäCH-kə) is a small, decorative item or trinket that has little to no practical value)

I discovered another hidden museum you can visit with an appointment. The Lampasas Auto Company Museum is mostly Ford, but there are some other really cool cars like a Ferrari Dino prototype.

Jack Frost Auto Museum is another one you can visit with an appointment; although new for 2026, they do have a small window of open hours on Tuesdays. The museum is also connected to a restoration shop, and they also sell vehicles, but the museum is separate.

Thinking outside the box of traditional “car museums,” the Federal Armored Museum is a cool place you can visit to see a bunch of armored vehicles.  Chances are you haven’t had many opportunities to see this kind of vehicle up close, but you can at this museum.

Now that my next annual show is a year from now, I should be able to get back on the road and start retrieving some vehicle donations from all over the country. This will give me some opportunities to visit more of these museums myself.

You can do the same. You use the MAP to find out where the closest museums are to you, no matter where you are, and find a way to tack on a museum visit while you’re out doing other things.

If you want to see more, visit the Weekly 3.

Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum

 Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum

P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.