It was originally an American idea to host a gathering of cars from the local area, and serve their owners with coffee from various independent shops or trailers. The trend grew across the globe, and suddenly, you'll probably be able to find one near you.
As a (now quite distant) member of Lincs Auto Club, we love to host C&C meets - usually at Seven Districts Coffee on Market Rasen Road. It's a lovely, quiet location and the refreshments are possibly the best in the county. On top of the caffeine, you also get the chance to draw your eyes over some wonderfully eclectic machines.
In the last one I attended, you could see anything from a Renault 4 to a Porsche GT3 RS. An Alfaholics-tuned Giulia GT Junior even showed up a bit later on, so whenever you go, you're always bound to be in for a treat.
I also attended Collecting Cars' coffee meet at Silverstone the other week, and was staggered at the attendees. Anything from Testarossas, obscurely rare 911s, Astons, and a vast array of new Lamborghinis - it felt like a premium show. And the best part? You don't usually spend a penny to get into these meets, and whatever you drive, you're always welcome!
Formal car shows on the other hand, are getting increasingly expensive, and in recent cases, the quality of them is dwindling. Let me ask you this, you have the chance to see a Humber Sceptre, a Lamborghini Murcielago, and a Porsche 993 Turbo all in the same space: would you rather stand outside in the sun, a coffee in hand, and insightfully speaking to the owners for free, or would you like to pay £30 to see the same cars indoors under poor lighting - often with crowds to deal with? I think that example speaks for itself.
The recent NEC Classic Motorshow and Race Retro Events are prime examples. £30 later, and you quickly find that a lot of the car clubs have been priced out of organising their own stand, leaving the space for promotional cleaning product companies to set up stall instead. At Race Retro in particular, it was a bitterly disappointing display; what pitches itself as the no.1 historic motorsport event in Europe was nothing more than about 10 cars in 2 halls, and the majority of the show being companies promoting lip balm and sponges. Before you ask about the Silverstone Auctions, you had to pay an additional £10 to enter that part - how the hell is a paying customer supposed to not feel a little ripped off?
The NEC has become less attractive to special cars over the years. I've been going for 10 years and I rather hoped that after the pandemic in 2022, it would be nice to return. But it seems the Ferrari 250 GTOs and Pagani Zondas have just... disappeared. I mean, who can blame the clubs when the cars are at constant risk of being scratched by a show goer's coat zip every 30 seconds - why would they want to pay an extortionate amount for that? At cars & coffee meets, people tend to be a lot more respectful to others' property. There's a different type of crowd that goes to each event: shows are for the general public. Coffee meets? They're for petrolheads; people who are committed to cleaning their car the day before and waking up early to thunder down country lanes to meet like-minded people. It's a wonderful, stress-free atmosphere.
As for new car shows like Geneva or Detroit? Who needs them? Manufacturers end up spending millions to get a stand with a decreasing amount of attendees going. If anyone is smart enough in the motoring press offices, they would detect that money and customers are at cars & coffee events, and it would be worth taking a line-up of products and just taking a corner of a countryside car park there instead. The PR budgets would only extend to petrol and staff wages. The internet is so powerful nowadays, that online launches are undoubtedly the way forward.
I do hope that show organisers realise that we are living in a changing society of car enthusiasts. With so many free cars & coffee events to go to, spending a pocketful of cash has to be worth it! The only event that's really surviving in the UK has to be the Goodwood Festival of Speed - and I pray that the quality and exhibits doesn't dwindle like everywhere else.
For now though, turning up to a picturesque café with a steaming latte, whilst talking to genuine people is a lot more appealing. Much more appealing than being stopped by too many promotional stands and feeling like you're going through a checkpoint every time you shuffle between crowded halls.