17 years of car shows has given MyStarCollectorCar plenty of time to develop a game plan for these events.
Our main mission is gathering stories for our e-zine to provide interesting articles for our loyal readers, so we follow a routine at each show.
Jim Sutherland
Our planning stages begin during the winter months as we add shows for our annual online calendar and decide which events to attend when the car show season hits overdrive in our region. Some shows are no-brainers because they provide enough solid reasons for us to hit their events every year.
The best reason is ample access to interesting stories, while another may be location. For example, car shows held in retail parking lots are way down our list, but a quality vehicle story can even be found at these events. Generally speaking though, a parking lot surrounded by ugly buildings is just not that scenic for our photo shoots.
A good show is typically not limited to a particular make or model and offers a wider variety of interesting rides for us but, again, we have harvested great stories at shows limited to one car company’s finest from yesteryear.
It would also be fair to say we are drawn to interesting stories about the history of an entry at a car show. That history may involve the vehicle’s legacy in one family-or even with one owner in some cases. We want the connection between the current owner and his or her vehicle to be strong and permanent. In other words, we look right past every vehicle with a ‘For Sale‘ sign on its windshield and are not happy when we see a sign on a vintage ride we showcased in a MyStarCollectorCar article at some point in the past.
Speaking of the past, we also do not like repetition in our stories, so we try to avoid vehicles we have already covered over the years. The process gets a little cloudy after 17 years and requires us to be on our toes or take a deep dive into our massive archives to confirm whether it’s a new-to-us story. It is also complicated by the fact that one of us may have already written the article and it may appear to be new to the other guy.
The fact we are identical twins (Jim and Jerry Sutherland) complicates matters in this department because both of us seek out the same basic features behind a great car story and are attracted to interesting vehicles that may have already been covered by the other twin.
We have also ended up at the same vehicle at different times during a car show and learned to anticipate the owner’s confusion by cautioning him or her that we are identical twins and not just some weird clown with a camera and notebook who is currently losing his grip on reality.
This mistaken identity peculiarity of twinhood has been a part of our lives since Day One and we have learned to live with it.
We have learned to leave a business card with a car show entry vehicle if we are unable to connect with an owner.
Most owners do indeed contact us, but we prefer an in-person interview, especially if the vehicle’s hood is closed and we can’t get a shot because then we are obliged to rely on the owner to send engine pics. Not an easy task for us.
Nevertheless, the thrill of the hunt for great stories is the driving force behind our car show experiences and we look forward to another great year in ‘26.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
- CLICK HERE to Sign Up for the Newsletter
- CLICK HERE to Like us on Facebook
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Twitter
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Pinterest