Charlotte AutoFair By Hornets Nest Region AACA — Local services in Charlotte

The 2014 Charlotte AutoFair is a shining example of “the whole is greater than the sum of its (thousands of) parts”...literally and figuratively! The classic car marketplace was alive and thriving at the AutoFair, and the entire venue popped with excitement for classic car enthusiasts and collectors. From the GTO camp (Walt Hollifield’s a walking encyclopedia and was chosen to preserve Elvis Presley’s Stutz Blackhawk III, the last car Elvis drove before his death) ... to the RK Motors exotic Mercedes display, along with hundreds of classic cars ... to Tom Cotter and his “Fifty Shades of Rust” book signing, this year’s event was definitely supercharged and in overdrive! Of all the exotics displayed, my favorite had to be the one-off 1995 $3.4M Mercedes C-1000…as in 1,000HP and 268MPH.

And I learned a lot about the collaboration between Nationwide Insurance and Hagerty Classic Car Insurance, which partnership I wished had been around when I restored my 1980 Porsche Weissach (drop-dead gorgeous). Nationwide/Hagerty now offer coverage to restoration buffs while the project is underway in their own home garages! This is definitely a shift up and to the right in classic car coverage.

Clearly, from all the folks I saw enjoying the time of their lives, I’ll remember this year’s Charlotte AutoFair as Charlotte Motor Speedway’s...

The place to be: Charlotte's AutoFair Fall Ball . . . more fun than a Meet! More fun than the State Fair! With so many vendors I found there was nothing I wanted that wasn't on display. I probably bought 50 cars in my head; could've done double that, but I have a small head . . . .

I've always enjoyed Car Clubs' displays and the grouping of their famous and not-so-famous hot rods symbolizing the camaraderie of their members. I'm definitely a pushover for customs and good pipes.

The venue at the Charlotte Motor Speedway shows so cool; it is almost like one can hear the racing echos when there at the festival, though no race is going on. Must be the reverberations that never leave? Besides the fun is in North Carolina, which has got to be one of the top ten best states ever. Note to self: spend more time in North Carolina.

Next time, I'll skip a few meals before hand so I can eat more Best-Food Hall of Fame nominee, Big Hog Cheddar Dogs; it is a sure heart-stopper. Then I'll work out more so I can walk further and miss less; finally I'll bring more dough . . . gotta...

Love coming to autofair twice a year and bringing out the car but there needs to be more. The vendors are the same vendors year after year. Bring out new, bigger names or sponsors, put more cars inside the track instead of grand stand parking or worse outside the track and push the vendors back. There needs to be more interactive things to do. Instead of like last April with Elvis impersonators get real bands and performers lined up for concerts. Have something for the cars to do besides just sitting there looking pretty. There are some guys who would like to run theirs on Dyno's, the track, etc. Decreasing of the food prices would be GREAT! $27 for breakfast from BoJ's for 2 people hurts. When you're already getting up extremely early to get your car ready and meet your club there's not much time to stop in (let alone something open) at 4 or 5am for breakfast so eating inside is you're only...