$2000 Challenge Concours Judging Breakdown - 2019 Edition, you asked for it

In reply to stafford1500 :

In an effort to improve for next year, could you go ahead and give me a break down of our car too?  # 6 (the black Jaaag)

Thanks in advance.

surfshibby07 said:

your feedback was awesome, this is whats i appreciates abouts you. 

are you *sure* that's what you appreciate about him?  side note slash minor win:  got tix for the whole family to see Letterkenny Live in March!

In reply to Indy-Guy :

WIll do

Round three

Greg_Smith #16, the purpl-ish miata received a concours average score of 11.17 (14.2 percentile). I scored the car a 10. My breakdown was as follows: Innovation - 3 of 10, Execution - 5 of 10, Presentation - 2 of 5. Your car was painted the chameleon/purple color and you used placards on the car to highlight areas of innovation, which is a great way to show them and give yourself reminders. The idea to call them out as "Cool" and "Not cool" was a subtle method that made us wonder what was going on in each area and needing to listen to the presentation to get the story. The concours pavillion can be a noisy place and the presentation was lost a little bit by not speaking loudly enough for all of us to hear well. The story of the car getting damage the week before the event and during the event weekend did help your execution by explaining the obvious issues with bodywork. My favorite detail was that the presentation was done completely by your son (I think this is your account not his) was a brave move, it will make him better for the experience even if it is not something he likes to do. If I recall correctly, last year you did most of the presentation and had him assist. Overall, I think you could increase you concours score by preparing to speak up (bring/borrow a microphone system, maybe) and showing more enthusiam for the project. Again, if I recall correctly this is your sons daily, so he must have some excitement for the car.

Indy-Guy #6, the black Jag XJR received a concours average score of 14.17 (62.5 percentile). I scored the car a 13. My breakdown was as follows: Innovation - 3 of 10, Execution - 6 of 10, Presentation - 4 of 5. The fact that you had your boys helping with the event after involving your daughter in the purchase of the car made for a good story. The car's graphics and the fact that you hand cut them helped for sure, along with the display of Grey Poupon on the rear seat table. My favorite detail was the electric exhaust cutouts, which you willingly tested for us, was entertaining too. Overall, I think you could increase you concours score by taking the time to test your paint repairs, to make sure they would stand up to your expectations before 'fixing' all of them. I know the cars history with fences from the build and you could have shown those as more of the story.

AngryCorvair is just angry he did not get to photo bomb anybodies presentation with the horns, or actually show up with his car ready to be JUDGED! Next year, hopefully!

I think Angry was weaned from the tit too early and is still bitter about it. 

I'll take a breakdown.

In reply to stafford1500 :

We really appreciate the feedback. I shared with Christopher & it will also go in his portfolio. 

The car is his (legally in my name as he is a minor, but just about every dollar spent on it has been his, the design & planning has been his, and this year (as he wasn't legal last year) he also did his own driving. (plus some pro driver help in the autocross)

I shared at the town hall after that I felt there were too many judges. With Christopher's laid back manner and soft-spoken presentation, it was hard to reach all the judges. You missed, for example, the vinyl work (that Demon Black color was vinyl, not paint!).

He really doesn't like public speaking. But it's an important life skill. Last year, we didn't really plan ahead for the Concours, so when he pulled back, I stepped in. This year, I made it clear this would be his show.

Again, really appreciate the behind the scenes info. 

In reply to stafford1500 :

Question - would repairing the vinylwork on the nose have been a better choice than telling the story? We were divided on that. one. 

Greg smith I would have left the nose as you did and make it a more cohesive portion of the presentation by highlighting the daily driver status.

The V8 kid I will get to yours after some family fun time today. I am glad you asked, as a typical front runner it may be helpful to others, but may make the competition tougher for you!!

In reply to stafford1500 :

Thank you for the breakdown of our score. I see exactly what you mean. We did a whole lot better than we did at the previous challenge with the AMC but we're still not quite there yet with our presentation skills.

Round four, here we go.

The V8 kid, #57 the Studebaker Lark with the Atlas swap received a concours average score of 20.83 (94.6 percentile, nearly top 5%). I scored the car a 20, the highest of the concours scores from the judges was a 25, but the lowest was a 16. My breakdown was as follows: Innovation - 8 of 10, Execution - 8 of 10, Presentation - 4 of 5. The car was obviously not very stock and the inclusion of the non-typical engine for the swap in an unusual car pushed the innovation up for me (there are always unseen hurdles). Your experience building fast cars is evident in the the way you prepared the car and talked us through the build. The purpose built nature of the car was evident and may have hurt the execution score a little, since the overall appearance was a little raw, even though you have had the car running for a while. My favorite detail was the fact that you found reproduction fiberglass front fenders for the car, the fact that they even exist is odd enough and then you got a set. Overall, I think you could increase you concours score by displaying some photos of the testing/tuning of the car (explain the highs and lows of the build) and heading toward a more finished outward appearance. I don't recall if you mentioned that you built your staging rev limiter over buying one during your presentation, or if I recall that from speaking with your father, but details like that are important to highlight. Additionally, I mentioned it in a nearlier post, but the nomenclature of the rev limiter (two-step box) caught me off-guard a little bit, until I figured out what the device was doing based on the discussion. It is difficult to step back and try to gloss over details of a build but if the audience doesn't know what your talking about it falls on deaf ears.

If anyone else is interested in a breakdown of their score from the concours, post up you car number and I will try to get my reply up in a timely fashion. As the separation from the event gets larger, my recollection of individual presentations gets more sketchy.

Later, Steve.

I'd love to have your thoughts on car #80. AMC spirit. Absolutely no rush.

In years past I was sort of mystified, but this year I think I got it (we'll see if I can keep it up).

Thanks, Robbie

In reply to stafford1500 :

Thanks for your feedback, I forwarded your note to all of the team and they are already working on ways to improve the presentation for next year.

In reply to stafford1500 :

Interesting breakdown. I appreciate that. I like the car the way it is, but I can understand why you would think it looks unfinished. To me the car is very much finished, but that may be because I like patina.

I love red drop of paint on the driver's door, and the rubber on the rear quarters from doing burnouts, and the fact that the car was obviously in an accident and half the car is a different shade of blue. To each their own I guess. 

The two step rev limiter stuff was on the Sunbird. To us drag racers, a two step is a pretty common phrase. I probably should have been more specific.

Next year's cars will be a lot more detailed. Look out!

#29 We would love a break down of our score, this was our first year and we were not sure what to expect. We would greatly appreciate the constructive criticism for next years judging!

#10 Volvo , Thought we parked the car in a good spot where everyone would have to walk by it and check it out but didnt realize the judging started there and wound up presenting second... pretty unprepared. I had planned on having a big screen tv in the trunk playing my BTCC races vhs tape, but logistics and wife prevented it. Not sure if that type of presentation woulda helped or not though, since this was the first time for us with the new way of the concourse.  -thanks Brian

PublixEnemyNumber1 and westsidetalon, I will post your breakdowns this afternoon. Something about work before fun.

Round five, two more victims. I mean inquisitive minds.

PublixEnemyNumber1 #29, the brown BMW (Purdue University entry) received a concours average score of 13.83 (58.9 percentile). I scored the car a 12, the lowest of the concours scores from the judges. My breakdown was as follows: Innovation - 4 of 10, Execution - 5 of 10, Presentation - 3 of 5. While your car was interesting, with the cleared rusted metal from a previous owner stripping the paint and leaving it to weather, the innovation score was below average. The car had extensive weight reduction through removal of interior and a removable harness bar, the rest of the car was left mostly unmodified. The paint and harness bar were my favorite details. Your presentation was not bad, but did not really stand out beyond the detail of the reason for the bodywork. I appreciate that this was your first time visiting the Challenge and truly hope you decide to attend in the future. Overall, I think you could increase you concours score by highlighting some of the performance advantages of the modifications you did make. A simple list of the major items will help draw the judges to look more closely at the areas of the car called out. Your car was the second car to present, and that could have included some leveling of the judges as we settled in to the process of comparing wildly varying builds. Again, I do hope you plan to attend in the future and make use of the skills you are learning in school to make the most of your extremely short three minutes.

westsidetalon #10, the BTCC liveried Volvo received a concours average score of 18 (83.9 percentile). I scored the car a 19, one of four from the judges. My breakdown was as follows: Innovation - 7 of 10, Execution - 9 of 10, Presentation - 3 of 5. The car was eye-catching and instantly recognizable as a BTCC tribute car. The execution score was increased by the clean interior that mirrored the clean exterior. The innovation score was not as high as some of the other engine swaps since it was a swap to another engine from the same manufacturer, but still looked very tidy. The story of searching out a white car to apply the livery to helped your score, as did the explanation that you had managed to fail the front shocks early in the dynamic competition, but still found plenty of speed. My favorite detail was the exterior/livery, I may have spent the better part of my college time watching BTCC and German Touring cars. I asked about a Walkinshaw wagon and you admitted you would have done that if the chance had come up. Overall, I think you could increase you concours score by explaining some of the difficulties in making the engine swap work, even something simple like adding a cylinder or two can make for some difficult work.

Anyone else???

Later, Steve.

In reply to stafford1500 :

Thanks appreciate your time and critique, hope I can improve it and bring it back!  - Brian

In reply to stafford1500 :

Thank you so much for the breakdown, we truly appreciate the input! We will take this into account and hopefully squeak out a few more points next year!