This year represented the 19th edition of the Goodguys PPG Nationals car show in Columbus, Ohio. Rapidly becoming one of the summer’s biggest car shows, this one was bittersweet as the first time the major event was held since the death of Goodguys’ founder Gary Meadors. Meadors founded Goodguys in 1983 in Northern California then branched out to stage a national series of hot rod and custom car events beginning in 1987. What started as a passion-based idea has blossomed into one of America’s premier automotive event production companies in Goodguys. Today, Goodguys Rod & Custom Association has a worldwide membership of over 70,000 people, and promotes 21 hot rod and custom car events that attract millions of visitors each year.
Despite the loss of their founder last December, the crew carried on, making sure that everyone understood Meadors knew it was the people that make these events great. “His thinking was the people are what make it worth it,” said event organizer Betsy Bennett, a 25 year veteran of the Goodguys association. “The Columbus stop is especially popular because of its central location and the expansive facilities at the expo center,” she added.
The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association’s PPG Nationals has turned into an automotive festival of gigantic proportions, featuring over 6,500 hot rods, custom cars, classics, muscle cars and trucks through 1972 vintage. The show fills the entire grounds of the massive Ohio Expo Center with colorful custom and classic cars, vendor exhibits, and the always popular Goodguys AutoCross event. The AutoCross event is basically an electronically timed road course designed to test the performance of driver and vehicle.
Each Goodguys’ event brings with it an automotive swap meet, cars for sale corral, live music on Saturday and Sunday, arts & crafts, hot rod seminars, and the Goodgals Gallery of arts & crafts. Special to the PPG Nationals is the crowning of the Street Machine of the Year and the Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year. You can see our coverage of the Street Machine of the Year by clicking here, and our coverage of the Street Rod of the Year by clicking here.
Event Coordinator Bennett also reminded us to keep on the lookout for new and special surprises at the show. “Every time you think you’ve seen the most bizarre thing, you see something else even more bizarre,” she said. With that in mind, we bring you these random shots of some of the highly-modified custom hot rods people brought to the show.