12th-Annual 2017 Goodguys Nashville Nationals

If you’re in the Nashville area and you can only go to one car show a year, the Goodguys Nashville Nationals at the Tennessee Titans Stadium is probably going to be it. Beneath the backdrop of downtown Music City you’ll find a diverse selection of 1,200+ hot rods, customs, and muscle cars. 2017 marked the 12th year for this event, and once again, it did not disappoint. Even the weather cooperated for the most part, although there was a big old toad-strangler late Saturday afternoon that slowed things down a bit. Naturally, with that many cars, there were lots of good ones. I had a hard time choosing which ones to feature!

The Fontanel kicks of its 2017 Concert Cruise season

My favorite car cruise location in the Nashville area is back in business for the 2017 season. The Fontanel really is a beautiful place for a car show. They also have live music that isn’t crappy, food trucks that aren’t crappy, and plenty of shade, which again, is not crappy. The only thing they don’t get a lot of is cars. I don’t understand that, either. I would rather be out here any day than sitting in some dirty, noisy old parking lot. Hopefully folks will get the message and grow this into something, because it’s worth the drive to Whites Creek.

22nd-Annual AACA Wilson Bank Spring Meet in Mt. Juliet

The Spring Meet of the Middle Tennessee Region AACA at the Wilson County Bank in Mt. Juliet is one of my favorite shows of the year. As a whole, the quality of vehicles they get at this one is way up there. They’re not just neat cars; they’re exceptionally nice cars as well. This is not really a hot rod show. Factory-correct presentation dominates this field. And there are things here that you normally don’t get to see. They have 53 classes, so if you can’t find something you like in this bunch, you probably don’t like old cars.

Redneck Rumble, Spring 2017

The Redneck Rumble is exactly the same as the name implies. Do not expect to see meticulously restored ’53 El Dorados or rare, numbers-matching muscle cars. I don’t even remember seeing a single Corvette. But if you like rat rods, rusty trucks, skulls, and saw blades, this is the place. This year’s spring edition of the two-day show was a little lighter on cars than normal because of rain all day Friday, and on-and-off Saturday. There was still a fair number of cars to look at, and a decent selection of swap meet vendors (I was actually one of them!). A little water never hurt this crowd, and the party was on.

2017 Gallatin Square Fest Car Show

I’m a big fan of the annual Gallatin Square Fest Car Show. For one thing, there’s a craft show there, so I can usually convince my wife to go. But it also seems to draw an outstanding collection of cars. There’s stuff there that I’ve never seen anywhere else. The weather was warm. The cars were clean. It was a great day for a car show. I’ll bet you wish you had gone. Well, at least I took some pictures for you. No need to thank me.