Road touring with your car club or other group of car enthusiasts can be a lot of fun. Who doesn’t like to get with other motorists on the road to flash a big smile and throw a big “thumbs up” as you ramble down the road? A car tour is a great way for hot rod owners to display their prized vehicles with others on the asphalt ribbons that bind us all together.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a motorist that is mindlessly going from point A to point B, or another hot rod enthusiast, we all enjoy seeing a line of classic cars sharing the road. It is kind of like a rolling museum or moving art gallery. For a car club, taking time out of ordinary activities to do a car tour is a day well spent, but to pull it off successfully requires some planning. We’re here to share some of our experience to help others plan and conduct their own car tours.

Classic cars on the road represent a rolling museum where the hands of time are turned back a few decades.

Car Cruise Or Club Tour?

Cruising started decades ago, when local rodders would meet at a set location, take their cars out for a cruise on a specific route, and then return to the original location. Most of the time, cruising took place along the main drag of a city where the car owners could show off their rides. Many times, these cruise nights ended with a couple of those car owners – the ones with the baddest cars – meeting at ta secluded, local stretch of blacktop for a drag race to claim bragging rights. These cruise nights were unorganized and randomly took place weekly. Although spontaneous, these “happenings” grew in popularity.

These types of cruise nights have been banned in many cities, especially along certain routes. If your club plans on holding a cruise night like this, it is wise to contact the local police department to see if cruising is allowed. No club wants the members of their organization to get tickets and fines for sharing their automotive passion. When planned correctly, nothing beats a parade of classics cruising through town.

Who doesn’t love to see vintage cars pass by?

Tours on the other hand, are usually longer events that begin at one location, travel through a scenic and interesting route, usually with a few stops, before ending at a different location. These types of tours require a bit more planning. The success, or lack of, a great car tour rests almost entirely in the planning stage. With proper planning, the action phase of a tour flows much easier, which allows the participants to enjoy the event.

Plan Early

Give yourself enough time to organize all the details. Depending on how large you want the event to be, and how many stops and activities you want to add in the tour, you will need plenty of time for planning. We suggest a two month lead for any average size tour. That 60-day lead time will allow you the space to determine the specifics of the event. Determining the day, time, and starting location is a chore in itself. The more people that you involve in the event will add a whole new level of planning that is probably unseen by those that have never organized an event like this before.

There is a large difference between a tour and a local cruise down the main drag.

To get an idea of how much discussion and planning required to pull off a successful event, consider this: Getting four people to agree on which restaurant to dine at for one evening is an impossible task. Now imagine getting twenty classic car owners to agree on a road trip. Give yourself plenty of time for planning, communicating, making changes, and finalizing the tour.

Define The Tour

The best car tours include scenic routes and stops at interesting places. If you have thought far enough into the project and have decided that the tour will have a theme, pick stops and attractions that fit the theme. Almost all of our cruises and tours are heavily packed with an automotive theme. We start at an aftermarket automotive manufacturer for a shop tour, then head down the road, ending up at a car show. A tour can have more stops, or less, depending on the distance and the theme.

Plan your tour route on interesting roads with plenty of scenery.

Car enthusiasts love showing off their hot rods, and a stop that includes a mini car show – complete with judging and awards – is a fun way to keep everyone involved and interested. Choosing a spot that will highlight your mini-show by having an attractive background for photos will be a great addition and a welcomed stop along your route. Consider abandoned airports or factories for the grunge look, or a Botanical Gardens for that classy background.

A professional photographer can help capture all the action.

Determine if you need special permissions for any of the stops along your tour. Get any permits or tickets that you may need in advance. If you plan a lunch stop, it would be proper to let the dining facility know that your crew will be stopping in, and how many people you expect to attend. That little bit of notice can really relieve a lot of stress for the people that are trying to serve your group, as well as the enthusiasts on your tour. Make sure you have printed maps and registration forms before the event. Be prepared for pre-registration and onsite registration.

Define The Participants

If you have a small car club where participation is limited, you may want to reach out to other local clubs that share the same interests. Reach out to car clubs that are near your tour route. Owners of classic cars love to travel, and let them know that they can join up with your tour at one of the stops. You probably won’t have much trouble attracting additional participants. Solicit their participation and let them know that you are planning a special event. Remember, the more the merrier.

Most of the time, classic car tours are just for fun, but other times, the event double as a competition. If you plan to have competitive classes for your hot rod tour, you’ll need to select appropriate prizes for the winners and participants. Purchase them early and advertise the awards when you promote the tour. A unique but nice trophy gives an impression of a quality organization. The trophy needs to express individuality as much as your club does. If your club is large enough and marketed well, you can offer the naming rights to the trophies as an additional source of revenue.

Make sure navigators have printed maps to follow the tour route.

If you plan on doing an annual tour, dash plaques for participants are a great addition and another way to promote future tours. T-shirts are an easy way to entice enthusiasts to register for your tour. Avoid white T-shirts as they are easily stained and tossed away. You want that logo to be seen well after the tour. Nice T-shirts can be produced as low as $5 for each shirt.

Promote The Tour 

Promoting your car show or auto event in the community is fundamental to its success. Again, starting early is the best practice. Larger road tours may want to begin promoting the event as early as six months prior. Printing flyers helps you reach your target market, but social media can generate far more interest in a single post. Create a Facebook page for your tour and keep your audience interested. Keep things fun and try to offer simple games and activities to keep people coming back to your page. While it is fun to add these additional activities, remember that the cars are the focus of your event.

Even if you are hosting an event as large as The Great Race, you must have fun and let others see that you are having the time of your life. Smiles are a way to gauge the success of your event.

Have Fun

When the big day comes, remember to have fun and help others to have fun. Enjoyment is contageous! As the host of the tour, you can either participate or provide coverage of the show, but it is difficult to do both. If you are driving in the tour, it may be worth the effort to find a photographer that can capture the highlights of the event.

One of the smartest things that you can do to help minimize your liability for accidents, and the threat of legal recourse, is to incorporate an indemnification waiver in your registration form. Ensure that all participants read the waiver and agree to participate at their own risk by signing the registration form.

Things that you may want to add in the indemnification clause in your registration form:

• The participant is aware of the risks inherent with motor vehicle events and is voluntarily participating at their own risk.
• The participant agrees to assume all risk of injury, property damage, theft, and loss that might occur when traveling to or participating in the event.
• The participant agrees to release you and any sponsors from all liability.
• You reserve the right to revoke registration, and retain registration fees, if the participant begins engaging in reckless or dangerous behavior.
• The participant agrees to allow you to use their name, and any photos taken of them during the event, for marketing or publicity.
• The participant certifies that their car is insured to meet their state’s legal liability requirements.
• The participant attests that they are of age to enter a contract and that they are the person named in the registration form.

Be prompt and on time. Keep to your schedule and make sure that any special activities are coordinated and have set rules, especially when it comes to events with judging.

Finally

Show up on time and keep your tour on schedule. Have a contingency plan in case of bad weather. Above all else, have fun. If you are having fun, there is a good chance that everyone else is having a good time as well.