If you know anything about the rod and custom scene (and if you’re reading Street Rodder, you had better), then you've definitely heard about and may even be a member of the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association. This year Goodguys is celebrating its 30th Anniversary, and the fun got underway last week in Scottsdale, Arizona with its 4th Spring Nationals. What gearhead Gary Meadors started as a small get together back in 1983 has now become a worldwide association of car enthusiasts. This year’s Scottsdale kickoff show showcased some 2,500 different hot rods in all, with everything ranging from ‘30s and ‘40s Ford Roadsters to modern day Camaros and Mustangs. As with the past 29 years of Gooduys’ get togethers, the common theme of having fun with cars continues.
Meadors had a vision to create an event that would openly accept any American V-8 that caught the eye and had a low-stance like its hot rod predecessors and just a few short years after the first event, Goodguys had expanded to a string of events and festivals from Pennsylvania to California. Enthusiast magazines soon began to follow closely behind giving them a lot of attention. Meadors took it even further in 1989 when the “Goodguys Goodtimes Gazette” was created, talking about all the fun that was happening. Goodguys also began selling flamed hi-top tennis shoes, shorts, and introduced giveaway cars which further propelled them into the hot rod & custom world.
The show’s overall having fun with cars theme has brought countless guys and gals from around the country for the past 30 years to discuss and show off their hard work. Goodguys’ theme has proven so successful that it is easily America’s most widely recognized show promoters. Gary Meadors has passed down the love of hot rods to his son Marc, who is currently taking the scene into overdrive for future gear heads of America. The Scottsdale event featured the Goodguys Autocross, a big rig tractor trailer showcase, a Revell model car program, a massive swap meet, and of course, cars – thousands of cars – with several winners chosen in multiple categories.
Based in Pleasanton, California, Goodguys boasts more than 70,000 active members worldwide, making it the world’s largest hot rodding association. It will stage 19 events across America as part of its 30th anniversary.
“Goodguys…Cool Cars, Cool People, Goodtimes!” is slogan that has proven true for the past 30 years, we suspect it will remain that way for the next 30.
By the numbers - Three decades of Goodguys:
-600 – The number of Goodguys Rod & Custom Association events produced since 1983.
-2.5 million – The cumulative total of hot rods and classic cars (1972 & older) which have attended a Goodguys event since 1983.
-$250,000 million – the estimated revenue generated in local cities (hotel rooms, restaurants, gas stations, markets etc) hosting Goodguys events since 1983
-25 million – the estimated total attendance of Goodguys events since 1983
-10,000 – The number of companies who’ve exhibited on the midway at a Goodguys events since 1983
-290 – The number of Goodguys Goodtimes Gazette magazines printed since first published in 1989
-75 – Number of completed, ready-to-drive-away Giveaway Cars Goodguys has produced since 1983
-30 – Number of states Goodguys events have been held in since 1983
-45,000 – Number of miles the Goodguys big rig travels annually bringing supplies to events
79,000lbs – The Goodguys big rig carries between 75,000 and 79,000lbs worth of equipment to each show.