Community Corner

Goodguys Hosting 4,000 Hot Rods in Pleasanton Car Show

The show will feature slick vintage autos, fireworks, live music and food.

More than 60,000 people will descend on the Alameda County Fairgrounds to see tricked out vintage cars at the Goodguys 25th Annual West Coast Rod & Custom Nationals taking place August 26-28.

It's one of the most popular outdoor automotive festivals in the region — the first one was in 1987 and hosted 2,124 vintage hot rods. This year, the festival will boast 4,000 hot rods, custom cars, muscle cars and trucks from at least 20 states and other countries.

The giant car festival includes the outdoor car show, automotive swap meet, a "cars for sale" area, live entertainment and food and drinks. There will also be Saturday night fireworks to celebrate the 25th anniversary.

Find out what's happening in Pleasantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

More than 50 model engines (that run on gasoline and methanol) will be on display from exhibitors coming from as far away as England.

The group starts the engines almost hourly and according to a press release, does a great job of explaining how they work to fans.

Find out what's happening in Pleasantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The highlight of the exhibit will be the 1/6th scale Deusenberg of St Louis, Missouri’s s Louis Chenot. Completely built by hand to exact specifications with a running engine, this, according to the release, is  possibly the finest car model car ever made. Chenot was recently named “Car modeler of the decade” for pulling off this project.

Other weekend highlights include: 300 manufacturer’s exhibit booths, the crowning of “America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod,” Builder’s Choice awards selected by Oakland’s Steve Moal, live entertainment by the bay area’s own “Nightshift,” arts and crafts, a model car exhibit, kids entertainment, how-to seminars, tether car and valve cover races and much more.

Sunday’s awards ceremony, featuring more than 100 of the event’s top rides, is scheduled for 2:22pm.

 Goodguys produces 21 national events in 13 states and has an association boasting 70,000 worldwide members.

In addition to the car events, Goodguys, headquartered in Pleasanton with more than 30 employees, also publishes a 300-page, all-color monthly magazine and has a line of specialty merchandise.

The West Coast Nationals brings an average of $6 million in economic impact to the Tri-Valley region each year, according to the Tri-Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Since Goodguys began hosting the events in the region in 1983, the association has brought in more than $539 million. These figures represent money spent by show attendees in restaurants, shops, hotels, and other Tri-Valley businesses during Goodguys events, according to a press release.

 “It has been important for us to continue hosting Goodguys shows in Pleasanton," said Goodguys Founder, Gary Meadors in the press release.

"Our members like the small town atmosphere, historic downtown and the town’s accessibility."

Tickets are $18 for adults and kids ages 7-12 are $6. Hours are: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

For more information about Goodguys, call 925-838-9876 or visit www.ggwestcoastnats.com.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here