CINCINNATI, OH – It seems that for much of this summer, car show attendance has been most affected by two types of weather forecasts – rain and heat. While anyone involved in the car show world knows full well that the weather can play a major role in determining if any particular event becomes a success or a disappointment, rain is usually the worst culprit. But this year it seems that would-be car-show attendees have been checking the weather reports before deciding to go or stay home for another reason – extreme heat. No, we’re not talking about the usual kind of hot-and-sunny 90-degree dog days of summer here. It’s not just the temperature outside, but rather when the heat and humidity combine for a “heat index” at or above 100 degrees that has people choosing air-conditioned activities indoors over sweat-inducing ventures outdoors.
Such was the case facing the “Horsepower in Queen City” MCA National show this past June 28 held at the sprawling campus of Lakota West High School in suburban Cincinnati’s West Chester Township. Hosted by the Queen City Mustangers with assistance from the Mustang Club of Ohio out of nearby Columbus, this show featured all of the bells and whistles of a selected Mustang Club of America National Show, including a Friday night Meet & Greet, a big MCA-judged car show on Saturday with vendors, music and food, plus a special evening Dinner Cruise on the Ohio River, and the obligatory Sunday car show Awards Ceremony.
If you guessed that it was hot and sunny on show day with temps soaring into the upper 90’s, you’d be right. Our Ford Performance Transit van arrived in the relatively cooler morning to set up our Club Connect Meet & Greet display tent right smack in the middle of the show filed for our popular free, all-day Mustang poster and Ford Performance collectible wristband giveaways. Set up in a 10x10 tent right next to us was Karen Halderman Koenig of the Gale Halderman Museum, which is located just 90 minutes up I-75 from Cincinnati in Tipp City, Ohio. Karen was selling an exclusive Halderman Museum Mustang Dark Horse art poster, plus the hardcover Gale Halderman autobiography “Mustang By Design” as well as an assortment of other items that help keep the lights on at her late-father’s barn museum on the family’s homestead – all dedicated to the man who designed the original Ford Mustang.
Of the hundreds of regional Mustang club car shows held all across the country each year, the Mustang Club of America https://mustang.org selects only a handful to serve as "MCA National" shows. These are the big, memorable, officially judged shows that Mustang lovers will gladly travel long distances to attend – and even plan their family vacations around! After the “Ponies In The Ozarks” national show that took place over Memorial Day weekend, many owners were looking forward to “Horsepower In Queen City” show with the target of attracting 400 of the top Mustangs from across the country to Cincinnati. Despite a heat index on show day topping 100 and keeping the final number of registrations down, there was still an upbeat vibe at this event with the club doing a great job of handing out free bottles of cold water to those out in the sunshine checking out the many beautiful Mustangs on display.
We enlisted some poster handout help at the Club Connect tent twice – first to get out to talk to owners and take some photos, and later to go inside the school building to give attendees seeking some shade a historical presentation on “The Mustangs That Never Were” for a an inside look at some Mustang designs over the years that never made their way into production. We were told to cut our Q&A session short as a thunderstorm was fast approaching – so we headed back outside and packed up both ours and the Halderman’s displays just in the nick of time before the dark skies opened-up for a wind-driven downpour.
So yes, the weather offered an unwelcome double-feature, but the clubs, participants and attendees shrugged off sticking around a hot show with a wet finish just because the camaraderie was much higher than the temp and the Mustangs on display were cooler than the treats from the ice cream vendor. The MCA will wrap up its 2025 National Show calendar with the “Gathering of the Herd” Grand National Show in Fredericksburg, Virginia, over Labor Day weekend, August 29-31. We’re so sure of the quality of this year’s MCA Grand Nats that you don’t need to bother checking the weather for that one, because it really won’t matter – you just to for the cars regardless!
FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS BY JOHN CLOR & COURTESY LAUREN (HALDERMAN / KOENIG) GUGGENBILLER
