My wife and I are trying to make plans for going to Pigeon Forge in Sept. As I look for the dates, they have two listed, Shades of the Past and the Grand Rod Run. Which one is the biggest one?

One show is more about old coupes and sedans. The other show is muscle cars and pro street stuff.
And I can't remember which one is which... :confused:

I have been to the Shades of the past show a couple of years in a row. It is mostly older cars 30-40-50's Scattering of 60's and couple 1970's. I like it because its outside my normal circle of cars. Plus I take the family and we rent a wicked cabin and spend a week and see all the other things going on.

I have heard from the locals that the Rod Run was a larger show with more diverse cars. I am thinking about going again this year but going from the 12th -20th which would cover both shows.

http://www.shadesofthepast.com

The grand run is a massive show. I went to the one in April and had a blast. Walked for 8 hours until my feet felt like they were on fire and still did not see all the cars. My wife complained for 6 of those hours also. There is any car imaginable to see. My car is not done yet so I only went to spectate. There are several hundred cars for sale and a few thousand to lust over. There are also alot of vendor there selling parts. Get ready to see alot of first Gen camaro's. I'd estimate that they make up 20% of the cars there and even though they are nice, we all got tired of looking at them.

Fall Grand Rod Run has the most cars. Muscle cars are abundant. I just checked my schedule. !@#$% I'm on call. I guess I'll miss this years :-(

...they have two listed, Shades of the Past and the Grand Rod Run. Which one is the biggest one?


The "Grand Rod Runs" are by far the biggest.
They have one in the spring and one in the fall.

They're actually too big for me (just my personal opinion).
Pigeon Forge (and Gatlinburg) have "carnival" atmospheres anyway (not my idea of a relaxing mountain vacation), and during the "Grand Rod Runs," Pigeon Forge gets filled to capacity...actually, over capacity.

But, if you're just interested in seeing lots of cars...and don't mind the feeling of people being packed in like sardines...then the "Grand Rod Runs" are the ones to go to.

Regards,
-Greg

Be sure to wear good walking shoes because traffic sucks. You can walk further and faster than you can drive. We dont go anymore due to gridlock.

don't wait until the Saturday to go. You won't find a place to park even several blocks off the main street. Traffic will be inch by inch all the way from the Interstate to Pigeon Forge and on to Gatlinburg. There are other unrelated activities besides the car gatherings so it will be exceptionally crowded. BUT it's great!!!!!

Wait til saturday night to buy cars. people will take their lowest dollar then to avoid taking them back home. All cars are priced at at least 30% higher than the owners will take anyway.

I've been to the Grand Run a couple times. The actual car show only has a couple hundred cars. There are usually 6-8000 cars lined all along the main road. Probably 25% are for sale, maybe more. Parking places are hard to find, cops are steady writing tickets and the traffic sucks but there are plenty of cars to look at. If you are going, you need to make motel reservations now. A cheap motel is $100 per night.
James

Wait til saturday night to buy cars. people will take their lowest dollar then to avoid taking them back home. All cars are priced at at least 30% higher than the owners will take anyway.
Not always true, I've seen cars that were bought and sold 5 times and never moved from their parking spot and every seller made money on the car. We usually go on Thursday and park the car and dont move it again until Sunday morning. Parking is very hard to find, walking is faster than driving.
But it's great to be there.
Ron

Been to Shades several times and won't go back again due to traffic. Really sucks! My advice would be to get there early (or at least get up and get an early start), park your car and don't plan on moving all day because you can't !! If you go to Shades DON"T bother to register and go to the park because it's pure HELL getting into and out of the actual show (a farm field with one narrow winding road in and out). You're better off on the main drag through Pigeon in front of one of the hotels. You'll see just as many cars, save the admision, and save the aggrivation ! Good luck!

They are both awesome,:D i have been going for over 15 yrs..:thumbsup:shades of the past is basically the old street rods and old guys with a lot of money:hurray: and the rod run is the younger crowd with loud muscle cars... :beers:Both are great :noway:but the rod run is a lot better and wilder...:)

Sounds like Shades is street rods and the Grand is muscle cars? Kindda wanted to see a mixture and only got one weekend.:(