Future of CLC Judging

[Jason Edge]

First, A Big Thank You to CLC Chief Judge Bill Anderson for taking on this daunting task of overhauling the CLC judging system.  The old system was very good, however, I believe what Bill and the judging committee are striving for will result in a truly great system for judging our cars.

With that, I hope most of you have had a chance to check out the changes happening in CLC Judging, and have read the December 2014 Judging Committee Report and 'Future of CLC Judging' article in the March Self Starter, both penned by Chief Judge Bill Anderson.

Some of the many changes include 2 new judging divisions: Modified Cars and Concept/Prototype Cars, of the Touring Class score ceiling, inclusion of cars 10 years old and older in Touring Class, better training for judges, time requirements for leaving cars on show field, inclusion of all judges scores, and changes to the judging system that emphasizes authenticity judging vs 1st, 2nd, 3rd car vs car judging. 

After the 2014 Grand National, Bill had requested feedback from all of the judges and I was very pleased to see a few of the recommendations that I made were addressed. I am sure many of the other judges expressed similar recommendations, and believe these changes will make our judging system fair and equitable for all.

There is so much to consider with these changes, and I will continue this conversation more in depth later, but wanted to make sure everyone had seen the December 2014 Committee Report and Bill's Self Starter Article.

I have inserted a scan below Bill Anderson's article in this month's Self Starter and have attached it and the Judging Report as a PDF file to this post. 

Judging Committee Report - December 2014

Future of CLC Judging - by Bill Anderson, March 2015 Self Starter

Preparing for the 2015 GN - by Bill Anderson, April 2015 Self Starter

CLC Judging Manual

[Jason Edge]

I have added Chief Judge Bill Anderson's latest update from the April Self Starter to the bottom of main post above. You can also click on this link: Preparing for the 2015 GN - by Bill Anderson, April 2015 Self Starter

With the GN just a couple months away and my 3rd judging opportunity at a Grand National, I look forward to seeing some of these changes implemented!

[Jason Edge]

Added link to CLC Judging Manual. Will also put dropdown link to this Discussion from the Home Page.

[Bill Wolf]

Are there things that you don't want to do to your vehicle if judging may be in your future. Things such as adding options (cruise control, trunk latching, etc.) that weren't original? Adding radiator overflow, headlight relay modification, modifying lights (adding side marker to cornering lights, brake/turn lights to fin lights? How and where do you start your judging experience?

[Jason Edge]

No deductions for items items to your vehicle that was a factory or factory authorized dealer option. That means you can add factory cruise, power trunk, and other items with no deductions.  For my 64 Coupe de Ville I added am/fm, tilt steering, optional Eldorado horn, and controlled differential. There would be no deductions if I am using original or original reproduction equipment. 

Keep in mind you are also judged on operations (does the Eldorado horn actually work), condition (is the horn rusty), workmanship (was the horn restoration poorly done).  Also even for the horn show up with it painted lime green and you would get an authenticy deductions.

Tour is much more lenient on what can be added without deductions. For example tires are scrutinized for size, type, and make in Primary but not Touring.

If judged in Primary you are judged across 112 categories for a total of 560 points which is then converted to a 100 point scale with 90 or above winning 1st place. That makes you can lose 56 points (raw score) across all deductions and still win a 1st place. I drove my 2002 Escalade EXT to Chicago with aftermarket grill, wheels, tires and other items and still not only won first place, was 1.5 points within obtaining a Senior award (95 points). 

If you want to learn about judging and the process I would read the judging manual at this link: https://cadillaclasalleclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/CLC_Offi...

[Bill Wolf]

Jason,

Thank you for the response. How many awards do you have for Dino? That car is a MASTERPIECE.

[Jason Edge]

I have never taken it to a GN but plan to take it to Charlotte in 2026. I have yet to tackle the AC system and may be display only but will see how far I can get.