i have been to 1 IPMS show. it was mini con here in ontario, cali. from what they say, it was this event had the most car entries ever, if i recall, about 250?.
now, they didnt have an import catagory, but were open to making one as long as there was A: 3 entries with 3 or more cars and B: enough awards to hand out. there was 4 of use with imports, but 2 them only had 1 entry. they didnt have enough awards, so no import catagory, but we made our presence felt and they said they will try for one next year.
i think they did a great job on organizing the awards as they combined more than 4-5 catagories. majority was airplanes and sci-fi builds. but the automotive builders made a very strong presense. i had several builders come up to me and ask if we won anything. even one of the judges came up to us and said that he tried to get up open. but didnt have enough awards. next year, we'll see what happens.
for me and most of the guys on here, i dont enter to win or plan to win anything. if it happens, awesome, if not, eh. i go to share my builds with others that don't know about the types of builds that i do. also get to meet and know other builders of all kinds. all for fun.