Carlisle 2016

Yeah, give the "background guys" a chance to sort things out.

 

Having been the organizer of "Speedsters Meet Spyders" for five years, I can tell you, as Alan already said, that the planning for the next year's event starts on the ride home from THIS year's event and it has always taken the concerted efforts of a large handful of people, all doing different parts during the year, to provide you all with the quality event you've come to know.

 

Also, remember the NAME of this event:  The Carlisle IMPORT and Replicar show.  The Tuners all drive imports, too (even if they are actually built in the USA) so have been welcomed by Carlisle in the past (even though it was predominantly Euro-Imports that showed up).  I was not there in 2003, but have been to a couple of  tuner shoot outs and can believe what Paul said but have no recent history (within 7 years) to call upon.

 

All that said, cool your jets until Alan finds out what's going on.  If you then want to move to or start another event, fine.  Mid-Adlantic might be nice, or gathering at some of the Historic races during the season, like Elkhart Lake or Watkins Glen or Road Atlanta or Sonoma or something like that and make it a group gathering event.  We could do several around the country so people might not have to drive so far (or could stretch their legs, so to speak, from across the 'States).

 

The biggest plus for this group is also a big problem - we're a big group, spread out all over the continent/world, making it very difficult to get us all together in one place.  Because of our diversity, some of us love the "show" part, while others love the driving part and others love the social part.  There is room for all of us, but let's see what Carlisle Productions says in the face of potentially losing their biggest replica group of the past 12 years.

Was looking at Fontana Village site.  Looks like the REAL 356 club stays there.  We should try to go the same weekend 

Yowzah!! This is going to be a good one.  Will not engage in speculation on what we should/should not do until we hear from Carlisle directly.  But here are a couple of opinions:

 

Some have asked what is so cool about Carlise. Hmmmm . . . Gordon mentions (1) the show field, (2) the driving, (3) the socializing as the main ingredients, and that some appreciate one and not the other so much.  I like it all.  Also the (4) flea market, and especially (5) the vendors.  and of course it is all (6) within striking range (not even one full day of driving) from my house.  So it is an all six burners are hot winner for me.  Anything that we might do "on our own" is likely to be deficient in one or more of the areas mentioned.

 

That said, a couple of years ago, I jumped a plane one spring and spent an absolutely wonderful weekend in SoCal (Morro Bay) with fellow Speedster owners. This meeting featured driving and socializing, and of course the fabulous central CA countryside, twisties, wineries, and so forth.  I had a blast, and if the same could be arranged for the east coast, I'd be all in.  But I'd miss the multi-dimensional Carlisle bash if it got quashed for some reason. Except for an unfortunate schedule overlap, I would be packing my bags now for a trip to Sacramento and the Tour De 'Hoe, looking to repeat the swell time I spent w/ our Best Coast brethren a while back.  So even if Carlisle punks out for us (hope it does not, and the gloom and doom here is a big misunderstanding), it would be cool to stage an East Coast SOC meet/drive/eat thing.  In addition to vs. in place of Carlisle, hopefully.

"...it would be cool to stage an East Coast SOC meet/drive/eat thing.

 

We did that for a few years in the Smokies, but it was always difficult to get folks to commit for the long drives for something smaller than Carlisle.  Carlisle's date and location is out of our control, which makes the planning a touch easier - Come or don't it's happening here and on this date.  It's a short drive for some, medium drive for others, and long one for the rest of us.  This last part is why I am not opposed to relocation, but I am realistic about that.  We could try some smaller, regional events as well, but as I said earlier, it was tough to keep such things going.

Like I said earlier....Stay Tuned....We will know pretty quick what is going on.

In all actuality, since we moved to our present hotel, we've spent much less time at the showfield. More socializing time is the norm now.

 

~WB

Back in '04, the first SOC meet was at the Knotts Berry Farm show in Orange County. John Leader and Bruce Williams (both long gone) headed it up, and it was a raving success. It lasted 2 years before everybody agreed that sitting on the backtop having cars judged by idiots wasn't very fun. I met a bunch of SOC friends in person at Knotts '05, and we've been getting together for a left coast eat/drive get-together every couple of years ever since. The eat/drive get-togethers in places like Vacouver or Carmel by the Sea or Ashland, Oregon are an order of magnitude more fun than Knotts ever was.

 

There are enough committed east coast guys and enough cool places in the Appalachians (not all that far from Carlisle) that if 2 or 3 would pick a date and commit, I know you could make it happen. You have no idea how badly I wanted to come to the last "Dragon" run (the one that was eventually cancelled), but never spoke up because the date was constantly moving and interest being gauged.

 

I honestly think that if two or three long-term SOCers committed to planning a drive/eat weekend event somewhere with some scenery and decent roads (Ashville leaps to mind, but there are a lot of nice drives out east), you'd have at least 6 cars the first year, 12 the next, and 20 by the third. If it was set up for September or early October 2016-- it wouldn't conflict with Carlisle for now, and it'd give some room to plan a bit. After it took off, it could be moved to May or early June.

 

Heck, Bob Garret and I had about 10 cars in the second year of planning a regional, fun get-together in freaking Peoria. We are not exactly a driving destination out here. It takes a core, but building out from there is not all that hard.

 

I know you guys can do it.

A destination in the Apple-chains looks attractive, but then Lane found out that it lost its luster after a couple of years.

 

You could, however, combine a group gathering with something else going on and I might suggest the Vintage Sportscar Racing Association weekends all around the country through the season - pick three - East, Middle and West and see who can show up.  The dates would be fixed so you wouldn't have the meandering date thing and decision by committee to deal with.

 

I don't have the SVRA schedule for 2016 yet, but this is an example of what they've been up to in 2015:

 

http://www.svra.com/events/

 

ANY of these events are worth the trip, whether or not there are a bunch of SOC knuckleheads joining you, and they are all over the country but I've hardly ever heard anyone mention them on here and all of them are terrific races.  Do a day of racing action, socialize that night, a day of social driving the next day, socialize that night and then go home.

 

8+ of us showed up at the Lime Rock Historics a couple of weeks back and had a great time.  If we were better organized, we could all stay over somewhere and really do it up!

That's cool Lane.  Just reading the posts it seemed like a lot of time was spent at what amounted to another car show.  Glad to hear you guys are driving and having a good time together.

 

That, to me, is what it's all about.

 

  

Elkhart Lake, WI would a great location(this time of year) and we can get out on the Track for a Sunset Cruise.  The Hotel (The Osthoff Resort) is right on the Lake and can house many. Great little town with awesome eats too.  Rich, This is not to far from you and your retired, Chopp-Chopp

I'd do that, Marty. Get Joe and Bones in the game and anybody else that would want to come out to play and we'd have a good time.

I would be in for this in a heart beat. 

Good evening!  I spoke with Ed Buczeskie from Carlisle Productions this afternoon.

He informed me that the changes were posted on their Web Site and a Press Release was done before, all clubs and vendors were notified.

It is confirmed that, the actual show dates are one week later 5/20 - 5/22 than previously scheduled.

Carlisle Productions for business purposes has combined Import/Kit and Import Performance vehicles into one show.

 

Ed assured me that they have a zero tolerance for over zealous individuals in place and will enforce that in every particular. We do have the same field location as in previous years.

 

Bruce is away and we will sort this out further upon his return , in the mean time do plan for the new dates and I will contact the Hotel and modify the contract to reflect same.

 

In Bruce's absence, I appreciate everyone's patience.... as we make the necessary changes and look forward to another fun packed Carlisle event ! 

 

~Alan Merklin aka Drclock

 

 

 

Excellent, Alan. Thanks for the quick work.

Let me try to recall some conversations that were had a year ago or something like that.  These would have been via Bruce, who had been contacted by Carlisle management, asking what could they do to boost attendance at the Kit/International week end.  They are a business, and they need lots of people to make it go.  Attendance had been lacking, and also at its best, I got the idea that the Kit/International thing was one of their low-go deals.  Other week ends, I hear from folks who have been, are packed; hardly a place to park your car inside, all the grass taken.  I have seen some pictures, and by comparison our week end is puny.  We fed back a number of ideas to the Carlisle folks, that I guess they did not think much of, as nothing came of any of these ideas.  So all that talk was the writing on the wall, so to speak.  Carlisle management is trying to run their business, and keep everyone happy too.  So what we see here from Alan is the net result. I suppose our old week end will just be no-show, and we'll double up with these other knuckleheads (tuners??) the following week end, and see what's what. On the one hand I have about zero tolerance for these guys and what they do (its the noise), and on the other hand, they love cars and so do I -- different strokes for different folks.  Perhaps we can abide it.  If it keeps what we do more or less in tact, then I am for it.  If we want to run another east coast drive/eat/stay overnight week end, we are free to do that too.  Like the man said, get two guys to work it, pick a date, and come as you are.  I have a few ideas about that, actually . . .

Thanx for squaring that up Alan! The show will go on and like Paul said, I'll give it a shot this year to see how it goes. Like I said before, we've spent minimal time at the fairgrounds since the hotel change. A token check in on Friday and hang out for breakfast until about 3 on Saturday. And when we're not tooling around in our cars, the spot that gets the most workout all weekend is the Hospitality Suite at the Hotel with old friends and that's what Carlisle is really about! Even if this guy shows up!

 

~WB

Two or three thoughts, if I may:

 

1. Thanks, again, Alan. You are truly a grownup.

 

2. "Everyone, including Vinny, got cleaned up..." made me laugh out loud.

 

3. One of our most stalwart and interesting MG brethren, Bill Ascheman, has for the past couple years brought his son, David, to our Carlisle gathering. You may remember him. He has the VW Golf V6 with no muffler, a full roll-cage, and completely awesome paint job by Sharpie. He's really more of a "racer" than a "tuner," but he shows some tuner tendencies, and as far as I'm concerned, guys like him liven up any place they go. I'll probably bring earplugs though.

 

4. I like the show, particularly the Puegeots, '50s Volvos, various weird French machines and other unusual stuff. I also love the Avengers and other ancient kit builds. Hell, didn't someone bring a Jamaican a couple years back? Nothing against Speedsters & Spyders, but seeing the pageant of old time engineering magic inspires me. To what, I don't know.

 

5. Winery Tours are very cool. We should definitely do a Mid-Atlantic one, come what may. I will map out a few in the MD/PA/VA/DE area and get back to the locals here, see if we can't map out a likely run. 

 

6. Ditto Gordon's Vintage Racing idea. I'ver done Pittsburgh and Lime Rock each twice, and cannot recommend them enough. Again, though, my crank is turned very hard by old, rare machinery. That the people wrenching on it are usually very cool is just a bonus.

 

OK that's six thoughts. Thank you all.

Thank you Al! We appreciate your work on the club's behalf.

 

At the end of the day, the date switch is a win for me. My "little girl" graduates from Syracuse University the weekend of May 14-15. I was going to have to miss the 2016 show. Not any more!

 

I second Ed's comments, but have one last note on the "performance" crowd.

 

The problem in 2003 was not "racer" types like David A. and his Golf. I agree performance cars like David's liven up the crowd.

 

It was the rice-burner crowd that spends zero dollars on performance improvements, a few grand on paint/tires/wheels and literally tens of thousands of dollars on sound systems. While I love music and respect the engineering behind those systems, having to listen to them all day long at top volume did NOT make for a pleasant experience. I respect Carlisle Production's desire to regulate the crowd. But CP was also part of the problem with the volume contest, where the sole goal is the highest decibel count possible.

 

That crowd also seemed to involve a lot of underage drinking and created much mayhem on the streets of Carlisle.

 

I truly hope CP is doing the right thing. We shall see!

Having been to all the yearly SOC events on the Best Coast since "04" and to Carlyle a few years back, I would like to add my two cents....

Although I no longer have a speedy, I made a lot of friends since being associated with this group. Now I drive whatever I want to stretch out a few miles...

The SOC group is a family, of replica speedsters, not cobra's or any of the other groups. You don't hang with any of the others, except at Carlyle.

 

Find a central location that allows everyone the option of attending, and change it year to year so the same people aren't driving the longest distance.

 

Set up a few cruises that allows for what these little jewels were made for,

Canyons, scenic countryside, wine tasting etc.

 

pick a time of year that isn't so focking wet. nothing worse than driving a speedster in the rain.

 

The basic Idea of the West coast meet, is to be together as a family and party together for a few days.

I know a lot of you "other coast" guys, at least socially from the short time we were together and enjoyed your company very much (to my surprise) we aren't very different. Well, except for Jack, maybe....

Try something different, you might like it.....

 

It wouldn't be right if I didn't post a pic....

 

 

El Diablo,  Always loved that one.  But be very careful there dude, the Porsche lawyers are on the prowl in CA these days, so I hear, looking for trademark infringements, and getting all huffy about it.  Or maybe that is a "real" one . . .

And with respect to how we ought to enjoy each other and our little cars, I think we are all in violent agreement.  Just sayin' . . .

"violent agreement"

Now there's two words you don't often see linked together.

We've missed you Vinnie!

 

PS- I see Theron's been at it again!

It is confirmed that, the actual show dates are one week later 5/20 - 5/22 than previously scheduled.

 

Alan thanks for the research.  But I need to be sure since I have to ask for time off now.  5/20-5/22, not 5/27-5/29?

I'm pleased that it's a week later. One more week for weather to improve & no longer coincides with Michigan Vintage VW show in Ypsi.

> On Sep 22, 2015, at 8:03 AM, SpeedsterOwners.com <alerts@hoop.la> wrote:
>

It is confirmed that, the actual show dates are one week later 5/20 - 5/22 than previously scheduled.

Works for me.  Thanks, Alan!

 

Vinny, I am in complete agreement, especially the part about "...and change it year to year so the same people aren't driving the longest distance".  Not sure that's ever gonna happen, but one can hope.

5/20-5/22.  Got it.

Lane:  That would be fine for me. I'd love to see different parts of the Eastern U.S., or even Tremont, Illinois. 

The only downside to attending Vintage racing events is finding hotel accommodations. Most of the hotels close to the event are booked a year in advance for the races and it is often hard to find someplace to stay unless you like fleabag motels. This is what we found on the west coast racing events our first year of going to some of the events. Portland seemed like the hotels were always sold out anywhere near the track and the room prices were nearly doubled for the 3day weekend event.

 

Don't know how it is at the other venues across the country but the Vintage Racing events in the west were always that way. If you can score group pit passes for test/tune days, usually Fri's and Sat's, that is a great way to get up close and personal to the vintage race cars and meet/greet some of the owners/drivers.

Oh yeah. Once they've seen the bright lights of Tremont, how you going to keep them down on the farm?

 

I think you're right on this particular topic, however, I hope that you and I are still around in 21 years. I will be pointing a finger your way and saying, "What was that?".

Com'on Vin, we've seen that pic of your twin brother before!

OK ALB, sorry for the repeat pic,

How about a girl with a huge PU$$Y

 

 

Ok, laughed out loud at that!

Thank you Wild Bill, at least some of you understand my sense of humor....

Please pass the eye bleach!

 

According to many chemical books, alcohol is a solution....

Carlisle update !

 

 Connie and I were able to change the Hotel and Radisson banquet to the new dates...

 

.

 

I received the below email from EC Bruce and has asked me to post here.

All,
Thanks for all your thoughts and suggestions.  In 2016, Speedsters Meet Spyders (and Coupes and Cabriolets) in Carlisle will be in its THIRTEENTH year.  I have co-coordinated nine of those years with the help and support of Alan Merklin, Bill Drayer and many others.  Over those years an alternative venue has been discussed,  that feedback can be found elsewhere on this forum.  We have had several suggestions on how to tweak the weekend and have tried to tweak wherever possible.  I am happy to say we have had very few complaints over the years but we understand those are part of the process and we're always listening.  I  don't think I need to list the positives of this meet - the people who have attended know them.

 I understand adding the Performance & Style group to Carlisle is a change but, IMHO, we should give it a try and see how it goes before shutting down our whole event. Many of us realized Carlisle has needed to grow this weekend and this is a place for them to start.  Keep in mind Carlisle has been very supportive of our group over the years and, personally, I think being part of an Import and Performance show sounds better than being part of an Import and "kit" show - a name change suggestion submitted to them by this group.  There is also a possibility this will pull in some of the VW group - helpful to us air-cooled folks - and something many of us also have suggested to Carlisle when they requested suggestions.

Keep in kind, contracts have already been signed for 2016 and I can tell you I will be out a fair amount of money if we abandon this event at this point. I ask that you all consider adding the new dates to your calendar and come out and join us and if you have never attended come out and see what it's like before suggesting shutting it down.  Speedsters Meet Spyders weekend has consistently been the THE biggest event of it's kind in the country...and I dare say in the world. 

We're currently out of the country and thankfully Alan & Connie are helping to chase down revisions to the  arrangements while I am gone - plus it's a bitch typing on this damned tablet.  We have always supported other similar meets and if the group decides to replace this event with another I will pass the torch.  I hope everyone will hang in there and give this change a try - at least for 2016.  We can follow-up with details when I get back in town. 

ECB

 

Nice one, Bruce...again thanks for all the great arrangements. We'll happily be there again but not the long distance route this time.  :-) for you and you know who !!

We'll be there too.  I did notice that last year there were a lot fewer participant cars, and a lot fewer builders displaying their wares.  I know some builders I talked to said it was becoming not worth their while to make the trip.  When you figure the Speedster builders come from quite a distance, this is understandable.

 

We can all wear earplugs and learn sign language, but we'll still have a great Carlisle weekend.  Maybe more drives and less time at the show field?

 

Whatever works out, it's a great bunch of guys we have here, and that is the main reason most of us come year after year.