And we Are…
...on for another fun-filled Saturday at E@RTC, and in our regular lot for once. This is more exciting than spotting Madonna in the buffet line at Chili’s.
It’s kind of about time we’re in our regular lot, isn’t it? For those who still need help with this, it means we’re on for Saturday, June 29, in our normal corner lot.
STOP THE PRESS!!!!
I found out early this morning that an article came out on Jalopnik, “The best automotive event our readers have ever attended” and we were thrilled to see that we were named at #11 among some incredibly impressive events. Dan Putnam made the submission. Dan was one of our key volunteers for a number of years and was the driving force behind our initial criteria page. He wrote most of it and we’ve been building on his initial work ever since as we now modify it several times a year. Dan is also a big part of Avants and co-hosts the Avants podcasts. Dan’s also created Dan’s Drives if you’re looking for something to do. Thank you Dan!!!
A giant thanks to Redmond Town Center, all of our participants, spectators, and volunteers for making this happen from such simple beginnings fifteen years ago. We overcame a lot to get to this point, and it just couldn’t have happened without so many people pitching in, so we all share in this distinction. We live by that one objective of making it better each year, and we can’t thank all of you enough. I’m at a loss for words beyond this.
Meanwhile, we know there are other car shows going on this Saturday, so it’s likely we won’t see a lot of classics and muscle cars, but we should still see plenty of exotics and people who only have a few hours to show their cars so they can get on with their day and go for a drive after the show. Come hang with your friends. Have a waffle!
Corvettes
This has been a tough category for us because we want to have some there but not be overrun. We have to clarify our position a little further. We now have to limit C8’s to Z06s, but on slow days, we still let a few of the non-Z06’s in. Moving forward, we will let a few non-Z06s in on slow days. On busy days, we have to limit it to Z06s. After this season, it will only be Z06 and ZR1’s coming in and no non-Z06s, if that makes sense.
Clubs
We had an issue with one of the clubs this past Saturday, and it’s similar to the problems we have with any group that shows up. It should be common sense that if you’re coming as a group, you have to be there very early to park as a group, and we talk about this in our rules and our FAQs. Groups are always difficult because of the differences in the management of those groups. They are harder to manage than Taylor Swift going out for soup.
As all you regulars know, we don’t hold spaces, and there is no reservation number or people walking around with clipboards, snapping fingers ready to seat you like this is El Gaucho on a Friday night. This is first come, first served; more like getting in line at Dick’s. They don’t do special orders either. You get your burger, fries, and a shake, and you move your ass. And like Dick’s, you show up and wait your turn. So when people make special demands or take it upon themselves to park people, it doesn’t go well, ever. We don’t want to have to talk the Thugs out of giving someone a deserved wedgie.
We care about safety and fairness for those who wait in line, and we follow rules designed to keep the whole thing running like a fine watch except with more humor. We have a lot of interests to balance, and we do our best to make the whole thing work for everyone. We do a decent job of managing things after fifteen years and about 375 shows, but now and then, we have to tell someone to pound sand.
Do we Continue with Classic and Collector Day?
After the club incident this Saturday, it brought up the conversation of whether we should continue with a Classic and Collector Day when there are so many other venues that fit that culture and need a little more closely. While we still want classics and collectors to come out, we’re thinking as a special event, given the special demands of the cars and those involved, as a group they may not be such a great fit for our pace.
We want your input on this, so write to us with your thoughts, but it’s become a difficult day for us, and we’re leaning towards killing it entirely. We need to hear from you if it’s worth the effort or not.
It’s not just the car demands, but also the neediness of some in the group that we’re not set up to manage. Especially with such a short window on a Saturday morning, combined with our safety concerns.
We’ve done our best to try different approaches, and we love having Classics and Collectors attend, but in quantity as a theme day, it’s a challenge because we’re exhausted balancing so many interests. We’ve actually had to deal with some who told us they wouldn’t bring their cars if other models of “lesser-valued” cars were parked anywhere near them. Okay?
We’re going to see how our Retro Day goes, and that will help us with the final decision going forward. But, your input would be a huge help. I will say that Classic and Collector Day is on life support, and we’re like a doctor deciding on giving it a few days on a ventilator to see if the patient pulls through or parting out the organs while they still work. We just aren't getting a lot of excitement within our volunteers about continuing Classic and Collector Day, so let us know your thinking on this. It’s important to our decision.
We do have Italian Car Day coming up fairly soon, and that’s one you won’t want to miss for sure. That will be a lot more fun!