Ventura German Auto Fest

[John Straub]

I've heard rumor that the Ventura German Auto Fest, held in September, may not happen this year. Does anyone have any info?

Thanks,
John

[jloucks388]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...rman+Auto+Fest

[RC70SCoupe]

so far, there are 2 events that are happening the second weekend of September

The first is the Corona del Mar Coastline Classic. Here is the link from 2 years ago. Several Early S Registry members are talking to the organizers about having the Early 911 has a Marque
http://www.cdmchamber.com/events/car_show.asp

The second is the 356 Fall Festival in Monterey. September 12-14
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Porsche
http://www.porsche356club.org/Applic...ival2008-1.pdf

Some are leaning towards the Coastline Classic due to going to Monterey in August for Pebble Beach Week and then the R Gruppe Treffen in SLO in October

[TRE Cup]

Here is an option so we can have our own much smaller version of Autofest for 08.
Since there is not enough time, a promoter, or $$ to do the event in Ventura, we could go to the Pomona Swap meet Oct 19th.
check out www.pomonaswapmeet.com for some details

I spent about an hour discussing various details with the owners of the Pomona Swap Meet and they are being pretty accomodating. Here are the broad strokes

1) There is a separate area for Porsche/VW (as usual). This is located just next to the high traffic west entrance , where buyers and spectators come in.
2) The swap meet will allow Porsche only vendors to set up next to each other. I will help them coordinate the allotment of spaces in the following manner. Commercial Porsche vendors first set of rows, private Porsche vendors next set of rows, then other vendors.
Caveat: Those vendors that subscribe to the meet already get to keep their spaces. FYI some of these are Porsche guys AND even are early S members.
3) We can reserve our spaces right now ! Contact me and i will fill you in with details
4) Porsche only parking. The swap meet will allow us to purchase P car only parking in advance. They will corral off a specific area just for these pre-pays. You will get a entry pass with your P car space purchase. This way you are assured of a premium parking spot opposite the Porsche vendor area that is available whenever you arrive. You will have to enter thru Gate 15 on the east side, show your pre paid pass, and drive to the west end. Again- contact me soon so i can pass along the info.
I am NOT collecting fees for the meet ! You will contact them and pay them directly. I am only facilitating our groups so we are not mixed up with er... unusual parts sellers and/or their cars.

Vendors ! If we use our websites and usual advertising methods, incorporate the swap meet date in them; we can generate a lot of interest for this one time event. I have some ideas on what can be done. Please contact me to discuss.

All the rest of the P car guys (and gals) : Though this is no where near a Dunkels or Ventura event, this is available to US ! We can make the most of it for a Fall event where weather is usually nice, enjoy a morning together, and hope for a full blown event in '09

Some discussion please!

you can contact me at tremotorsports@gmail.com for how to park the P cars together and how to get all the Porsche vendors (commercial and private) organized

[Maybe-68S-Targa]

what area at Pomona are you talking about ?

in the regular swap area or off to the side somewhere away from the VW crowd ?

Chuck

[TRE Cup]

It would be the current porsche/ vw area. But the focus would be to get as many porsche commercial vendors in the first few rows, then private porsche vendors, then the rest. If there is a commercial vw vendor that already has a reservation now, then he is in the mix with the P car vendors. This is why i am promoting this idea now so we can get as many P car only vendors (commercial and private) close to each other and the front of that area

The meet just does not have enough area to set aside a Porsche only space. As it is , they sell off the unsold spaces there to non german car vendors IF we do not fill it up in advance.

They have some incentive in helping us, just not a lot. Remember we are trying this for one time only. There will be NO other event similar to this in the Fall

[Homemade 911]

All,
As a vendor in the Porsche world (like Dave, Stephen, and countless others) we have a need for shows like the (late) GAF...

At the soggy Costa Mesa swap meet, I spent some time with the Stoddard guys and we talked about this. The bottom line is; with the possible exception of Hershey, there really isn't anything out there that ever had, or even currently has the general GAF format. Go ahead; bitch and pick at the carcass all you want but the truth is, Campbell and Co. had all that figured out...and the GAF worked as well as it was ever going to.

We need a Porsche-centric event: preferably several throughout the year. Ideally, the events should be strategically placed throughout the country in locations we can all easily get to from either coast (meaning a good airport, cheap hotels, and generally easy access). If there were to be only one "premium" event, then I think it should be somewhere centrally located - for example somewhere in Illinois, in the late spring before that awful summertime humidity kicks in...early fall would be another good spot.

I think this is a good opportunity for someone (or a tight, well organized group) to step up and fill this void - I recognize the challenges inherent in doing something like this, on an appreciable scale and for only one Marque...but, dammit, I can't help but think that this would be doable, provided that expectations are realistically managed...

I, for one, am willing to spend some time as part of any team, organization, etc to help make things happen. Do I have a vested interest? of course I do...but the bottom line is that the Porsche enthusiast community as a whole will benefit.

What can I do to help? I can't run point, but I can certainly step up and lend a shoulder...
PMs are ok, so are phone calls: I'm at 888.928.9111

Cheers
Thom

PS - a real good place to get the ball really moving is to get connected with the guys organizing the PCA Festival of Speed at Cal Speedway...I know, I know, it's on the west coast, but it's a start...

[Maybe-68S-Targa]

TRE Cup has exceeded their stored private messages quota and can not accept further messages until they clear some space......

[TRE Cup]

thanks- made some space!
db

[RSupdate]

........ a real good place to get the ball really moving is to get connected with the guys organizing the PCA Festival of Speed at Cal Speedway...I know, I know, it's on the west coast, but it's a start...

Thom, I personally think you are closer to the mark than you think!!

I know first hand as a past driver/competitior, that aside from the facilities directly used by the drivers (track & Pits), the majority of Cal Speedways facilities are vastly under-utilized over the course of the PCA Speed Festival weekend.

I for one think that this is a great idea and holds the best chance at creating the nessesary excitement to draw the level of participation from both the Industry vendors as well as the Porsche public at-large.

.....Imagine a "Dunkels-Like" event going on while state of the art Porsche race cars are screaming thru T-1 & t-2 at 160+ ....a huge swap meet going on....various P-car corals.....Lots of vendors.....Lunch time laps......Lots of possibilities here.

I also remember first hand, my wife Gloria and her good friend Sheila, would drive their 911's out to the speedway (to watch me) and they would always comment after walking around how "almost deserted" the place was once you got away from the direct "racer" area's".

....some food for thought....hopefully....