Come on over and join in the fun, I don't think you're going to find it daunting. There aren't politics and egos involved at the gathering, it just seems to ruffle some feathers outside that we're trying to find a way to throttle the event so it has the best chance at growing.

The "$$$$ amount of the car" argument can now be thrown out the window--we've had an Ariel Atom attend for the last two weeks and *gasp* park in the main exotics lot! What have Tommy and Vic been saying? "It's not the dollar amount of the car, it's about getting cars people want to see." The crowd around this thing was huge. And it's a blast to have come.

The whole "well, I don't have xxx car and that's all you seem to care about, so 'f'' you" argument just doesn't hold water. Tommy especially knows this--if you play it that way, then it becomes an arms race. Tommy's LP-640 is a wow car until the original Miura S that showed up the other week took away the title. That's cool until the F-40 showed up. When a Veyron comes, that blows them all away--until Jon Shirley brings some bad-*** race car. Then that's not as cool as.... you get the point. The guys who want to pick on the point of the cars and money--well, pick away. But most everyone you are arguing with gets it.

Everyone is welcome. And everyone is of course, proud of their cars. It's just the challenge of balancing the car guys out with the public.

The fact of the matter is, there are three groups that need to show up, and it's a constant balancing act to make sure they ALL do:

1) The core guys. The ones that are showing up week after week to hang out, have fun, look at the cars and make the event. Now, there are guys showing up (myself included) that don't have an exotic, but are welcomed into the group because we aren't being dicks and can add value to the group by being who we are. Show up with or without cars, just add value overall by being yourself.

2) The general public, because this is an event, and it should be shared. At the same time, this is an event at a PUBLIC SHOPPING MALL. Let me repeat that, because it is going to become ESSENTIAL in the following months as this thing grows. It's an event at a mall. That has shops that sells things. That exists because people come and spend money. Exotics@RTC takes up a good chunk of retail parking. If at any point it becomes a burden to Redmond Town Center, Desert Fire and Claim Jumpers, you can bet they'll shut it down fast.

3) The super-exotic owners. Events like this need the unusual to draw people out and keep it interesting. Yes, the while the same group of 30 owners getting together to discuss the latest in painted brake calipers and exhausts would be riveting--the wow factor becomes quickly diminished. You need the rare, the unusual, the bizarre, the cool to come out and excite people. "Hey Chuck--holy sh*t you'll never believe what just pulled up--you gotta get down here quick!"

Having the Ultimate Aero at the event was the just the beginning. If you guys knew what is scheduled to come in the next few months, you would **** yourself. Then you would get up, change your pants and pee yourself again. But--these guys will only bring their toys out because they feel comfortable with the event and feel comfortable with the people there.

In the end it's not about excluding anybody--in fact, it's about restraint in order to make sure that everyone CAN be included! (take a second to think about it, I'll pause...) Do you go out with (or did you go out with) every girl that asked or was available? No! You made some decisions, set some criteria. Now, did you go to a bar and say "Hey, everybody who's not a 5'4" brunette with DD's, get out! We don't want you here?" Absolutely not. Instead, you hung out, had fun, probably met some great people who weren't your type, and went home with the ones you wanted. Now...if you had gone out with EVERY girl who asked or you saw, you would get tired and jaded. And you would become boring to the girls you did want, because you'd change and not be fun to be around. So, instead of being able to throw a party that everyone could join, if you did throw a party you'd have a reputation of "oh, well I'd go but Jim just dates all these weird women and they would be there, so I don't feel comfortable going." Some throttling of what appears where is necessary to keep the momentum.

So: bring on the flames, call me names (I'm sure I've heard worse from my wife). Call me out on what I've said.

But if you do, make absolutely sure you bring the tech to your argument. Because the petty "My feelings are hurt because you don't let my Scion park next to a Diablo GT and a full blown Porsche track car" are retarded and don't have any meat to them.

 

Best post regarding this whole event.

Well done.

The passive aggressive whining and moaning about this amazing gathering is so tiresome. Just come and enjoy, or don't...that's about all I can add after the A++++ post above me.

 

+100000

 

I really hope to be there next weekend, hopefully everyone brings there beaters...LOL

 

Great post. I'm part of the group above and honestly don't see what the big deal is. I've been to several events just to hang out, talk cars and photography at the same time. It's a fun event. Come on out....

 

Head's up for this Saturday! I'm talking...shorts and flip flops time! WHOOPIEEEE!!!
Sat
Apr 18


Partly Cloudy
70°
47°
20%
70°F

Sun
Apr 19


Partly Cloudy

70°
47

 

Holy Crap Batman! I think I've just been flamed by the welcoming committee.

 

ok I'll bite. Do Gallardo's really have "low rider" capabilities like the orange one that rises up to cross the speed bump?

That appears to be a pretty big gathering. What would you guys do with that many cars?

 

Cool cars, but what's up with the music????

 

As far as I know, late model Gallardos have the lift. According to this thread--
http://www.lamborghini-talk.com/vbfo...gallardo-4919/

It was an option in '04 and std in '05.
Another post says it was only available in '05.

 

i'm not going to lie. my favorite thing on a lambo ever. but just another thing that can go wrong with these (reference to all Ferrari's, Lambos, and Mini's guys) high end cars probably.

still would rather have the bike of yours in the avatar. let me know before it goes on craigslist

 

They sell those "raisers" aftermarket for Porsches, Ferraris, etc. but IMHO they're WAY overpriced.

 

The song is called my favorite things, umm its an Xmas song most would recognize. I take it most people don't get the irony behind it..LOL

 

Vic and I originally wanted to model E@RTC after Cars and Coffee and I was just there to see how it was doing under the new general rules. The exotic video at C&C was not at all like C&C is now. I'm guessing that video was shot just before the meltdown. When they were at Crystal Cove they were booted out because it got out of hand with lots of complaints from merchants and neighbors. At C&C (now in Irvine) they also had a problem when a whole bunch of S2000s showed up at once after some exotics drove a long way and didn't get in as a result.

I took lots of pictures this past week of the crowd to see what was interesting to people and to do a comparative count relative to my last visit in November before things blew up. Attendance is way down by comparison and the really cool cars are a much smaller percent of the overall cars that show up. Muscle and classics outnumber everyone and it's hard to say for sure if they don't draw. In fact, spectator attendance is way down too. Exotics aren't going to C&C to the degree they were and they were the original cornerstone of the draw. I'll visit again this summer and see how it's going. They still have a lot of cool cars, but not as many with a big wow factor. We set up E@RTC based on the model we think will work best overall. As much as we get attacked for our efforts, the continued growth speaks for itself, and we'll keep on tweaking it to make it even more appealing for you to get up early and make the drive to come see us.

As for the lift, yea all Lamborghinis now have it. It's really necessary on the LP640s, especially the roadster which is even lower than the coup. I can occasionally scrape on city streets just because of low spots. The lift makes a huge difference and is worth it.

 

but it's soooo damn early in the morning. it's too early for me even to drink coffee...

I was late for the 9:30 Gig Harbor event. I live 8 minutes away.

Is there a place to land a helicopter?