Why No National Car Club?
Why No National Car Club?
This post is intended to start a discussion about the possibilities of a National Evo Club, Evo Registry, or Evo Club of America and National Evo Club convention. I am not offering my services for such a position.
As a former member of a Ford car model with a national car club I am basicaslly shocked that such an intense enthusiast's car group such as the Mitsu Evo and Evo MR owners does not have a national club with annual meetings. I am the former owner of the similarly cult-like Taurus SHO and they (SHO owners) have a terrific national SHO owners club. Not only this but they have a quarterly SHO-specific magazine that has articles contributed by vendors, service technicians, and individuals alike. They have a 4 day long national meeting that is in different cities across the US each year.
My wife and I would plan our annual vacation around this occassion each year. It was a tremendous opportunity to gather once a year and shoot the breeze with other similar car fanatics such as those that grace this forum. Both she and I looked forward with much anticipation to the road trips (with regional caravans), the car shows, the vendor displays, the track events, the meeting with old friends, and the meeting of new poeple who became a one week family to us each year during these conventions. It is/was a special time. Because this group of Lancer Evolution car nuts does not have such a club I will be joining my former "SHO" friends this summer and 'SHOing" them what the Evo is all about.
The annual SHOcCub convention included a first day evening social to renew acquaintances from the previous years, a car show with nice trophies for those who keep their cars in beautiful condition, and an open track day (with various classes for those who are experts down to those who are track novices) for those who want the experience of driving around tracks at speed across the country that they have only seen on TV.
In the evenings there were opportunities to meet for dinners at specified restrurants or other locations with invited speakers of national recognition. There were planned alternative afternoon activities (like mall shopping or historical tours, poker runs, rallies, and other events) for the automotively challanged.
There were always technical sessions with either factory personnel or proprietors of the finest tuner shops in the country. My favorite years included a vendor's hall where attendees could purchase merchandise and have it installed at the convention. Some years there was an autocross for those that specialize in lower speed events. Also, there was always the drag strip event to separate the BS fron the truth of those who love the 1320ft blast.
Lastly, there was a banquet where many, many vendor supplied gifts were given out by drawing the ticket stubs from all of the paid banquet attendees in addition to the trophies awarded from the various events. This was especially rewarding when nearly everyone "got something" thanks to the many generous gifts of the event sponsers (in our case, this would be the companies that sell Evo accessories). There were special gifts for those who traveled the longest distance, those who had experienced the greatest misfortune, or those who had gone above and beyond the call of duty.
I really enjoyed putting faces equally importantly, my wife made friends with other weekend widows whose husbands had spent the last month or so getting ready for the convention. Lastly, and perhaps more importantly there was an auction (of attendee and vendor supplied items) for the American Red Cross charity that nearly all of us can support. Over perhaps 10 years of conventions, tens of thousands of dollars were given to that charity from SHO Club.
So, what does it take to pull off such a convention? It takes an entreprenur to start a National Evo Club Magazine that he shamelessly markets to all of us. It takes a town like L.A. Chicago, Peoria, Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle, Tulsa, Newark, Louisville, Philadelphia, or Miami in which a small team (6-12) of devoted Evo enthusiasts takes on the responsibility of putting on the "National Evo Convention". Basicaly, it takes a plan which entails the securing of a host hotel with special convention room rates in the $70-80/night range, the securing of a nearby (less than 100 miles away) road course for the track day preferably with driving instructors for anyone who wants them to ride along ( this allows the track day to be called a "driving school" which lowers the insruance costs significantly), organizing a driver's meeting both the day before the track day and the day of the track day, the contacting of scores of vendors for donations, the reservation of a drag strip which is usually not a problem during a weekday, and the reservation of an appropriate sized banguet hall (usually in the host hotel). All of these activities must be priced fairly which is a difficult task. This is where prepaid convention reservations are essential to the success of the convention. Other needs might include a parking lot for an autocross, a lot for the car show although this is usually done in the host hotel parking lot, car wash water hoses for event attendees to wash their cars, large resturant reservations, brewry tours, auto museum tours, ect. The month of July seems to be the favored month for such activities if you want to include those families with kids in school.
Comments and volunteers are welcomed to add your two cents worth to the question: Why don't we have a national car club or national Evo Convention?
As a former member of a Ford car model with a national car club I am basicaslly shocked that such an intense enthusiast's car group such as the Mitsu Evo and Evo MR owners does not have a national club with annual meetings. I am the former owner of the similarly cult-like Taurus SHO and they (SHO owners) have a terrific national SHO owners club. Not only this but they have a quarterly SHO-specific magazine that has articles contributed by vendors, service technicians, and individuals alike. They have a 4 day long national meeting that is in different cities across the US each year.
My wife and I would plan our annual vacation around this occassion each year. It was a tremendous opportunity to gather once a year and shoot the breeze with other similar car fanatics such as those that grace this forum. Both she and I looked forward with much anticipation to the road trips (with regional caravans), the car shows, the vendor displays, the track events, the meeting with old friends, and the meeting of new poeple who became a one week family to us each year during these conventions. It is/was a special time. Because this group of Lancer Evolution car nuts does not have such a club I will be joining my former "SHO" friends this summer and 'SHOing" them what the Evo is all about.
The annual SHOcCub convention included a first day evening social to renew acquaintances from the previous years, a car show with nice trophies for those who keep their cars in beautiful condition, and an open track day (with various classes for those who are experts down to those who are track novices) for those who want the experience of driving around tracks at speed across the country that they have only seen on TV.
In the evenings there were opportunities to meet for dinners at specified restrurants or other locations with invited speakers of national recognition. There were planned alternative afternoon activities (like mall shopping or historical tours, poker runs, rallies, and other events) for the automotively challanged.
There were always technical sessions with either factory personnel or proprietors of the finest tuner shops in the country. My favorite years included a vendor's hall where attendees could purchase merchandise and have it installed at the convention. Some years there was an autocross for those that specialize in lower speed events. Also, there was always the drag strip event to separate the BS fron the truth of those who love the 1320ft blast.
Lastly, there was a banquet where many, many vendor supplied gifts were given out by drawing the ticket stubs from all of the paid banquet attendees in addition to the trophies awarded from the various events. This was especially rewarding when nearly everyone "got something" thanks to the many generous gifts of the event sponsers (in our case, this would be the companies that sell Evo accessories). There were special gifts for those who traveled the longest distance, those who had experienced the greatest misfortune, or those who had gone above and beyond the call of duty.
I really enjoyed putting faces equally importantly, my wife made friends with other weekend widows whose husbands had spent the last month or so getting ready for the convention. Lastly, and perhaps more importantly there was an auction (of attendee and vendor supplied items) for the American Red Cross charity that nearly all of us can support. Over perhaps 10 years of conventions, tens of thousands of dollars were given to that charity from SHO Club.
So, what does it take to pull off such a convention? It takes an entreprenur to start a National Evo Club Magazine that he shamelessly markets to all of us. It takes a town like L.A. Chicago, Peoria, Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle, Tulsa, Newark, Louisville, Philadelphia, or Miami in which a small team (6-12) of devoted Evo enthusiasts takes on the responsibility of putting on the "National Evo Convention". Basicaly, it takes a plan which entails the securing of a host hotel with special convention room rates in the $70-80/night range, the securing of a nearby (less than 100 miles away) road course for the track day preferably with driving instructors for anyone who wants them to ride along ( this allows the track day to be called a "driving school" which lowers the insruance costs significantly), organizing a driver's meeting both the day before the track day and the day of the track day, the contacting of scores of vendors for donations, the reservation of a drag strip which is usually not a problem during a weekday, and the reservation of an appropriate sized banguet hall (usually in the host hotel). All of these activities must be priced fairly which is a difficult task. This is where prepaid convention reservations are essential to the success of the convention. Other needs might include a parking lot for an autocross, a lot for the car show although this is usually done in the host hotel parking lot, car wash water hoses for event attendees to wash their cars, large resturant reservations, brewry tours, auto museum tours, ect. The month of July seems to be the favored month for such activities if you want to include those families with kids in school.
Comments and volunteers are welcomed to add your two cents worth to the question: Why don't we have a national car club or national Evo Convention?
Originally Posted by silverghost
As a former member of a Ford car model with a national car club I am basicaslly shocked that such an intense enthusiast's car group such as the Mitsu Evo and Evo MR owners does not have a national club with annual meetings.
But then again...what the members of the BMW CCA, PCA, and similar clubs have in common is a shared passion for driving. The main thing that brings these owners together are the track events. If you look at this board, you get the impression that most of the Evo owners seem to be kids who aren't committed to driving. They mod their cars but then stick to the street or maybe go to the dragstrip once every couple of months. Without the passion for real driving, I don't see how you can make a national club work.
I imagine it would be hard to collect enough Evo owners to put together a track event. I'm the Vice President of the Quebec chapter of the BMW Club of Canada. I ALWAYS invite Evo drivers to our track events...but no one shows up. It's a real shame.
Emre
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Here is my guess why there is no National convention. First off all the CA and west coast people would want it to be held there. All the east coast people would want it on thier side of the states. We mid-west and central people are just waiting for you 2 coasts to make up your damn minds.
Originally Posted by dryad001
Here is my guess why there is no National convention. First off all the CA and west coast people would want it to be held there. All the east coast people would want it on thier side of the states. We mid-west and central people are just waiting for you 2 coasts to make up your damn minds.
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Joined: Mar 2004
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it would be great, but most are just early 20's or younger, some mid to upper 20's so its tough, the CLOSEST thing you will get to a huge meet will either be a evo vs wrx shoot out if its near your area, or if you live in cali, and go to the norcal and socal evo meets. other then that i dont' see it happening..
although IF people are willing and would like to do this, i think we all could arrange something, but once again it will be tough
although IF people are willing and would like to do this, i think we all could arrange something, but once again it will be tough
I have seriously considered expanding NTEC and www.evotexas.org into a national club and do the things you are describing. I haven't pursued this because the Evo population does not seem to be the gathering type across the country like some of the others due to the demographics of the owners and the limited production of the car. NTEC does very well in Texas, IMO, and crosses into Oklahoma a bit, but past Texas, LA, OK, and one or two in Arkansas, the distance is too great and the regional pride is too strong to collaborate it seems.
If some of the other larger clubs in the US are interested in becoming chapters of a greater whole, let's talk about it. I would also like to see the Evolution Owners of America become a reality.
If some of the other larger clubs in the US are interested in becoming chapters of a greater whole, let's talk about it. I would also like to see the Evolution Owners of America become a reality.
Although this is an awsome idea, I think EVOTEXAS has it right. Most people wouldn't be willing to commit to a 15 hour drive one-way. Although I will be driving to SEMA in Nov and thats about 25 hours for me.
There are so many activities throughout the summer months locally or within 100 miles from everyone that local events are more economical and more frequent than a national event, which is a big invesment of time and money.
There are so many activities throughout the summer months locally or within 100 miles from everyone that local events are more economical and more frequent than a national event, which is a big invesment of time and money.
