Agreed and if 10-15 minutes from me would also check it out! I can tell you
however from just cruise nights in Houston it is sort of same. Years ago on
Friday nights there was monster cruise night/show downtown at the Prince's Drive
Inn, many of the 'regulars' staked out places at 3-4pm, the thing didn't really
get hopping until after 6pm, and many rodders and old car fans drove their cars
to work, then after working in downtown buildings all day, just go to cruise for
few hours. Sometimes so many cars it spilled over into Sear's parking lot, so
not uncommon to get 300-500 cars.
Few AMCs, usually I was lone AMCer there. And sometimes it seemed people
were more interested in looking at a Ford engine that is all chrome than looking
at AMC that might be one of one made. I had small AMC signs in my trunk with
details like engine size, production, trans, options and accessories, and put it
on a easle in front of car, and business cards on windshield. So you have to
work twice as hard to get car people to notice AMC stuff.
And can tell you all types of conversations from celebrities like Jose Cruz
(Astros) and Jerry Glanville (was coach of Oilers and Falcons in NFL) with their
classic rides, to dumbasses who knew for sure that Ford 390 is AMC 390 because
friend of friend worked at a dealership. Sometimes I would purposely see if
parking spot available next to a Ford or Mercury 390 anything so would have both
hoods popped and maybe someone learn something while enjoying meet. But some
still would not understand. Or get it. And so it goes.
So don't take it personal that you might be the only AMC in sea of whatever
brand x, remember there was usually more of the brand x cars made. But you have
unique piece of US automotive history and those that remember, or wish to learn,
will take a few moments to double check out your car. Those that walk by
transfixed on the chrome blower in the Mustang or whatever, don't worry abuot
them. The best thing you can do is have fun at mixed make meets, and answer
questions from those asking about your car. And if they want a AMC, send them to
my site as it has tons of AMcs that need a home and it is free service and if
they buy one, then it is win/win for all of us, and maybe next year when you go
to the meet, there will be two of ya'll.....
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, August 09, 2009 9:02
PM
Subject: Re: [BaadAssGremlins]
NSRA/long
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I will probably end up going next year. I didn't make the rules and
I would like to be part of what you be the biggest car show ever. I
figure I will spend most of the first day inside checking out the
vendors even though I doubt if I find any AMC stuff there. If i don't
like what is going on I can always leave and I don't have to show up all
four days. The place is only a 10 to 15 minute drive from me. Now if I
had a 500 mile drive ahead of me and had to lay out 2 or 3 hundred for a
motel room it would be a different story. Being this close to something
I would like to do it would be kind of silly not to.
Terry
--- On Sun, 8/9/09, Eddie Stakes
<eddiestakes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From:
Eddie Stakes <eddiestakes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re:
[BaadAssGremlins] NSRA/long
To:
BaadAssGremlins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sunday, August 9, 2009, 10:03
AM
Hi Terry, good points however a few things thought I would bring
up. As for fees like registration, I can tell you with 11 regionals
and one national (AMO) under my belt here, that the fees go a long way
for variety of things. Pre-registration for instance helps determine
how many people you 'might' get. But there are straglers like myself
who 'wait untin weather channel says no hurricane that weekend' to
sign up. Then it is more to sign up day of show. But sometimes worht
risk, as some events won't refund money if tornado spewing volcanos
and lightning from Zeus pops up in middle of showfield day of event.
The money raised also offsets costs like fees city, county, or even
host area charges. The National we did in 2001 here in Houston, we
*HAD* to have X amount of rooms booked at Radisson.... or we would eat
that cost! $64,000 worth of rooms ya'll. 10 Wed, 25 Thurs 70 Fri, 70
Sat, (doing from memory, might have been more) but each unbboked room
would have cost us. Lucky for us all rooms booked and then some, sold
out whole hotel. Banquet, we locked in prices for food at roughly $23
a plate/head, but in the time we signed the contract...and up to
meet....5 damned managers came and went at that hotel, each one
attempted to break the contract and renegotiate it.
Police. With a show of 11,000 vehicles, you will have a armada of
police presence. And the taxpayers and city will usually not pick up
whole tab....the event organizers will have to pay, and cops (at least
in Houston for nightclub door watch) are $60-$70 per hour.
There is massive advertising, tshirts, goodie bags, parking, dash
plaques, trophies and tons more I can't even get into it hewre on what
it takes money wise to pull off a event.....much less one with 11,000
cars, I am talking a AMO meet planned 5 years of hard work (no pay) in
advance, down to the 96 hours of the meet itself then event over and
have to straighten out all the bills. I could not imagine the
logistical nightmare of a 11,000 car event. Heck, you just saw the
huge bike Sturgis meet in ND yesterday got hammers with baseball sized
hail and 70+mph (yikes, hurricane force) winds, hopefully it blew of
some of the ladies tops, but those biker guys are tough so riding
around in hailstorm no problem.
As for people caring less abut your Gremlin, I would have to
disagree. People usually remember the car and while you are not around
people are smiling, and whipping out cell phones to take photo of
it.
I can't comment on the NSRA rules, and someof them like most
clubs, are arcane and just fucking stupid. But they are rules
nonetheless put there by the powers that be for whatever reason, and
my suggestion to everyone, young and old, is if you don't like them,
run of a position in that organization then try to make changes as you
and hopefully others, see fit.
Back to AMO and the dues, in Houston we had a discussion about
people being on showfield as you have to have insurance. There is
another HUGE something I didn't mention above! But people might not
have wanted to join AMO for $30 a year, but did want to show their
car. So it was brought up to have a 'three day pass' membership for
something like $10-$15 that would allow them to be on field, get
judged, ect. And if they wanted to join....then pro rate remainder for
year. Worked great, sort of like buying battery from Auto Zone, if it
goes bad in 2 years they prorate it so get new battery for $8.
NSRA is just that....streed rods
A Ford man no join Chevy club but you can still go to their Super
Chevy Sunday and check things out.
You take your Gremlin to a AMO meet and it wil be hard to get
good, clean photo of it all day with folks checking it out. You take
it to street rod meet people will walk past it, their eyes transfixed
on the blower in the 40 coupe next to you. It is uh, a street
rod.
Good? You represented all of us by going to a meet, whether local
cruise night at Sonic, drag strip or even this NSRA meet. Bad? Unless
your Gremlin looks like a Zinger with tunnel ram higher than roofline
you get lost in shuffle. Enjoy your car for what it is, not what
others think of it.
It's why I have enjoyed driving, racing, showing, wrecking,
putting back together, restoring, nothing but AMC's since 1976 when
got driver licanse and still drive American Motors built vehicles in
Houston, Texas in 2009, so enjoy the Gremmie.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, August 09, 2009
12:46 AM
Subject: [BaadAssGremlins]
NSRA
|
I spent the last two nights doing my usual thing when the
street rods are in town. Riding around where the motels are
and hearing the hoots and hollers and thumps up from the
crowd. Did here a lot of next years give away car. They give a
street rod away every year. I thought sure this would make up
my mine about entering my Gremlin next year While I would love
to be part of the largest car show in the world. They had
11,000 cars his year. They are saying 14 to 15 thousand next
year with the 30 year rule. Still I don't want to be some
where that I am not wanted. Still I get the feeling that about
about half the shows I go to the car people could car less
about my Gremlin it is the general public that love it. Also
the cost of the show kinds of gets me. If I wait to the show
to register it will cost me a $100 to be in it. The admission
to the show isn't bad $35 for a four day event. Catch is you
have to be a member of NSRA witch is another $65. While I am a
member of AMO I have no real desire to be a member of NSRA. I
am not a great lover of streets rod. Would like to see the
vendors though. If you got the bucks you can lay your money
down and watch your street rod being built from the parts at
the show. You can drive your brand new 1932 Ford coupe home by
6 o'clock that night. So much for cars manufactored before
1949. Their rules were always silly to me and the people who
are throwing a fit don't make since. They will let this new
car in because it looks like a 32 Ford but wouldn't let a
Plymouth Prowler in because its registration says 1993. I
guess I can see thier point though. I wouldn't want to go to
an AMO convention and see a bunch of street rods there. I want
to see AMC cars. There again if they invited them and parked
in the north 40. Who would care. If you wanted to look at them
you could if you didn't you wouldn't have to.
Terry
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