I truly hope the west coasters do step up to bat on this one. I seem to remember a lot of people for out there complaining about the last national event being on the east coast and wanting it to more westward this year. S2KCA answered your requests and now no one is going. From what I've heard from people Asheville was a lot of fun. And I've heard (and read) the same thing about Laguna. I hope next year, the club is still here and can move the event back east where apparently people appreciated it a little more.

Unfortunately, I imagine that there is a little more at stake here than just the national 2002 event. I am guessing that if the club is on the hook for some of the money associated with planning this event, the club may not survive. I hope this is not the case. And I feel for those of you who have already put alot of time and maybe even money into planning this event. Good luck.

 

To the organizers of S2KDays -

Despite the criticisms people are now levying at you, when people complained last year that the event was too far east and when people complained this year that the event would be too far west, there are those of us around who remember you telling the board that s2kdays would move around - from the east coast, to the west coast, to a central location, etc.

We also have seen posts pop up all over this board directing people's attention to the s2kdays forum on this board for further information. In fact, when you first jump to the forums page, you see a heading for S2KDays - national owners' rally. We also realize it's not up to you to hold everyone's hand until they physically sign up for the event.

I'm not sure what more people want you to do but thanks for trying. Having organized events in the past and present, I know how thankless it can be. Especially when everyone wants to play Monday morning quarterback.

 

s2kchick

You are correct - if the financial loss that this event creates is too great the club will not survive.

 

s2kchick, thanks, once again, for the support...even though you aren't an S2KCA member, you have long since been a voice of reason and defended us when we were attacked for, what I considered to be, rather silly things.

Thanks...

It was always clear to me that most east coasters wouldn't be coming, at least driving, to this year's event. But Rick Hesel and crew were planning on flying out and so were a few other people that I know of. But living in America presents unique geographical issues. The main one being that it's big! There is NO WAY that everyone can be happy with a location that we pick. It's too far someone...that will ALWAYS be the case. That's the reason that we followed the NSXCA's lead and planned on moving it from one coast to the other then in the middle somewhere...

But if this goes the way I think it's going, there won't be an S2KDays next year. No new registrations have come since the one on May 4. The club is on the hook at the Sheraton for 30,000 dollars. We are working with them now to either release us from that (penalty is unknown at this point) or substantially reduce the obligation, which also means the event would be a mere shadow of what it was originally expected to be. This is, of course, contingent upon people signing up in droves. And until that happens, and it has to happen soon...it's not looking good. Sad to say...

We tried our level best...I don't know what else to do. All I was trying to was have some fun with a bunch of friends.

 

I had looked forward to attending a national ralley, but the west coast was just too far. I've attended similar events (Homecoming) twice in my Z3 over Labor Day Weekends. Z3 Homecomings are held at the factory in Greenville-Spartenburg, SC and HEAVILY supported by BMW Manufacturing NA. Attendance is limited to 500 cars, which always show up. It, too, started small and grew over the years. With factory support it only cost $25 to attend. Evening meals, entertainment, performance center drives, lots of activities, mostly paid by BMW. Perhaps, Honda USA could be inticed into similar support of an enthusiastic owners group.

 

Personally I do not think it is a matter of appreciation but more of economics. So please do not pin that title on us west coasters. Many of us are struggling to keep our jobs, and if I were to be on the chopping block I would have to seriously look at where I am going to save money and unfortunately this event would be one of the first to go. It is not because I don't appreciate S2KCA and what they have done to put this event together but more of what is best for my family and its future.

BTW, I have signed up for all of the weekend events and track day.

 

If it`s not too late, I`d consider inviting the NSX, ITR, and Hybrid Guys. Make it a Honda Enthusiast type of weekend. I would be more than willing to help promote the event on the other 10 boards I frequent/moderate. Seems like a better option than the Club taking a shitter over this.

Just my opinion

Ryan

 

SilverSurfer, I think you are correct in saying that is a matter of economics as CA has been hit probably harder than any other state with the dotbombs and other high-tech layoffs, etc. It's pretty ugly out there and CA got hit hard.

We had hoped to alleviate the financial issues by announcing the event last year and giving a ballpark cost so people could have a target to budget for...and this would/should have allowed sufficient time to save up cash on the side to come have fun this weekend. I guess that didn't happen or it didn't happen to the extent that I had hoped it would.

Nevertheless, I think it's a more a mixture of things and not one factor in particular is to blame. But when the rubber hits the road, it's often a financial choice for people and car clubs, especially in these iffy economic times, are on pretty low priority, which is not only totally understandable, but perfectly logical.

I haven't spoken with the Sheraton yet...but I will post when I do. I hope to do that today...

 

I appreciate the hard work S2KCA has put into organizing this event. I know it must have been time cosuming and taxing on your sanity. However, I think S2KCA should have done a little more investigation into the demographics of the owners. I'm not trying to criticize the club, I'm just trying to rationalize why more people in California did not sign up for the event.

First, I'd like to know how you came up with the 250 drivers scenerio? Sure, combining the Northern and Southern CA owners, and adding the Pacific Northwest and Texas Owners, you might have been able to get into the mid 100s. It's true that the Northern and Southern CA owners can rally 40+ cars to any of their local gatherings, but you have to remember that these events are typically lunches, dinners and drives which are all low cost.

Now, take it a step futher and look at track events put on by the CA clubs. Rylan did one last year at Thunderhill. We had a great showing of S2000s (50+) cars, but in the end, the event had to be opened to other makes to fill up the empty spots. Laguna Seca was probably unique in the sense that it is not the run-of-the-mill track. It's got some history behind it Speedventures did two track days at Sears Point in March. They filled Saturday, but Sunday was fairly empty. It wasn't billed as a S2000 only event, though, but think of how many track enthusiasts there are in California and yet they still could not fill the event on both days. In all of the cases, you had a potential pool of 100+ S2000 owners across California, yet the events still needed to be filled by other makes.

Next, add a mandatory weekend (to be eligible for the track days) which costs $150-$200 + $100/night in the hotel on TOP of the track event the two days before (~$300 for the track registration + $120 for the hotel) and you've significantly decreased the number of participants who will be willing and able to sign up. Heck, I don't know about the rest of you, but I have a budget that I need to follow. It's not like I'm in sales and earn huge commissions Anyway, that's about $800 for the 4 days! For $800, I would have rather spent that money on a driving school or tickets in the hot pits for the Grand Prix at Laguna Seca

I think it all comes down to understanding your community. The owners are diverse. You have owners who are college students, have families, are track junkies, are posers , are rich and some that are not so rich . Your projection of 250+ drivers was overly optimistic. It's good to think big, but national events don't get big instantaneously. The club needs to manage its expectations.

If you had separated the track event from the weekend, you probably would have been able to fill the track days already. I hope that Rylan will be able to get that process going quickly. I personally know 4 or 5 people who will sign up for both track days without the weekend activities. I suspect that there are many more lurking around waiting for that moment.

 

I wanted to go to last years event, & would like to go to this years. Unfortunately, I have used up all my vacation time on a trip to Australia. In addition, I'm not to keen on the idea of driving 1700 miles. IF there is a mid-states event next year, I will be there.