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Post by markiisupraowner on Apr 30, 2006 4:53:04 GMT -8
I've talked to many Supra owners who would have liked to have attended this year's show, but simply hadn't goten around to it (and you could use some, since, for some bizarre reason, the Supra club has been boycotting your show...) -- I can't imagine the numbers of owners of ALL Toyotas who are being shut out. If you are filling up this soon (and I know the many new TOYs and Lexuses are a big part of the reason), then you need to do something about the venue --- or leave out the vendors to make more room.
The LAST thing you guys should be doing is denying registration to vintage Toyotas and alienating people ... its not a matter of our "not responding soon enough"... its a matter of you providing a big enough venue.
Don, 2001 Toyotafest attendee...
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Post by toyotageek on Apr 30, 2006 9:07:32 GMT -8
Don, I can't speak for everyone, but I can give my own 2 cents worth.
First, I'd like to state that people were given plenty of opportunity to register for the show. If they couldn't do it by the cutoff, that is their own fault, not ours. We had announcements on our website and this forum, we sent out postcards (especially to Old School owners), and we left postcards and flyers at numerous locals where we would expect Old School owners to frequent. Our organizers also contacted many Old School clubs (including Celica, MR2, & Supra clubs). We even limited the numbers for Scion during registration, in order to leave space open for Old School cars. However, it is unfortunate that the Old School owners in general, don't show the enthusiasm that the Scion owners do for this event (don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing the old school owners, I'm one myself - I am stating the facts as they are and how I have seen it for the past number of years from my own eyes, from the inside of where it all happens). And, remember that this event is called the ALL TOYOTAFEST for a reason... All Toyota, Lexus and Scion are welcome!
Filling up this soon? There are two weeks left to the show! That's not much time at all for all the work involved for our staff. We had a deadline set up and had to stick with it in order to allow time for our event organizers to process everything. This show doesn't happen by itself. As has been stated there is no At-The-Gate-Registration this year. This was done to make the entire registration & entry proceedure easier. Maybe we will lose a few people because of this, but it makes it much easier for all the staff that is involved.
It would be hard to leave out the vendors, since they help to pay for all the expenses involved.
We are NOT denying registration to vintage Toyota owners. As a matter of fact we did all we could to encourage vintage Toyota owners to enroll. We can't force them to enroll if they don't want to or decide to take their time. Like I mentioned earlier, people were given plenty of opportunity to register for the show. If they couldn't do it by the cutoff, that is their own fault, not ours.
A bigger venue means more cost to us, and more work for our limited staff. At this point in time the show is at a 'safe and controlable' size for us to handle.
Toyotafest has turned into what it is for a number of reasons. By opening Toyotafest up to newer cars, Scion and Lexus, we have been able to garner much more attention from Toyota enthusiasts, the media, and Toyota itself!
TORC is not perfect (personally I sometimes think that too much emphasis is put into Toyotafest, while almost disregarding the rest of the calendar year - but this isn't MY club, it isn't any one person's club - It is everyone's club, and as such compromises are sometimes made, for better or worse.)
There is an old saying that everyone is familiar with ~ You can't please all of the People all of the time.
More than anything I would love to see TORC have an Old School only show. I loved the old days when it was a casual get-together. We've made a few attempts at this with some of our Meet & Greets, and have been met with mixed results. I hope we will continue to have such get-togethers and I hope that one day we will have a seperate Vintage Toyota Show. But like I've also mentioned numerous times in the past, we can't do it alone. The core staff of TORC is very small, and we all have our own lives to deal with. I've asked for help and participation from people for years, and mostly it falls on deaf ears. While I was newsletter editor, it was a constant struggle to try & get stories (you'd think I was trying tp pull out peoples teeth). So again, I say - If you want something done, Please get involved with TORC and help us out! Don't just make suggestions, take the initiative & do it!
With this new forum, everyone is given the chance to announce a gathering, there is even a sub-board just for that. I hope that people will begin to take advantage of this opportunity.
Thanks for your comments and I hope you'll still be able to come & visit Toyotafest!
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Post by landcru on Apr 30, 2006 9:34:29 GMT -8
Don,
We look forward to you donating your time to the club and getting involved with the management of the club and the All Toyotafest.
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Post by Don on May 10, 2006 2:38:29 GMT -8
You know, I've been involved in the old car hobby for thirty years now, and I continue to wonder why so many marque clubs don't advertise so that people learn EARLY about meets -- Miss Information, Hemmings, etc. Its possible you advertised in one of those and perhaps I did not see it --- I only know that I kept in close contact with what I believe is one of the largest Toyota dealers in SoCal --- Longo -- and no one in their service or parts departments had heard anything about the show as of two weeks ago when I asked.
I don't want to spar with you --- I can only say that I have been to major club shows across the country -- at least six POCI shows , and they never turned away a car. TORC is growing -- the fact that Toyotafest is filled and you continue to turn away cars is proof that it will only continue to grow A LOT, and I therefore will reiterate that you should not be alienating potential members -- anyone can buy a new car and drive it to a meet, but vintage owners work especially hard and look forward to this event.
As for me, I HAVE volunteered in the past -- specifically to help Stuart spread the word ( and there was little interest)... of course spreading the word will from now on be a bad idea, if you refuse to increase the size of the venue. But this is it -- I simply cannot get involved any more. There are too may IMPORTANT things to worry about (children dying in Iraq -- and Louisiana -- to name two). Enjoy the club on YOUR terms, and if you are grumpy and defensive, it is because the workload is not being divided up properly -- ask all those Scion, Lexus, and Landcruiser owners to volunteer. If they can afford the prices -- and, in the cases of the latter two, the gas -- for those vehicles, then they are certainly living a lifestyle that allows them to volunteer some free time -- the rest of us have to selfishly work to pay the rent.
Adios, TORC
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Post by Don on May 10, 2006 2:49:37 GMT -8
... one more thing, as far as being excited about Toyota's interest, they should be EXCITED about YOUR interest. You are providing a wealth of free advertising and PR to a company that can now afford to buy General Motors. Toyota has never done ANYTHING to help vintage owners, other than to raise the prices on or even destroy NOS parts. Get THEM to provide your venue -- its the least they could do.
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Post by Kronk on May 10, 2006 15:50:03 GMT -8
Hasta luego loser.
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Post by landcru on May 10, 2006 19:28:58 GMT -8
Don,
Once again you have proved that you are one of the people who do nothing but complain when things dont go your way.
We have a limited size facility to host the event and it reached capacity by people who are on top of things and read to keep up with events. We are all aware of world events and I myself have a small business that I have run for 15 years. That did not prevent me from registering my car on time.
Sorry that you are too busy to help in the club, spreading the word of the Toyota club is great and we appreciate any new interersted parties that you have sent our way.
By all means, help us find a new location for next year that we can host more than 300 vehicles. Everyone who devotes so much time to the TORC event will be happy to have you help.... dont talk about it, DO IT!
Thanks for your participation in the past, maybe your spot at the event will be filled by some one who appreciates what it takes to put on an event of this size.
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Post by toyotageek on May 14, 2006 12:42:27 GMT -8
The following is my own personal editorial, I have removed my TORC shirt to put on my defensive uniform and grumpy mask.
You know, I wasn't going to bother replying, but it just gets to me that someone that is not involved and has not been involved with the club for a number of years, can stand there and criticize us for what we are doing.
You say "I don't want to spar with you" yet you do with the very words you put to the keyboard. And then you go on to say that "...you are grumpy and defensive..." Sure, if you consider me replying to your post as being grumpy & defensive, so be it. But remember, you are the one that "offeneded" so I guess I had to "defend!"
Let me go on to respond to a few of Don's comments.
There were announcements in a number of magazines. There were a number of announcements online. Postcards were mailed to ALL former TORC members and past Toyotafest attendees. Flyers were distributed and displayed. Now, as far as Longo Toyota not knowing about... I'm sure Don must recall that Cabe Toyota has had a long association with TORC and Toyotafest. Cabe is a major supporter & sponsor. While Toyotafest is not a Cabe run event, I don't think it would be appropriate to solicit participation from other Toyota dealerships. I do concede that maybe in the future, TORC should attempt to notify other dealers of the event (thus letting those dealers decide if they even want to 'help spread the word'). Besides, Don was well aware of the TORC website and could easily have found out about Toyotafest from visiting the website - the news was prominantly displayed there.
I don't get to a lot of other car shows, so I can't say if it is common practice to admit or deny 'Day of Event Registration' It was something we decided to try, and it definately improved the situation at the point of entry & processing if cars. Maybe we need to review the situation, but it did make it much easier on our Volunteers this year! Now I have to reiterate, we did not specifically or intentionally TURN AWAY cars - ample opportunity was provided to PRE-REGISTER and we stuck to a deadline. (It's like when I fly somewhere, I make a reservation to gaurantee myself a seat on the plane... I don't show up at the airport at the last minute, bags all packed, and expect to get on a plane leaving in 5 minutes.) But yes, if you weren't pre-registered you were turned away on the day of the event - that meant old cars and new cars. that meant Toyota, Scion & Lexus. We had a parking layout to stick to and there was no deviating from it.
I see, and that was, when? I have volunteered for the last 6 years and don't recall seeing Don helping out. And as he states, "specifically to help Stuart spread the word ( and there was little interest)" and "I simply cannot get involved any more" Again Don, I've been volunteering for 6 years and don't recall you getting involved. And yes, Don, we all know about current events in the World today, but I wonder why you bring them up now? After all you were interested in bringing your car to the show to try & sell it... but you seem to have deleted that posting, ... ah well. Yes, maybe now I am getting a little defensive & cynical, but I only do it to make a point. It's like Don must have a chip on his shoulder and has to blame TORC for it. Why, I have no idea.
Now, I don't know if Don will even come back to read any of this, but YES, I did feel I had to come back and respond. I might not always agree with what TORC does or how we do it, but overall our hearts are in the right place. If someone thinks they can do a better job, by all means, please do so - don't just point fingers and talk trash about the hard work of others. I look forward to attending any show Don might organize in the near fututre.
By the way, the 11th Annual All Toyotafest was yesterday. I worked the event from 5:30am to 9pm and others spent even more hours organizing and supervising. Overall it was a success with good responce from attendees. There were some issues I'm sure we will attend to, and next years show should be even better.
Now let me get out of my defense uniform and take off my grumpy mask.
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Post by guest on May 14, 2006 20:07:41 GMT -8
Hey Don,
Glad you did not show up, it gave an extra space for my Supra.
Why dont you go over to your local chevy dealer and buy some parts for your 68 El Camino, I am sure they have them in stock or maybe they were destroyed?
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zatoh
Toyota Novice
Posts: 3
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Post by zatoh on May 15, 2006 7:35:39 GMT -8
Sorry Don but I have to back Mike. We were all given ample warning about registration filling up early.
The only thing that I can suggest as far as "fair" representation in registration is that a limited number of slots be allocated for the "old school" categories. If those aren't filled then they are backfilled from the other categores from a waiting list. That way you will maintain a consistent representation of the amount of "classic" toys for every meet. As was mentioned earlier this is "Toyotafest" so this may not matter anyway.
As for me I was more interested in older Toyotas but I apprecited all the others as well.
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Post by robakun on May 15, 2006 21:33:46 GMT -8
KICK HIS BUT TOYOTA GEEK!!!!
freakin whiner. I hate those. All comments. No action. Adios little baby. good by.
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Post by caravantrader on May 17, 2006 0:18:56 GMT -8
hey don,
would you like some cheese with your wHine?
Great show Mike! will see you in the JCCS!
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