All You Potential E30 Picnic Goers - READ HERE

[WillisE30]

Those of us out here in the NW are fortunate to live in what is probably the second biggest BMW enthusiast area outside of Cali. Plus the locals here are all great guys.

[DarkWing6]

Hey you guys,

I was reading your get together and I have to say I am jealous. So far, we have not had such a meet here in Ohio--recently.

I wish I lived a lot closer, as I would love to come and learn, and participate in all that is being talked about. You all really have your heads on straight. I think that the promoters and E30 family here desire to get enough involvement that we can do the same.

Hats off, and much prayer for a very successful meet. Please post photos so that we here--down under--can see how it all went

Start small. That is how this all began. I think it was like 5 years ago that this was literally a picnic with about 20 cars and a BBQ. Last year we were at 169.5 with sponsor booths and more give aways than we knew what to do with.

And why not make the drive? ;)

[stumpsbmwm3]

love to come...but

Love to,

used to fly in and out of McChord AFB in the early 90's. Wonderful area.
But a sneak trip to WA, this close to Thanksgiving, Christmas,.... would cause me to recieve the frying-pan-against the head treatment from the CINChouse.

I would have had to plan much earlier in the year, get permission from that woman, and get all the stuff right to just come that far. I love road trips. Plus I really don't want to come by myself. I'd take one of my sons (witness that I behaved while out of eyesight), but the downside to them is that they'll be asleep before we get out the driveway.

Had I been paying attention--earlier--I could have swung it. What I may do is start the planning to come out next year. That will give me time to get my E30 right. It was in good shape till one of the local deer decided he/she wanted to experience the front grill feel of a BMW at 60 mph.

I think I will try and see if I can make a round-robin type of trip. Try and make it to a few meets along the way.

In the meantime,

We had a really nice meet in Columbus, OH, in the spring. I think we had 20 cars or so. We are looking for ways to make it more interesting and more appealing to other BMW E30ers.

We'll be watching and taking notes on how yours went. Maybe one of you can video some of the highlights (not just racing--but other things too).

[stumpsbmwm3]

Start small. That is how this all began. I think it was like 5 years ago that this was literally a picnic with about 20 cars and a BBQ. Last year we were at 169.5 with sponsor booths and more give aways than we knew what to do with.

And why not make the drive? ;)

what is a .5 car?

[DarkWing6]

Matt's e30 trailer. :D


BTW - This doesn't happen until June, so you have plenty of time to plan a trip.

[cramer]

No doubt, plenty of time. This is easily the largest E30 gathering in the U.S. Come hang out with fellow E30 nuts for the weekend :D

[ejnight]

I would be down for the turbo time for sure.

[Lance Racing]

The 2007 E30 Picnic picture thread:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=89411

Thanks Derek for coming up with the idea of a Saturday tech session. And thanks for securing Griots Garage to host it. Finding a large area to host something like this is always a challenge.

Regarding clean car awards at the Picnic, I've avoided it so far for a couple of reasons. One, I think some of the success has been that it has not been a beauty contest. All E30s are welcome. The BMW Club's Concours in July is a beauty contest and only 20 E30s show up for that.

Being the person that has coordinated the local BMW Concours for the last few years, I'll let you in on a dirty secret regarding "People's Choice" voting. If you saw how the votes tallied up you would all agree it is pretty lame. Here is how I would see a People's Choice vote playing out at the Picnic based on how I've seen it play out at the Concours in years past. Say you've got 170 or so cars and owners in attendance. But in reality only 1/3rd will bother to vote (if that). Of that 1/3, a lot will vote for their own car (LOL, but it's true). Just a couple cars will get votes from other people. Out of a meet as large as the Picnic, the winning car would probably have 5 or 6 votes. Not really much of a mandate as a true "People's Choice" winner.

If we did have judges, there's a few problems. Biggest is finding people who want to judge. Judging is a big PITA to do and takes a solid couple of hours to do. You also have to set up criteria for judging. Then invariably once winners are picked, the organizer has to listen to the losers whine about why they felt their car was cleaner/nicer than the cars that did win, vowing never to return to the car show (I don't make this stuff up).

So based on that, I've chosen instead to do the awards we have done in the past, which are easy to measure (oldest owner, youngest owner, furthest traveled, etc) and there's no way for everyone else to whine about losing.

Now if a local shop or business wanted to set up and do their own awards for nicest E30, or nicest mods, or whatever, that would be fine. They would set up the judging criteria, they would do the judging, procure the awards, etc.

As the organizer of the overall event, I want to stay neutral regarding quality of E30s rolling in for the Picnic. I welcome them all. :-)

I will say, attempting to pick a "nicest" E30 would be really hard. There are so many interesting and nice E30s that show up. Each year gets better too. The stock of "nice" E30s seem to be going up! Which is a good thing...

cheers,

Lance Richert
E30 Picnic Lover

[StereoInstaller1]

We could just give Curt the award for "Stiffest Street Suspension", James the award for "Most Euro" Matt should get "Oddest Accessory"...but screw the entire concept of Concours...

Luke

[cramer]

Trust me Lance, I know all too well how much work is involved in a fully judged show. I am in charge of 250+ judged cars at Waterwagens each year and the 20+ judges that make it happen! This is why I suggest the people's choice way out, flaws and all ;)

I do like the laid back approach to the E30 picnic "come as you are" and wouldn't want to see that changed.

I think Curt's suggestion is just more a little bit of recognition for those who do take the time to detail their car.

Perhaps more "fun awards"? Biggest dent, cleanest undercarriage, cleanest engine bay, most water in a headlight..... those can be tied to specific awards.. Dent Wizard gift card, Griot's under carriage detail spray, Stone Guard gift card, etc etc. This would take a couple people to walk the show and pick out candidates, but not have to fully judge them.

[James Crivellone]

Trust me Lance, I know all too well how much work is involved in a fully judged show. I am in charge of 250+ judged cars at Waterwagens each year and the 20+ judges that make it happen! This is why I suggest the people's choice way out, flaws and all ;)

I do like the laid back approach to the E30 picnic "come as you are" and wouldn't want to see that changed.

I think Curt's suggestion is just more a little bit of recognition for those who do take the time to detail their car.

Perhaps more "fun awards"? Biggest dent, cleanest undercarriage, cleanest engine bay, most water in a headlight..... those can be tied to specific awards.. Dent Wizard gift card, Griot's under carriage detail spray, Stone Guard gift card, etc etc. This would take a couple people to walk the show and pick out candidates, but not have to fully judge them.

I'm with Chris on this, lets create some amusing yet rewarding...awards!

rusty daily drivers, cars missing 90% of the interior, fenders, doors, etc. Make it fun! I may have a nice euro reproduction but I really get a kick out of the people just bringing rusty @ss e30's, e30's falling apart, and just hanging out with everybody, proud that the 80's box is still running, and really demonstrating how reliable and tough the e30 truly is!

Derek/Lance, I plan on holding a mini donation fest soon, or perhaps talk to a vendor on sponsoring quite a few larger upgrades, including a 4.10LSD, Shrick Cam, Injectors, etc. I personally would like R3VLimited to be really involved this year.

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

how about like most oilpans broken, lowest car, best wheel fitment, fastest E30

what suspension is Curt running?

[Van Westervelt]

Fastest e30? lol, i dont even want to watch that contest, lol.

How about baldest tire? (tire certificate) Widest tire? (paint chip repair kit) Most incomplete car? (funkmaster aka autobahn sport certificate)

I like Chris' ideas for silly and funny awards. How about most screens in an e30? I am sure I could win that one after a weekend. lol

I am on Group N coils :)

[benDASHDASH]

I'm with Chris on this, lets create some amusing yet rewarding...awards!

rusty daily drivers, cars missing 90% of the interior, fenders, doors, etc. Make it fun! I may have a nice euro reproduction but I really get a kick out of the people just bringing rusty @ss e30's, e30's falling apart, and just hanging out with everybody, proud that the 80's box is still running, and really demonstrating how reliable and tough the e30 truly is!

Derek/Lance, I plan on holding a mini donation fest soon, or perhaps talk to a vendor on sponsoring quite a few larger upgrades, including a 4.10LSD, Shrick Cam, Injectors, etc. I personally would like R3VLimited to be really involved this year.

It would be fun for most, but would likely be embarrassing to the actual nominees, making owners of any sub-par e30's self conscious and thus resulting in less cars the next year. But if these extra contests are held, hold them during the tech fest on Saturday with the more intimate crowd.

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

It would be fun for most, but would likely be embarrassing to the actual nominees, making owners of any sub-par e30's self conscious and thus resulting in less cars the next year. But if these extra contests are held, hold them during the tech fest on Saturday with the more intimate crowd.

I don't think E30 owners would be embarrassed of their car's flaws