Suggestions for the 2011 picnic

[Cruzer]

Considering the logistics and everything I think it was great. Thank you Lance!

[rhett325i]

I like the idea of having an autocross day, as well as an official swap meet. Maybe combine them int one day?

[LBJefferies]

Guys, thanks for the feedback, keep it coming. I'd like to know your opinions about:

pre-registration process
location
time of month
cost
raffle format
food service
tour

We did have a learning curve with this new venue. we've taken notes on how to get the E30s on the lawn more efficiently next year.

Pre-registration process - I didn't like it because I didn't like having to register for that website. I ended up not going that route and I paid at the picnic instead. You might consider setting up a registration and payment option on the e30 picnic website.

Location - I liked the XXX but I thought this was better. There was more room and it was nice having the car museum there which was an opportunity to do something other than the picnic for an hour.

Cost - I thought the 20 dollars was a little expensive to be honest but I also understand that the venue and the posters and everything costs money so it is sort of necessary. I liked how in the past you weren't required to pay but that also meant no poster and raffle tickets, etc. Maybe think about that option in the future or maybe a tiered system where it's 5 or 10 bucks just to bring your car and 15 or 20 to bring your car and get the goodies as well.

Raffle format - Format was fine although you might consider placing a limit on the amount of blue tickets that people can buy or possibly having separate prizes for blue and red.

Food service - The food was amazing and I am very glad that we can contribute to the business of a personal friend of mine and fellow e30 guy.

Tour - The tour was great and I even enjoyed seeing the creepy old catholic boarding school and learning the history of it. Maybe you can persuade them to open up more car rooms next year.

All in all, you put together a great event Lance. We appreciate all the hard work.

[DarkWing6]

If there are new/different things you guys want to do, I think we'd have to figure out a way to change up or add them to Saturday. I think we should keep Sunday just as it always has been. The 'come as you are' style is perfect. Parking the cars as they arrive is always kinda cool too since it sticks to that informal picnic style.

I don't know the logistics behind organizing an auto-x, but I could see that being possible Saturday morning. Cheney Stadium is about 2 miles away from Griot's and has a huge parking lot. Not sure if they could/would open it up for an auto-x, but that would be pretty sweet.

Guys are always going to sell stuff out of their trunks on Sunday since that is the biggest day, so trying to organize a full on swap meet might not be worth it.

[nando]

Long grass makes your M5 look Loow yo.

Its a good thing.

my car was *burning* the grass when I pulled in.. it may have been a bit too tall. :p

[E30-M3]

my car was *burning* the grass when I pulled in.. it may have been a bit too tall. :p

+1 mine was too, I thought it was awesome though.

Too bad its not this stuff...

"This is a hybrid. This is a cross, ah, of Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff."

[e30:)]

the registration was nice, saved a few bucks wish is always good.
food was amazing and a decent price
raffle was good, was good to see the ground controls go to a red ticket even though i bought a few blue ones
grass was nice, it was like taking a toothbrush to my oilpan nice and clean now;)
but did lack the ladies.....

i think it ran really smooth, thanks to all. I had a great time!

[CJ7]

pre-registration process: don't know I paid the day of.

location: awesome. plenty of room to grow. other lots/lawns or even into the trees towards the E30 only entrance.

time of month: no worries here.

cost: totally fair - pre-reg or not.

raffle format: the format? I don't know what you mean here but the raffle is always fun. thanks for the Collectors Edition BMW films

food service: was good but needed more sauce on my sandwich!

tour: the tour is awesome. I went on fathers day so I skipped it during the picnic.

as for the comments about girls ... more girls, as in models or booth babes or whatev, I don't agree with because it really should be a family show. the location and overall "vibe" to me is very family friendly.

the museum girl at the booth was maaaaad cute with those stylish glasses :heart: she should be back next year too

[idanity]

TOUR...this was the only year i did NOT go, simply b/c it was the wrong way, the list reported over 100 miles south, well fellas, i live north, and while i can be cheap, gas aint.

love the place, its almost magical, fantastic environment, although a track, with tons of tar everywhere, and a legal place for some of us to lose grip, would be welcome for so many.

and i do think I could organize a very structured parking environment (even in chaos) with 5 starting points, and the count of history of percentages, with a rough estimate

-M3s = 30+
-cabrio = 15+
-touring= 2 (at most)
-sedan:- (this can also be setup via color)
--2door= no idea
--4door= no idea
-ix's = less than 10 (always)
-swaps= growing, but lets start a count.
-pro3 + race ready (always depends on date, usually less than 15)

here, i would dedicate 1 corner begining a m3 line (growing deeper, both directions as needed)
1 corner with cabrios growing 1 direction, and ix's the opposite with 4 spaces for touring to separate them. (or the infamouse trailer e30).

start a corner or center for the track cars, and face off with the swaps...

and behind that final number, allow 1 row empty, and begin the e30 2door 1 direction, while the 4door fills in from the opposite end,

this will leave some dead areas, but also room to re- arrange (if we could) for color around 1pm, total count, and arial photo (thats never been done since e30s were on the dealer floors)....think about that homeslice. (really, i have photos in my mind all the time)...

that is a 9 angle pie and with some rough guesswork vs. verified stats, we (*or just i ) could figure out a simple template.


please re-add the firetruck (or genie 140) arial photo.

i found the online registation to fail me, i registered, saw my name on the list, and wasn't ON the list, and now, the site IS REFUSING to report me the list. (wtf)

TOURING, gotta get back to this, as i do think a track day would make a great fun time (less the crashes) and opportunity for all of us to burn some rubber in a safe manner .

to add...if i just show up, and not think, it was AWESOME...

we had a great time, didn't win anything but smiles and cool people with the best car on the planet...

Lance, thanks so much for all your efforts, and if you need any more volunteers, we (thats me, my g.f, ) will volunteer next year...she had fun, and she is not a car-girl, shes a "i have no idea what that does" kind of girl, but she always has fun at every picnic...takes lots of pix, and meets cool people...

[Matt-B]

Lance,

Did we forget youngest and oldest driver?

longest driven?

etc

[Lance Racing]

Lance, Did we forget youngest and oldest driver? longest driven?

etc

Yes I did. had awards ready, but spaced on giving them out during the program. Next year, if by item #5 of the raffle I have not done these, someone yell at me to do it.

The Bay Area in Cali and Edmonton are about the same distance, so I don't know who would get furthest traveled.

[Earendil]

as for the comments about girls ... more girls, as in models or booth babes or whatev, I don't agree with because it really should be a family show. the location and overall "vibe" to me is very family friendly.

Agreed. I have managed to bring my girlfriend two the picnic two years running now. If we turn it into any more of a guys club I think we are going to disuade the legitimate females from joining us. And I need my gf there, she's the only reason anyone looked at my car :ohsnap:


On a related note, I'd like to comment on the separation of E30's into groups. This was my second picnic, and one of the things I've always enjoyed is how inviting the event is. I don't spend my time on R3V, I never know anyone when I go. I was nervous the first time because even though I love my bimmer, she's a daily driver, fading paint and nothing special*.

My very first picnic I was half expecting the parking guys to take one look at my car and direct me to a back corner behind a tarp. That didn't happen. I was treated like any other E30. I fear that if we group the cars up into "special" categories, that the event will feel less like a "come as you are" E30 event, to more of a "M3 and unique E30 event".

Besides, half the fun of walking the lines is not knowing what car is going to come next. Because of the randomness, I was looking closely at cars that I wouldn't have otherwise, and because of that noticing some special little things about each car.

Maybe when I have a "Special" E30 I'll feel differently, and want to be separated from the rest. Who knows**.

pre-registration process
Worked perfectly. Would buy again.

location
I liked the grass. I can't walk around for too long with my knees hurting. The grass allowed for cool air and always a place to sit. It also felt very clean.

time of month
perfect.

cost
Cost was good. It was on the high side of good (i.e. don't go higher lease), but all in all I don't regret it.

raffle format
I'm all for raising money. But I was a bit disheartened to learn that 800 blue tickets had been added to the 600 or so red ones. Maybe split up what can be won with a blue vs a red? If people really want to donate to a cause, they don't need to win a nice ground control setup to do it ;-)

food service

Could have been slightly better or slightly cheaper. Maybe it was just by one order. Overall it was okay.

tour

Not nearly as good as last year. Too much city, too many lights, not enough scenic beauty. If we aren't meant to race around, the least we can do is have some fresh country air :)

Overall, I give it two thumbs up, and would say it was 50% better than last year!


*Okay, she has 250,xxx miles and runs like a champ, never complaining about red line. Maybe that's kind of special.

**And may never know. Someone pulled out infront of me the other day and now my one and only E30 is totalled.

[1craze30]

Are you the person that txted me about my e30?

[Earendil]

Are you the person that txted me about my e30?

If you are talking to me...
No, it wasn't me. Are you selling one? :)

[gasgasrider]

Lance, my thoughts on this year's excellent event: leave the parking alone, if you group cars it will take away the ability for friends to park together, and take away from the hopefully still desired informal atmosphere of the day. Having it on the lawn was good, but not to friendly for the really slammed ones. Personally, I had a great time, my son and friend got to attend their first meet as owners, we drove down in a group of 10 thanks to Mallen, and from what I saw, a good time was had by all. Oh yeah, to the fool who left early because of a hangover, maybe try drinking a little less, or at least be smarter in what you drink, next year... Oldest and youngest numbers?