NG Needs Committee Members

[93STLTH]

Although I think I could help out as the on site assistance person, my job is such that I don't even know if I can attend year to year. I've been lucky the past 4 years where my vacation time worked with the NG schedule, but there's no guarantee that'll continue in the future.
The Florida 3S "chapter" is a mess. Those guys won't do anything that involves driving their car more than a few blocks from their house. The reputation of these cars as being unreliable scares a lot of people from even trying to drive them on a long road trip. Anyway, we need to figure out how to attract people to the NG. I hear a lot of owners say they don't want to race their car, so attending an event for 4-5 days that's hundreds of miles from home, to only do a car show and hang out, is not what many owners want to do with their vacation. The go karts that have been included the past few years is a good start. The attendees get to drive, without risking their cars. Maybe there's someplace where this could be done on a bigger scale? Also, to appeal to the younger owners, how about some kind of video game tournament? I don't know what the most popular driving game is these days, but maybe a projection TV and have attendees compete against each other. Make this an awarded event just like autocross. It might sound silly, but it also might attract new owners to the event, who then would see how much fun autocross is and how it's relatively easy on the car, and then they'd want to give it a try. I never knew how much fun autocross is until I first gave it a try, now, it's my favorite event during the NG.

[Zucchini]

...who then would see how much fun autocross is and how it's relatively easy on the car...

Strong emphasis on "relatively"

Anyway, to throw in my two cents, Brian and Terry both make good points. We've lost some people due to changes in life commitments. Some of the older guys with families that had been coming, are generally still coming because they've found ways to make it work. When I first started coming to NG, a large chunk of the attendees, not only still had their 3S's, but were also about in their 20's and still ready to party hardy, with few life commitments (i.e. Chicago crew, Georgia crew). Many of those people have moved on from the platform and have now crossed into their thirties, likely have more serious careers and commitments. Several have recently had children, bought a home, or are trying to save to buy a home which makes attending the gathering or even owning the cars not economically feasible. Getting some of those members back would be difficult since "racing" which is our major draw, may not be as desirable to those former members as some of the other gatherings NG sort of competes with (for example, BRG). We've seen NG lose members over the years and BRG gain members. It's not to say NG can directly compete with BRG, it's just that BRG makes more sense now for some of the older owners. What NG needs to do is attract new members or bring some members out of the woodwork that maybe haven't heard enough about it.

The whole Chapter thing as Brian mentioned, may work in some regions, but not so much in others. I see that the upper midwestern states (MN, MI, WI) seem to have really good organization. Many other states, not so much. I remember the 3SPA gatherings, which were a blast, but just kind of died around the time it seemed when guys were graduating college and getting serious jobs. 3SNJ had a decent following at a time, we even had bylaws and collected dues, but those days are behind us. It's difficult to get people to even travel within the state, let alone come to an NG. I think a lot is due to the fact that we haven't really done enough to attract the new owners, which is partially on me. NY has a good core group and great organization, but even they have shrunk a lot since I first started hanging with them. Spreading the workload around is great and chapter presidents or representatives basically pimping out the NG is great, too, but putting responsibility on those leaders may not be the best idea. If those chapter presidents wouldn't otherwise go to the NG, I can't see why they'd take on that kind of responsibility. Manny and I are really the only guys from the northeast that come consistently. Throw Kenny in there, too. But I can't imagine our president or NY's president taking on that kind of responsibility. And I'm not sure about local chapter websites. I am aware of a few, but most communication seems to be via Facebook now with some 3SGTO. NJ tried a website years ago, but it never really took off. We had used 3si for a long time even after 3SGTO was formed, but that is completely dead at this point. It's all Facebook.

[Alan92RTTT]

how about some kind of video game tournament? I don't know what the most popular driving game is these days, but maybe a projection TV and have attendees compete against each other. Make this an awarded event just like autocross.

I see potential in this idea. When the autox got rained out there was talk about getting a system to play and then returning it.

What system had/has the racing game with a 3000gt in it? Can that system be networked for head to head play?

Rental on a few TV/Monitors, a game system for each and the game might be less that a track rental. Could be a fun way to spend an evening.

[95gto]

Anyway, to throw in my two cents, Brian and Terry both make good points. We've lost some people due to changes in life commitments. Some of the older guys with families that had been coming, are generally still coming because they've found ways to make it work. When I first started coming to NG, a large chunk of the attendees, not only still had their 3S's, but were also about in their 20's and still ready to party hardy, with few life commitments (i.e. Chicago crew, Georgia crew). Many of those people have moved on from the platform and have now crossed into their thirties, likely have more serious careers and commitments. Several have recently had children, bought a home, or are trying to save to buy a home which makes attending the gathering or even owning the cars not economically feasible. Getting some of those members back would be difficult since "racing" which is our major draw, may not be as desirable to those former members as some of the other gatherings NG sort of competes with (for example, BRG). We've seen NG lose members over the years and BRG gain members. It's not to say NG can directly compete with BRG, it's just that BRG makes more sense now for some of the older owners. What NG needs to do is attract new members or bring some members out of the woodwork that maybe haven't heard enough about it.

I agree with this. The NG typically has three personality types that attend: those who are there for the racing, those who are there for the car show, and those who are there to just hang out. Most of the people who are still coming are a combination of at least two of these types. The key to boosting attendance is to try to cater to each type as much as possible.

Perhaps a solution would be to purposely have non-racing alternatives mapped out for the attendees that don't want to race or don't want to watch others race. This way people have things to do while others are racing. Nothing stops people from doing this now, but organizing some "official" non-racing events will help make the non-racers feel included the whole week. Also I think everyone would enjoy a good cruise at each NG. We all like driving these cars, when they aren't broken that is.

[Zucchini]

...I think everyone would enjoy a good cruise at each NG. We all like driving these cars, when they aren't broken that is.

I agree with this. It's been a while since we've had a good cruise. They were always enjoyable. Last one was in St Louis and other than the drive to pole position, it was nice to cruise around and see the actual city. I also wouldn't be opposed to bringing back the poker run. I'd even volunteer to organize it if the NG somehow was close to home... pipe dreams, pipe dreams.

[2fnloud]

I agree with this. It's been a while since we've had a good cruise. They were always enjoyable. Last one was in St Louis and other than the drive to pole position, it was nice to cruise around and see the actual city. I also wouldn't be opposed to bringing back the poker run. I'd even volunteer to organize it if the NG somehow was close to home... pipe dreams, pipe dreams.

I thought that the ST. Louis "cruise" turned into high speed shenanigans.

[Zucchini]

I thought that the ST. Louis "cruise" turned into high speed shenanigans.

I mean, the whole Hooters thing was just a bad idea, but the cruise itself was fun. We were going pretty fast but not THAT fast.

[2fnloud]

I mean, the whole Hooters thing was just a bad idea, but the cruise itself was fun. We were going pretty fast but not THAT fast.

Good to know, I am not up for receiving speeding tickets.

[95gto]

Good to know, I am not up for receiving speeding tickets.

With a properly planned cruise people should be able to go at whatever speed they are comfortable with. My initial plan had been to map out the STL cruise so that people had a route to follow and wouldn't have to rely on following the car in front of them. This would allow those wishing to drive faster to do so without pulling the others along with them. I don't remember getting confirmation from the committee that the cruise would happen so I didn't bother making any maps.

So for potential future cruises I would suggest getting maps made whether they are print outs, online pdf's, etc. Also I would suggest having a local help plan the route as they will probably have some suggestions on routes to take but also, and probably more importantly, what routes to avoid due to things like excessive patrolling, traffic, or construction.

[Checkered vr4]

I mean, the whole Hooters thing was just a bad idea, but the cruise itself was fun. We were going pretty fast but not THAT fast.

Uhhh . . . . THAT fast may have happened . . . In Mexico of course . . . So I may have heard . . . . . .