The Cal-look Lounge

I fucking hate this show. Biggest fuck story ever, sitting I like for 2 hours because nobody can figure out how to park cars. They put one guy in the intersection directing traffic, really???? WTF?????

Hater!

Yep

Using the traffic signal to manage the signal is stupid. It's not designed nor programmed for the volume and type of traffic they get at that time on a Sunday Morning.

The really need to;

1. Clearly mark separate lanes for Vendors, Swap Meet, Car Show and Spectators.
2. Shut off the traffic signal at the entrance.
3. Hire Irvine PD to manage the intersection.

Lastly, line cutters need to be thrashed severely!   :D

Well said !!!!....I can't agree more ..!!!..it  used to be early bird gets the worm...!...Now it's Early bird get "F*#%ed"...!! I am not going early anymore to these events ....When I can sleep in and get there ahead of the rest...!!!...Really why get up at 4 am when it don't make a difference...???......There now I feel better ....!!

Add to this..
Bring back Rich Kimball!!

Thank you Rick, also, why do they wait until 7 to start selling entry fees? everyone working is there, get the people off the street. and the porta potty situation is disgusting, I'm a construction worker and have never seen a worse toilet on a jobsite, 7:15am and no toilet paper, shit piled to the rim, never cleaned once. there should have been at least 5 in every location, not just 1. the fucking bastards wouldnt even let a little girl who was about to pee her pants from waiting in line go in before 7. What a bunch of DICKS!!!!!!!!! >:( >:(

Just wondering....have any of you put on a large car show before and understand how difficult it is to get people to do what is needed to be done? It may seem really easy, but also when you only have the show once a year, it only gives you one time to learn from mistakes and make them better the next year. I am not saying that there were not some CF's going on (like that signal light that stayed red forever and trapped the vendors) but it is very difficult to put on a show of that caliber and have everything run smoothly.

I saw this too and I couldn't believe it. They expected her to walk to a Burger King and use there restroom.

Actually, I was involved with planing the Fabulous Fords Forever show (3500-3700 cars) at Knott's Berry Farm for a few years so I have some idea of what is involved. And this show was all put on by VOLUNTEERS... not a for profit company.

Isn't this show put on by the same people that put on the Bugorama?? Even if it's not, this certainly isn't their first rodeo. It is my understanding that these problems have been an ongoing issue. Not a one time deal.

For the record, I think they do a lot of things right but these are items where let's just say "could use substantial improvement."

I do know some of the same people were there that I have seen man the Bug-O-Rama events. We got cut off from the vendor line and had to get “transferred” back into the line with the help of the Staff. I think there is always room for improvement. We did the VW Panic for many years and I know it was frustrating when your volunteers were not doing what they were told to do, but in the end they are volunteering their time and when a show is large, some help is better than no help.

I think constructive criticism helps and is not a bad thing though. I just remember at the end of the day, being bitched at for a volunteer a quarter mile from me who doesn’t know a 68 bug from a 52 bug who is making it difficult for a participant is frustrating on all ends., was tough to soak in.

To answer your question.. Yes, Maribeth and I worked for Rich Kimball up through the 96' Classic. And yes it does take a lot of work by a lot of people
some paid, some not. I guess the point of my comment is that this show and others like it have been run comparatively smooth for decades, and there's
no excuse for blowing the basics. To be honest with you all, I changed my plans about attending when I noticed that Rich wasn't promoting this years
VW Classic. I feel sorry for those who had a lousy experience, and myself for passing up a chance to hang out with new and old friends. Hopefully the
next show will be run by people who know what they're doing, or smart enough to hire someone who does.  ;)

There was a show in Upland a few years back -- quality cars, quality people, quality staff.
I have no idea what it takes to do this, but I wish a QUALITY / Quantity club or two
are you listening DKK / DKP ?? Could help bring something back without causing a PANIC !!
Enough with the subleties..Gary could you please bring it back ??

On another note -- maybe the amount of people is easier to deal with when the age/maturity
level is a little higher. When every 16 - 25 year old has a primer beater, or a "split window" bus
with air bags etc. These things happen, am I the only one that thinks NIck's was outta hand???

I know I've been away for awhile, but in the last 6 months, this is what I've noticed. :-\ :(
Hate if you'd like, but its my 2 copper portraits of President Lincoln....Ron Hussey aka Hecker

Hey Ron... Have you seen my signature?   ;D ;D

Plus, if I tried to put on another car show it would be the end of my marriage!  :o :o  ;)

I'm just getting to the point where I can afford tp make my '67 happen and another divorce would put it back another 27 years  :D

I must also add that the food situation was terrible, 3 people taking money for tickets and one window to collect the ques were massive, then to top it off they sold tickets to people when there was no food left...... One stall for this massive event, a little like the entry i think NO Planning at all.

BRING BACK "In-N-Out" Burger, al t quicker and a lot better.

However, on the plus side, great cars, great people and great weather.

I was very disappointed also. Been going to the Classic's for many years. I know there are issues, but you think by now after all these Classic's, they would have some control of whats going on. But when I read about making a little girl go else where to use the rest room, that's not right. They could of have done something to accommodate the little girl. When I drove in, I was directed to an area where late models were suppose to be. Ended up ALL mixed up with all years. WTF! AND, there were like 4-5 event guy's doing this, nobody had it right. And driving in! OMG, cars were being let in that should NOT be let in, having swap meet guy's to try to come across lanes going over a medium, what a mess. YES, they need to have separate lanes. AND let people in early anyway. Cars out in the street, way out in the street. If something was to happen, God forbid,  who's liable? What we need to do is contact the Promoter and let them know how we feel and come up with a solution to all these problem once and forall. MY 2cents.

Ted

I agree Ted. Just bitching to bitch doesn't solve the problem. I'd be willing to bet that the promoters want happy participants to their events as long as they can accommodate them at a reasonable cost. Happy participants spend more money and come back for future events.

And as I stated before, I think that the promoters are doing a lot right. They have done a lot to accommodate DKK and we are very thankful for that.

Well hopfully the promoters will hear us and and learn from this and maybe will have a better Classic next year. Don't get me wrong, had a great time after I was in, just wished it was organized better for all. This event is the biggest event of the year with people from all over, and you want to continue to attract our friends from afar and our local's. That's what makes this event so great. But this event is also a business, and you want to continue to make people happy to keep business going to keep the Classic's going. Or the Classics's will disappear, and we don't want that. And yes, bring IN & OUT back, much better food and service.

Ted

Just for the record, I did not start this thread to to jabs at the promoter. I think he does an awesome job at the bugorama events, Sacramento is one of my favorite shows ever, I will drive the 6+ hours to get there no problem. If they would like some input from us just ask, I personally would be happy to help coordinate this to make it a better show. If the promoter would like to contact me, my particulars are right here on the site. Now as far as the bathrooms being full before anyone got in, I've heard there was a concert/show the evening before, anybody ever heard of padlocks to keep your bathrooms somewhat clean for your customers, being as there were only about 10 toilets to service about 2500 or so people, at least Rich Kimball put enough bathrooms out to almost accommadate the masses, This was an epic fail, and they also told the little girl she could duck behind one of the bushes with about 300 or so cars 30 feet away and no privacy I think that 8 year old girl would have rather peed her pants than that. There is an old addage that goes "treat someone right and they will tell a few friends, treat someone like crap and they will tell everyone they can". ARE YOU LISTENING????

Sac show was no different this time. Lines out to the street, no one could get anywhere. Guys were moving people and cars around to the wrong spots. You would think after 25+ years of doing this that it would be a little more organized. Did like the show, good racing, good swap.

The food situation was totally fucked!

It's really a pretty good show Marc.

There just was a few problems that could be improved on.

2500 people at 20.00 a person, They might be able to hire a few people that could think on there feet. and pay the city of irvine to help with traffic. To me the classic has never been a well oiled machine.

I want to reiterate that my views are just that, my views. there are a few people in my club that have made it perfectly clear that they value the prefered parking they recieived and dont want to piss off the promoter and lose that. though it seems they are the minority on this thread. This is a public forum and if the promoter does read this and gets butthurt about it, so be it. Yes its gonna sting at first, but maybe it will also prompt them to make the necassary changes. I WILL NOT RETRACT ANYTHING I'VE POSTED ON THIS THREAD, EDIT IN ANY WAY, UNTIL THEY MAKE THE CHANGES. When they do, I will be the first to recognize and congratulate them on doing a fine job. Until then everything I have posted stands.

I understand partially where you're coming from on the forefront of logistics being difficult with such a large scale event, but the Classic has been around for more than 25 years.  There's no excuse for poor planning at this point, in terms of things like the portapotty situation mentioned earlier.

For me it was not a big deal because I came later in a driver and no intention of entering the car for competion. I do feel bad for those who put months or years into a build and planning to debut at this show. There was no way to fairly judge the cars in the many different catagories when they were not lined up together. When you go down a row with stock and modified Beetles, Buses and Baja's all mixed side by side, it becomes too much to endure. I gave up trying to vote early on and just had a good time with friends. I hope that the best and most deserving cars were recognized.
It's funny that even the smallest car shows around have the entrants pre-register, and inform them of the different catagories that will be judged. It seems the BOR crew could have at least screened the cars at the gate and directed them to their designated areas better. Every person coming in with a car should already know what class they will be in. It's as simple as adding the info to the flyers. Maybe letter the rows, and at check in they could put your row letter on the windshield with shoe polish or mark it someway so the attendants can direct you. They have a general idea of the number of average entrants per catagory, and could plan the next event with those numbers as a starting point to accomodate the expected volume.
There is no excuse for the poor food service. If you are going to switch venders, at least have enough to keep everyone fed! Glad I brought TWO energy bars with me.
Is there an e-mail address or any other contact info to BOR promotions that we can send this feedback to? Let me know, I'll chime in these thoughts and more.

The thing the got me was the fact that I got up at 4am to get there to be one of the first in to hit the swapmeet...! when I'm setting there and I see cars getting in that more than likely got up three hours later it's gonna piss me off...!! and it did...!!!...if I was gonna show my car I could have gotten there at 10am and got the same spot...!!!... if vendors and swappers got in be fore me ..I'm fine with that....!! they should be there before people start buying , But when I see cars coming in like I'm not even there that early in the morning...!!!..I'm pissed!!!!!.....Now if the cars in the intersection are backed up then theres a BIG problem people could get hurt no one wants that !...then move the cars in first that wear there first !!! they had a giant parking lot that's could have been utilized to temporarily stage cars till they opened !!...not all people will wanna get there that early so let the ones that want too !..get in early...!!!...I understand about the concert that was there the night before...they can't help that ...!!..the port-o-poties they should have known better...that wasn't a problem for me ...!! as a matter of fact ..I just remembered that last year there"Was" a port-o-potty in the line where we had to walt.....I used it !!!!.......and food ......all I have to say is I had the best "Famous Star" I ever had ...!!! cuz I WAS STARVING...!!!!...All-in-All it was a good show I really enjoyed it ...I went to their show in Las Vegas last Oct. and was impressed with how Friendly thier staff were it was windy and cold but it was stiil fun...!...So I want to thanks them for lots of "Positives"......And hope things will be better next year as I will be there again...!!