DShoop7572@aol.com wrote:
>
> Went to a British car show in Wadsworth, Oh. this weekend. Lots of
> killer cars on display. Again I parked my TR4a out in the lot with the
> riffraff. Paid walk in admission which seemed to be on the honor system. I
> think people that run these things should consider letting all marquee cars
> park by model in the show area. They can separate " show " and "display"
> easily. Maybe have the " display " types pay 1/2 entry fee of the show cars.
> I don't see ever being able to get my car up to the level that the show
> winners achieve, it's beyond my financial status, but I think it would do the
> LBC hobby good and promote camaraderie to include those of us who are out
> there in the driver category.
> I would love to hear from as many people as possible on this thought.
> Maybe there's something I'm missing.
I have had, on numerous occasions, arguments, personally and by email,
with VTR officials regarding this very point--I've felt, for the longest
time, that the VTR and other regional clubs have depended upon the
trailer queens for membership and support.
I've always felt that the greatest pleasure in the cars was in driving
them, and that's at great odds with those who only wish to show. I felt
strongly enough about this matter to work on creating, with the help of
John Macartney, a "daily driver" award, named after John's father, who
was, over fifty years, either for Standard, or Standard-Triumph, a
service manager, a works manager, production and/or a quality assurance
manager.
John's dad really liked the cars, liked driving them, and wanted others
to take the same enjoyment in them. A trophy in his honor for people who
drove both Standards and Triumphs, rather than just showed them, was
long overdue, I thought.
We worked to include recognition of the ordinary drivers, the people who
_drove_ the cars, rather than just hid them away from show to show, to
no avail. The awards ceremony for the 2001 VTR was to include the
inaugural "Charles Macartney Daily Driver Award," and yet, it didn't
happen. The trailer queens won.
If the way in which shows of all sorts are run bother you, contact your
local club, and the VTR. My general feeling is that the people who most
appreciate the cars are the ones who drive them, and those are the
people who are most likely to feel excluded from shows.
Those who really get the most bang for the buck are those who drive
Triumphs, rather those who hide their cars away in a bag from show to
show, and yet, events are too often structured for the latter, rather
than the former.
All that said, it's quite okay for the trailer queens to have their
venue, to have their place to exhibit their cars. But, they should not
make the rules nor run the shows.
John's dad, bless him, thought that the car's should be enjoyed by being
driven. That was the ultimate reason for their manufacture.
My GT6 Mk III is a real horror to the guys who only wish to show their
cars. Dent in the nose, rust peeking through on the top, crappy chrome
on the rear trim. But, the mechanicals are pretty good--I didn't give a
second thought to driving 500 miles each way to Breckenridge, last
summer. Just hammered it out and went. Didn't need a tow truck or a
trailer.... Just did it. Drove. And didn't care that the trailer queens
looked down their noses. I drove. They didn't.
I think there are many more people, mostly younger and less well-heeled
than older folks, who drive the cars because they love them, than those
who just show, and I'd really like to see the regional clubs and the VTR
respect the daily drivers to a greater degree than those who just
trailer their cars from show to show. I don't know, exactly, how to make
that change happen, but I very much want it to happen, before those of
us old farts die and our cars end up in the local crusher because our
heirs don't know what they've inherited, and the daily drivers wonder
what happened to that Triumph solidarity.
Cheers, all.
--
Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM (yes, _that_ Roswell)
[mailto:mporter@zianet.com]
The gulf between content and substance continues to widen....
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