Was great seeing you this weekend Jerry. The game plan for 2015 is for me to bring both the pickups, so I guess I better get digging in to that whole OBS project lol.

I hope to not speak out of turn - but this event as a gathering of friends isn't going anywhere...just getting a bit of a revamp. It definitely has a special place with me and I'm committed to keeping something going there as well.

 

Jerry, it was great having you there as well. And like Bill said, its time for a makeover and do something a bit different. But we ain't going anywhere...!

 

Before ya'll fade off into the woodwork, when I came up Saturday I forget who exactly it was who was telling me they want to vend next year....

Well I have scoop, they guy with the corvair on J row is not renewing - my neighbors - I get new ones each year. At any rate, J25-26-27 are going to be there. If they do the buy 2 get one free then there ya go. Why is J row so special? its not clinging to the side of a cliff AND the sewer dump is on the same row!

Some Carlisle staff came around Thursday as most vendors were set up, for chat, state of the biz - they have a new guy trying to grow the biz and will take serious suggestions under advisement. Attendance at ALL shows is off but truck is dying off almost as fast as the tuner show. I myself wont leave until they kill the show as we are thinking of doing more auto-morbilia/petroliana sales

PS: why is it that only chevy has a serious old truck following at the show? I could almost count on my hands the old fords. I mean the best truck at the show every freaking year is the 72 GMC 2500 (cool jimmy) no one has a mint 390 powered ranger to compete?

 

Ed, that was Travis that you were discussing the vendor spot with. He was here with Chris Shaak, so you can probably pm him to get a hold of Travis.

The attitude towards a lot of people and jacking the rates up for everything is what's causing the drop off at Carlisle.

Good chatting with you Saturday evening and see you there next year.

 

I wish they let the club guys stay later (why is the purple helmet buffers seem to stay all night?) But we are making changes as well. Gas is a BIG cost for me. The Rv pulled 9mpg, which means I still know how to fix up EECIV systems, BUT, she was not towing this year. the sub got 10 pulling 5klbs. So we are looking for an enclosed trailer...single axle, gross 4klbs or less with about 1200 tare. Something aluminum or fiberglass topped. After 9 years of being there as a vendor and 3 of being there as a 'tiques dealer we have a good idea of what not to bring and what to target buying thru the year.

Next year we want to add butler and bloom (if they kill Carlisle truck, butler partsorama is less than half the distance and has larger crowds nowadays)

So what were you guys thinking? no more club tent? just regular showing up?

And what is the additude thing? club vs club or Carlisle vs club or cop vs club or simply the bikini girls would not drop blou for ya?

 

We are going to keep doing something but it won't be a FTE event anymore.

Carlisle has gotten an attitude towards a lot of people, me included. I'm hoping there is a change for the better.

 

Well fill me in on the gripes you have, I have a meeting to set up with the new business developer for CP, we have met a few times over the last 2 shows and have a good dialogue going. He likes some of the ideas and we are meeting to put it in a business format to get the 'board' (ya, they call themselves a board....) to perhaps adopt the ideas.

Increasing prices for EVERYONE while attendance drops is a number one, but vendor/club relations is another gripe. There is no customer loyalty program etc.

Tell me (in a PM or email if need be) what they did and how they did it and I will bring it up.

 

I said it before, that show is stagnant, when I first went there the show field was just as it was called, a show field, old trucks everywhere, not just expensive parking. The vendor area was completely packed, it took a couple days to go thru the parts lines. The campground where we stayed was pretty much a truck show. The whole show needs a overhaul. I don't know what they could do to draw all the old trucks back, hope they get it figured out.
Charlie

 

Some of the issue is pricing. I pay the discounted $55 preregistration rate to show, and it goes up from there once you get closer to the show. Couple that with hotels at $150 and up a night, and fuel over $3 and pushing $4 a gallon (which is not something Carlisle Events can control), and it drives people away because it's just too expensive.

Classing is an issue too for some trucks. I know I'm stuck in a lurch with my 98 because I'm in a class encompassing over 15 years of trucks. My attitude is that I'll just raise my game where that gap isn't an issue - but some guys get discouraged and say "well, there's no chance I'll be able to compete, so screw it, I'm not going to go."

Throw in some of the showfield behavior on Fridays (where it is just "expensive parking") and it's a perfect storm of having people think twice.

I'd love to see them offer a better preregistration discount and better overall rates, and have Carlisle Events work with local hotels to offer better nightly rates rather than gouging for the event as they do. The same hotel I stayed in at $149 a night for Truck is, without a show going on, charging $99 a night for the same room.

 

Well put Bill and Charlie has some good points. I to think its time for a little makeover. I like the deeper pre registration discount suggestion. I think it would pull in a much better crowd. Classing is definitely an issue. This was the first year of the new judging team. Maybe they will make some suggestions. Is there any way to get the powers that be at Carlisle to listen to some of these suggestions?

 

Speaking of the judging - I know that's been an issue as well that has driven some show guys away. This first year with the new system had lots of bugs in it too as we know from what went on with Eric.

I did email the judging group based on that business card Eric had just for general feedback on the truck (strengths, weaknesses, where to focus for next show, etc.), and never got a response. I'll give benefit of the doubt that my email might have gotten filtered into their spam but I use GMail, which that normally doesn't happen with.

Definitely issues for them to work on in the winter - and I would love to know if there's a way to feed that back to the right people.

 

Absolutely right about hotel rates, I guess nothing much they can do about that.I really enjoyed that show, hope it gets better. Btw great lookin '78 there Jerry!
Charlie

 

I emailed them to. No response here either......shocker!

 

I just saw these old posts....get the gripes and or ideas to me....I oft communicate with Tim Demarco who appears to set up truck now. He does listen.