What a lot of you fail to realize is that John and Freeman are the show organizers. Jason, the burger joint analogy works because Freeman and John offered to let the Crystal Cove people meet at their lot on Saturdays when we got kicked out of Crystal Cove. They wanted those showgoers to have a new place to meet. We met and discussed many options around OC and nothing even came close. This new show that is going to start at the OC Fairgrounds might be a better venue for the newer attendees looking for a free place to meet. This isn’t a show, it’s a gathering of car people who were orphaned by the Irvine Company. I think Brent and Josh will tell you that it doesn’t have anything to do with this being a Ford event, it has to do with the fact that they know that this location meets all of the needs for the show to continue. If we had found another private lot that didn’t have landlord issues or residential issues and didn’t have businesses that might complain about customers being turned away by too many showgoers clogging the lot, we would have gone there instead. It doesn’t have anything to do with the old guys not wanting to get up early and fight for a spot, it is their spot to begin with and the show isn’t supposed to open until 6:30. That is when the VOLUNTEERS who allow us into their company’s lot get there and start watching out for everyone’s safety and to make sure everyone is having a good time. Suggesting that people get there earlier and earlier to get a spot is not a good idea. Imagine a private pool that has open swim for friends starting at 7 am. You’re suggesting people should just show up at 6 and hop the fence. That is disrespectful and dangerous. Nobody is there to mind the pool and if something happened to anyone before the pool was officially opened, it would still be the host’s responsibility. This isn’t a public parking lot at the Spectrum where anyone can drive up and park. It is a private lot that we have been invited to. Again, if rules are scaring people away and you think it is wrong to be so selective, you don’t really understand what this meet is all about and probably should look into starting your own show. Once again, the idea isn’t to police individual cars coming into the lot, it’s about groups who think this is just an open show and decide to show up in large numbers. That isn’t what John and Freeman want for their show and neither do many of the people who have been attending this show for the past 7 years.
4 cam V8: You might feel like the young people are the future of Cars and Coffee, and you are probably right, but here is the key difference: The future Cars and Coffee will be held somewhere else with those younger owners bringing their tuner cars and late-model budget flyers to a show that they provide the land and organization for. The show at PAG will continue to be what John and Freeman want it to be. The pre-’78 rule they put in place might seem like a bad idea to you and it will certainly make some late-model supercar owners upset too, but it is their show and they can invite whoever they want to into it. My guess is that there will still be an incredible showing every Saturday morning.