[Anonymous]

we’ve been doing this for a couple years….any thoughts as to what you think is great or what you think we need to address would be great.

thanks,

eric

[jhochman]

First I want to thank you to having the event. As someone who brings a car that is over 40 years old to this event I have to say I am sick of the new car dealership feel this event now has. I am sick of all the new Vettes,Stangs,Camaros, and especially the Challengers. I can see these driving down the road anytime I want. Just because you add rims or floor mats to a Challenger or Vette, it does not make it worth looking at.
The Challenger guys now block off several sections with cones, parking wide just to save spots for some dumbass friend who can’t get out of bed in time.
One you set a standard the stops all the new cars arriving taking spots from more worthy exotic,rare,antique, and old muscle cars cars the better the event can be.
After that there should be no dogs allowed. For one this is a car show, not a dog park. I almost had to strangle some fool who brought two big dogs to the show. The leash almost hit my paint, and I almost hit his ass over it.

Finally, stop the blocking people in because you feel like parking out in the middle. No one wants to be blocked in, especially by some new car that you can find in a Target parking lot. This is a great gathering and I feel a few requirements concerning what can enter will help this event.
Thanks

@ericmaas 65483 wrote:

we’ve been doing this for a couple years….any thoughts as to what you think is great or what you think we need to address would be great.

thanks,

eric

[vegeta]

Kick out the tons of the same stock Mustang’s and Camaro’s and Challengers, and make it bi-weekly or weekly

[scodemike]

I’ve only been to about 6 or 7 of the Cars & Coffee meets, but here is what I’ve noticed.

The Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers/Chargers show up extremely early and fill up the lot. By 9 o’clock, 50% (sometimes more) of the lot is primarily those three models. This just leaves 50% of the lot to fill up with every other kind of car. This could be fixed by setting a limit on how many cars of a certain model are allowed in. The exception to this rule would be the classics, exotics, or a car with a value of $100,000 or more. As recent as this last meet, I was seeing Ford GT’s, old/new Ferraris/Lamborghinis being turned away while you have completely normal unmodified cars taking up space in the lot. That brings me to my next point, you don’t get let in if your car has not been modified at all (once again, the exotics/classics are the exception).

I’ve also noticed that you guys have flags set up but hardly anyone parks where they are supposed to. Example: You’ll see a Mustang in the Japan section, or a Mini Cooper in the USA section. I’d like to see staff members basically forcing people to park in the right section, otherwise it’s just a cluster-youknowwhat that makes the whole thing look unorganized.

I’d like to see more people using this forum. I didn’t even realize y’all had a forum until a few minutes ago when I was trying to find pictures/video of the March meet. It’d be really cool if a lot more people used this place to organize, and share content from each meet. I remember the first C&C I went to y’ll passed out flyers saying to rev the engines at a certain time, so you could use a similar flyer to promote the website.

Also, finding pictures and videos of each meet is very difficult. If you all could take pictures, or even take-off videos, that’d be awesome. Right now if a person wants to find pictures they have to register at various forums or sort through countless YouTube videos to find what they’re looking for (if they are that lucky).

TL;DR:
1. Set a limit on how many of a certain model of car are let in (except for classics/exotics).
2. You don’t get let into the lot if your car is stock (except for classics/exotics).
3. Have staff members guide cars to the proper flagged off areas.
4. Promote the forum/website.
5. Accumulate pictures/videos of every meet. Perhaps even creating your own.

That’s all I can think of for now. Hopefully this will make a difference.

[RedDesmo]

I sort of agree with DallasSLR (+William48 posted quicker than I :cool:) — I know the late model Corvette and Mustang owners love their cars, but I’m sorry, a great majority of them are just too common and yet take up a disproportionate number of spaces considering the wide variety of cars out there. At the March meet I saw many, many classic and exotic cars parked in the overflow/spectator area because spaces were already taken up. If there was some way to cap the number of spaces for late model and leave more for classic and exotics, I think that would be a better experience for the people coming to see unusual cars.

Other than that one issue, I think C&C is a great event and look forward to it each month.

[gttsome]

I agree with better controlling who parks in the “show” area of the lot, but specifically targeting certain models or price limits might ostracize some groups that might make them not want to come back. If it happens it has to happen carefully so that future attendance doesn’t drop – just my $.02. That being said, I do end up skipping about half of the lot when wandering around.. I would also add classic cars to #2 on William48’s list – it was great seeing the old Mini Cooper’s there this month, it would be a shame if they were turned out for being stock.

As for William48’s pictures suggestion, there is a Flickr group for the Dallas C&C that a few of us post to. If you like a picture you see there, it’s easy to see who took it, and there are links on the right hand side that will take you directly to that persons album or photostream so you can see more that they took at the show: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1094873@N24/pool/with/6971633533/ Not a perfect solution, just maybe something that could be linked to from here or something.

[RedDesmo]

Specific models have been mentioned, but I think the main point is not what kind of cars they are, but that late model vehicles in general have taken up a disproportionate number of spaces, relative to the size of the venue. I would feel the same way if all of a sudden a hundred ’57 Chevy’s started showing up early and crowding everyone else out. It’s an issue of balance more than anything.

[VUJuan]

What if they setup the meets where Saturday was a foreign car show, and Sunday was a domestic show? That way no one gets offended by being turned down (Mustang owners) and there will be plenty of room.

[scodemike]

@p4R4d0x 65623 wrote:

I agree with better controlling who parks in the “show” area of the lot, but specifically targeting certain models or price limits might ostracize some groups that might make them not want to come back. If it happens it has to happen carefully so that future attendance doesn’t drop – just my $.02. That being said, I do end up skipping about half of the lot when wandering around.. I would also add classic cars to #2 on William48’s list – it was great seeing the old Mini Cooper’s there this month, it would be a shame if they were turned out for being stock.

As for William48’s pictures suggestion, there is a Flickr group for the Dallas C&C that a few of us post to. If you like a picture you see there, it’s easy to see who took it, and there are links on the right hand side that will take you directly to that persons album or photostream so you can see more that they took at the show: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1094873@N24/pool/with/6971633533/ Not a perfect solution, just maybe something that could be linked to from here or something.

I edited my first post to add in the classic cars. I’ll be sure to check out that Flickr group too.

@decodroid 65633 wrote:

Specific models have been mentioned, but I think the main point is not what kind of cars they are, but that late model vehicles in general have taken up a disproportionate number of spaces, relative to the size of the venue. I would feel the same way if all of a sudden a hundred ’57 Chevy’s started showing up early and crowding everyone else out. It’s an issue of balance more than anything.

Exactly, you have to find the happy medium because here recently it has been unbalanced.

@CW240Z 65641 wrote:

What if they setup the meets where Saturday was a foreign car show, and Sunday was a domestic show? That way no one gets offended by being turned down (Mustang owners) and there will be plenty of room.

That would be asking a lot on BMW’s part to tie up the lot for half a day, two days in a row. Who knows, they might be game.

[Anonymous]

Mr.Maas. I can understand that this must be a real pain setting up and having every month but to see all the happy faces on children and big kids has to be worth it, I love it when an young child comes up and shows interest in my car good or bad . I have been attending since the very first show when there was 160 or so cars now its so large I showed up at 7:30 and was turned away with a lot is full sign, I dont blame anyone since I knew the weather was going to be nice and great time to get the old car out and run it around, I parked in the north lot and still had a great time. to tell you the truth I enjoy parking there since I can leave anytime I want and dont have to wait until others move. One thing thats always puzzled me is really no one asks for donations and since this is the idea in the first place how about asking $5 per car. I would think that would bring enough money to make this well worth the trouble and help some orginization that could use the money, and I’m sure not that many would complain. again thanks for the throwing the best car show in N. Texas every month. eric/ purple cobra

[Anonymous]

i appreciate the ideas and i encourage more.

i must tell you that we have encountered major issues regarding screening of cars—our guys at the front have told various owners, (one in particular was a brand new car from a local dealership, driven by a salesperson for display at the show) when told that he could not park in the lot—he literally drove over my volunteer! my people have been cursed at and threatened when they have told some that they could not park in the event. we have put signs up that say, “is you car a show car?” hoping that some of the normal cars would feel out of place and decide to park in the spectator lot. we will find a remedy.

on the charity side, we encourage the charity to participate in the event—and when that happens, they do seem to collect larger amounts of donations. my role in all of this is to facilitate. i am providing a place for all to show their cars and a place for spectators to see great cars and a place to generate contributions for charity. to date, it has been very rewarding and quite a spectacle on some days. i hope that it continues to be a great show—but, to ensure that it is will require some changes, and change to some is very difficult.

please remember that everyone that you see wearing a staff shirt is volunteering their time to this event. some are employees at Classic BMW and some are owners of cars that are in the display—they just want to do more because they love the event. i hope everyone will treat each other with consideration.

eric

[Anonymous]

@William48 65613 wrote:

Also, finding pictures and videos of each meet is very difficult. If you all could take pictures, or even take-off videos, that’d be awesome. Right now if a person wants to find pictures they have to register at various forums or sort through countless YouTube videos to find what they’re looking for (if they are that lucky).

I’ve posted the Flickr link to the Dallas C&C photo group in the photo section previously. Here it is again:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1094873@N24/

I, along with other photographers, put all of my Dallas C&C photos in that group.

I’ve also posted links to the YouTube videos I have posted, as have others who have posted vids to YouTube.

-Photographer Phil

[Anonymous]

Eric,

First, thanks holding this event! You, your staff, and your volunteers do a great job of putting on this very popular show. The event is obviously a hit, and with growth comes growing pains. As a person who doesn’t display a car in the event, allow me to provide spectator feedback. Over the years, I’ve attended over a dozen of the shows with my kids and in my mind, there has always been a concern of safety. By 8:30am on a nice weather Saturday, the display area is packed with cars and people, including children. What happens is late cars attempt to squeeze in and as a result, I have seen situations where kids (and pets) have come close to being hit. Maybe an entry cutoff time on busy Saturdays would help with this.

As for the discussion on here, and previous threads in this forum, regarding unique vs. not-so-unique cars being allowed into the show, that’s a toughie. The event is for car enthusiasts, and the variety of cars that fall into that category is quite expansive. The more affordable and accessible the car, the higher volume we see at the event (e.g. Mustangs, Challengers, Corvettes, Camaros). Taking an exclusionary approach may do more harm than good.

What about holding two events a month: one domestic and one foreign? I think the C&C in a few other locations occur on a more frequent basis than once a month, so maybe that helps with reducing participation and thus prevents the appearance of 30 of the same car.

I wish you luck in arriving at a solution.

As a photographer, of course…I would prefer all cars be there by 7:30am, and spectators held at bay until 8:30am so that I can photograph cars without people getting in my way, but that’s a far-fetched fantasy. 😎

-Photographer Phil

[PNY]

I have been going to this show for quite some time. I may have only missed one or two shows not including bad weather days. One solution to everyone’s problems with this great show would be a possible change of locations. This show started and it was organized and didn’t have the overflow issues. That has changed. It is bigger now and the parking lots can’t handle the amount of cars/trucks/motorcycles. Since this is an early show, has anyone looked at moving it to a mall parking lot like the “Shops at Willowbend” or even “Stonbriar”? Somewhere that can handle the size requirements? I think that the time of the show wouldn’t impact the businesses etc. I’m a car, truck, and motorcycle enthusiast. I am not one to say that you can and can’t bring your car/truck/motorcycle because there are already some here. I don’t think that is the point of Cars and Coffee.

[AtomicZ06]

@William48 65613 wrote:

I’ve only been to about 6 or 7 of the Cars & Coffee meets, but here is what I’ve noticed.

The Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers/Chargers show up extremely early and fill up the lot. By 9 o’clock, 50% (sometimes more) of the lot is primarily those three models. This just leaves 50% of the lot to fill up with every other kind of car. This could be fixed by setting a limit on how many cars of a certain model are allowed in. The exception to this rule would be the classics, exotics, or a car with a value of $100,000 or more. As recent as this last meet, I was seeing Ford GT’s, old/new Ferraris/Lamborghinis being turned away while you have completely normal unmodified cars taking up space in the lot. That brings me to my next point, you don’t get let in if your car has not been modified at all (once again, the exotics/classics are the exception).

I’ve also noticed that you guys have flags set up but hardly anyone parks where they are supposed to. Example: You’ll see a Mustang in the Japan section, or a Mini Cooper in the USA section. I’d like to see staff members basically forcing people to park in the right section, otherwise it’s just a cluster-youknowwhat that makes the whole thing look unorganized.

I’d like to see more people using this forum. I didn’t even realize y’all had a forum until a few minutes ago when I was trying to find pictures/video of the March meet. It’d be really cool if a lot more people used this place to organize, and share content from each meet. I remember the first C&C I went to y’ll passed out flyers saying to rev the engines at a certain time, so you could use a similar flyer to promote the website.

Also, finding pictures and videos of each meet is very difficult. If you all could take pictures, or even take-off videos, that’d be awesome. Right now if a person wants to find pictures they have to register at various forums or sort through countless YouTube videos to find what they’re looking for (if they are that lucky).

TL;DR:
1. Set a limit on how many of a certain model of car are let in (except for classics/exotics).
2. You don’t get let into the lot if your car is stock (except for classics/exotics).
3. Have staff members guide cars to the proper flagged off areas.
4. Promote the forum/website.
5. Accumulate pictures/videos of every meet. Perhaps even creating your own.

That’s all I can think of for now. Hopefully this will make a difference.

The reason there are more Mustangs, Camaros, Challengers, and Corvettes is because there are more car enthusiasts who own these. The exotics that were turned away or are parking in the overflow section are there because they chose to show up late. Get there on time, and there is always a spot. Maybe YOU want to see the exotics, but a lot of people love to see good old American Muscle cars too. The reason CnC is so successful is because all the different car clubs participate. If you took out the American cars clubs or the import car clubs, CnC would consist of a few exotics and an empty parking lot. Just enjoy the show, and if you don’t like Mustangs or Corvettes, walk down another aisle.

[Author]

Posts