What about Asheville, NC. Hear me out. It is West of Cleveland, OH in terms of longitude and is over 9 + hours from the East Coast of it's own state. It is close to Tail of the Dragon and other great roads such as the Blue Ridge Parkway, Cherohala skyway and the Maggie valley. Furthermore, there is an interesting young granola type ecclectic crowd with some neat clubs and cool restaurants. And furthermore, there are places like the Builtmore and the Grove Park Inn (spa and golf course that recently spent millions for renovations.) No one is really close to this venue, and if you haven't been there before, it would be a nice place to see. We could even do something special at the Builtmore Mansion like the 356's do each year. Those could be some awesome pictures. I suspect we have all been to Dallas, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Kansas City, St. Louis, Birmingham, Jackson Hole, Reno, Tahoe, Chicago, etc. What do you think?

 

It's going to be tough. By the time you return home you'll need a new set of tires.

There is nothing worth seeing/doing in the middle of the country and the country is too damn big. They should've divided it up like Europe and bring more cultures in.

I think Sante Fe, New Mexico is a pretty cool place. Not quite the middle though.

 

Sure do... I have a teeshirt to remind me...

 

I think Vegas is good for all to meet, those far away can fly in, those closer can drive. Or NYC for that matter. But we're always willing to hop a flight to Vegas.

 

Talk is cheap. Let's just DO IT. forgeddabout any sexcuses...

 

How about someone start a poll with a meeting location, and see what wins? Vegas? NYC? New Orleans? Dallas? Greensboro? Any other options?

 

Vegas Baby, Vegas!!!! Nothing else comes close... I have year-round parking at the Bunny Ranch because Robert has a timeshare there.

 

As some, all, of you guys know, Michele and I (either combined or solo) have set up and managed five big car events. 2003 Tail of the Dragon (snowed out), April 4, 2004 Banner Castle (90 Cars), 2004 Tail of the Dragon (roaring success), 2004 Hawk's Nest (This upcoming weekend and hopeful!!) and APril 14, 2004 (European Car Meet).

I just spoke to Michele and we concluded we would like to be on the committee for the National Meet.

Now, the tough part.......location..........

OPTION #1:

All else aside, Las Vegas makes the most sense from the perspective of places to stay, things to do, costs for flights in and out and expansiveness of roads to drive. The BIG PROBLEM is the extreme inequality for west coast vs east coast attendees.

Suffice it to say that all of us east coasts, sans a few diehards, will need to ship our cars at rates of $1K to $1500 roundtrip. Couple that with airfare, lodging, food and entertainment and it becomes one costly endeavor. Compare that with the west coaster who will need to pay for gas to get there.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Las Vegas idea, but there needs to be some form of balance to make it fair and equitable to all attendees. Dare I say an entrance fee that helps defray the costs for the attendees that come from greater distances if they are to bring their cars????

OPTION #2:

The other alternative I considered was a geographical center of the country, like Orli's thought of Kansas City in Imagine Auto's territory. Now, before you discard this idea, I thought of a way to make it really fun and interesting. Since the distance from the four corners of the US will be roughly equivalent, we could see who has the shortest elapsed time to get there!!! We could have a telephoned start (aka: Gumball Movie circa 1976 style) from locations that are exactly the same travel distance from KC and have some kind of purse for the winner!! I know that is controversial, but aren't we all anyway with this disease we all have????!!!!

Thoughts?????

 

The only other thing I will allow is 6Speedonline Gone Wild on Cancun

 

How 'bout we forget our cars and meet in Cancun. ;-)

 

 

I say scrap the idea of shipping cars out. We drive. We roll.

 

KPV, I agree that picking someplace that is sort of "in the middle" is "fair", but it might seem that unless there is something to do (and I am not saying that just getitng together is not enough), what is there to do in the middle of Kansas? Sure we can all watch a movie at Stephen's house, but then what?

Maybe the way to look at this is; It is about the journey, and not the destination.....

 

For that matter, let's just meet in Stuttgart... I like the Kansas City idea. Here are the estimated drive times and mileages:

Jacksonville: Distance: 1154.7 Miles / Time: 18 hours
Miami: Distance: 1496.8 Miles / Time: 23 hours
New York: Distance: 1222.4 Miles / Time: 18 hours
Los Angeles: Distance: 1678.7 Miles / Time: 24 hours
Seattle: Distance: 1889.9 Miles / Time: 27 hours
Chicago: Distance: 528.8 Miles / Time: 8 hours

I dunno, 4 total day of just driving not to mention the 2-3 days for the actual event. A week away from my family would be very difficult to pull of for most people but I sure wish it could happen.

 

DALLAS!!

Los Angeles to Dallas = 1444 miles
NJ to Dallas = 1500 miles
Miami to Dallas = 1400 miles
San Franciso to Dallas = 1824 miles

We can all start at the same time and the first one there wins!!!
It is the most equitable location for all concerned. What do you guys think??

I was in Dallas for the Gumball and it is nice. We can stay at the smae beautiful 5 star hotel.