Summer gather of all the west coast 1Ms?

[m3dragon]

Hello All,

I wanted to see if people would be interested in a 1M meet of all the 1M's that wish to attend. And tag along BMW's.

I am willing to take lead on organizing the event as long as I can get a few members to help with the planning and organizing.

Starting ideas are either a meet in Monterey or Tahoe. Both of these locations offer the ability to have the following.

1. Stuff for family members to do if they attend
2. Great locations for photo's
3. Great areas for drives as a group

A wild card Idea is meet in Monterey, drive HW 1 south and loop back up near Monterey for a 3-4 day event.

The event would either be June or September. These are the off major events months and offer great weather.

Just a thought if you all are interested.

If you suggest LA or Vegas i will not work on this event nor attend as they do not offer the 3 areas as listed above.

Cheers all

[Papethova]

I dont know about driving roads in Vegas, but I dont see how LA doesnt offer all 3 of those.

I am not suggesting LA but it does fit the criteria.

[m3dragon]

Originally Posted by Papethova

I dont know about driving roads in Vegas, but I dont see how LA doesnt offer all 3 of those.

I am not suggesting LA but it does fit the criteria.

To city and to much traffic.

Plus people we would be coming from Seattle and possibly Vancouver. If we wanted to be fare to them than Oregon area is fair as that is the middle point.

If no one is interested that is fine. I am just seeing if people are interested and if not oh well.

[///Mbedded]

I'd join in Tahoe or Monterey for sure.

[1swift1]

I'm in for either

[m3dragon]

Please let me know which of the 3 you prefer more.

1. weekend in Monterey
2. Weekend in Tahoe
3. 3 or 4 day loop down HW1 starting and ending in Monterey area. Kind of our own Millia Rally.

Cheers

[Dee Pee]

NorCal is good for me. There is no way I'm dealing with SoCal or SF.

[mPlasticDesign]

Originally Posted by m3dragon

Please let me know which of the 3 you prefer more.

1. weekend in Monterey
2. Weekend in Tahoe
3. 3 or 4 day loop down HW1 starting and ending in Monterey area. Kind of our own Millia Rally.

Cheers

I down for Monterey or Tahoe. Things to keep in mind for both. September is definitely peak for Monterey. It's the best weather then, has the aquarium for kids, scenery is stunning. Tahoe is good too but it does get crowded in the summer. There is more adult stuff like bars and gambling but still plenty of family stuff.

Either one would be fun.

[m3dragon]

Originally Posted by Mr.Metak2you

I down for Monterey or Tahoe. Things to keep in mind for both. September is definitely peak for Monterey. It's the best weather then, has the aquarium for kids, scenery is stunning. Tahoe is good too but it does get crowded in the summer. There is more adult stuff like bars and gambling but still plenty of family stuff.

Either one would be fun.

So far the response for this idea has been pretty lack luster. I am not sure if there is any interest in this or not at the moment.

[nebby]

Originally Posted by m3dragon

So far the response for this idea has been pretty lack luster. I am not sure if there is any interest in this or not at the moment.

I don't think it's that people are or aren't interested but the ability to execute on your idea is key here. What I've found in my 7+ years of organizing similar events is that you need to have a proven track record and offer quite a bit to get people to invest their time/money/etc. into attending your event. I think that trying to organize a 3 or 4 day event is a bit "over-zealous" at the moment... and that any kind of large 1M camaraderie or enthusiasts' group will take time, if not years to develop.

I would recommend trying to gather like-minded folks from within a 2 hour radius first into a dedicated group of 1M owners, then go from there. Just my $0.02

[Amnizu]

What about a middle ground like Bandon Dunes, OR? No way am I driving from Seattle to south of San Jose for a "west coast" meet.

[mPlasticDesign]

Originally Posted by Amnizu

What about a middle ground like Bandon Dunes, OR? No way am I driving from Seattle to south of San Jose for a "west coast" meet.

Nappa, CA is closer to half way(Seattle/San Diego) than San Jose and I hear they have wine there!

[Papethova]

Im with Nebby, if everyone gets a local gathering then we can work something annually or biennially where the groups can gather. The Viper club of America does this for Viper owners... VOI (viper owners invitational). Its a national event.

[Mahlzeit]

A 3-4 day event is unrealistic. I for one will never convince my wife to blow family vacation days on something like this.

Starting small, without the expectation of a family event, is more realistic.

How about something like:
Day 1 - Track day at Infineon or Laguna
Day 2 - Light breakfast, drive and nice lunch in and around either Monterey or Sonoma.

Day 1 and 2 would be interchangeable depending on track day timing. Those who need a track fix get it, those who are interested in socializing, hard parking and caravans get theirs as well. Since I don't expect that a million 1M's will want to do the track day, 1M owners could simply buy-into the same existing track day. Hotel night and dinner could be coordinated w/ group rates for those who want to do both days.

I suggest Infineon (wine country) or Laguna Seca (Monterey) for locations. And I would take a look at this track day organization, with existing dates.


http://www.trackmasters-racing.com/
Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, Thursday, March 29th and Friday, March 30th. $225/day Car and Motorcycle event.
April 8th Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca
April 13th Thunderhill
May 11/12th Infineon
May 18th Thunderhill
June 16th Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca
June 22nd Thunderhill
June 26th Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca
July 31st Infineon
August 17th Thunderhill
September 8th Infineon
September 28th Thunderhill
November 17th Infineon

Thoughts?

[nebby]

Agree. We have done NorCal meets SoCal events at Laguna Seca for a trackday and they were relatively successful... but it is still a bigger commitment than most are willing to make for a car hobby.

I personally focus on localized events and if they are of high enough quality and offer enough of a draw... people will come. The R32 events grew from 15 cars to 170+ with people driving in from 9 different states and people flying in from all over the US... even had people fly in from Germany, Japan and France. The 1M world is a lot smaller but no reason it can't grow organically in the same way. Yes the events are always in SoCal but you can never find somewhere to satisfy all, so I don't bother worrying about location and focus on making the event worthwhile.

[AW 1M]

I've known other groups successfully organize one or two night events. I have been to wine tours in Paso Robles with people coming from both Northern or Southern California. It was a lot of fun and a half day drive for both groups.

[m3dragon]

Originally Posted by nebby

I don't think it's that people are or aren't interested but the ability to execute on your idea is key here. What I've found in my 7+ years of organizing similar events is that you need to have a proven track record and offer quite a bit to get people to invest their time/money/etc. into attending your event. I think that trying to organize a 3 or 4 day event is a bit "over-zealous" at the moment... and that any kind of large 1M camaraderie or enthusiasts' group will take time, if not years to develop.

I would recommend trying to gather like-minded folks from within a 2 hour radius first into a dedicated group of 1M owners, then go from there. Just my $0.02

I completely understand. I have been organizing large events for just as long as you and know the joys and headaches. I figured I put the idea out there and see what the response was.

I wanted to give some ideas other than LA as this was to be a large meet and not just a local one. And as we are drawing from a larger area I wanted a middle of the road point. In reality Redding CA is probably pretty close to middle of the road but there really is not much there.

My 2 cents are do a weekend meet in regards of:
People drive to the city on a Friday which means only 1 day off, have the event the following day then drive home Sunday.

As for the camaraderie, I would hope that we all are car people enough to enjoy a event despite the cars involved. In this case we just all happen to own same car and is something unique we all can share. And why should it take a year/years. that is the only comment I disagree with.

It is just idea still. I would not do this on my own as I know the work involved and like everyone, work and family keeps me busy enough.

[m3dragon]

Originally Posted by Mahlzeit

http://www.trackmasters-racing.com/
Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, Thursday, March 29th and Friday, March 30th. $225/day Car and Motorcycle event.
April 8th Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca
April 13th Thunderhill
May 11/12th Infineon
May 18th Thunderhill
June 16th Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca
June 22nd Thunderhill
June 26th Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca
July 31st Infineon
August 17th Thunderhill
September 8th Infineon
September 28th Thunderhill
November 17th Infineon

Thoughts?

You were on my same thoughts for the event. September's dates are what i was thinking as that works for most people.

[CarJunkie]

This sounds great, central cali would be as far as I can go, though.

[rossii]

You guys should set something up the coincides with another event. Do a day event during Monterey week. It would make more sense for people coming from a long distance. Plus that week is amazing. Go down hang out at laguna plus BMWCCA is set up there. Do a drive to Big Sur, enjoy the other cars etc. Those that want to spend a night can......just a thought.

[edwardio]

i would love to get my 1M out there...i remember driving the pacific coast hway from San Fran to LA in a red chevy blazer on my holidays..

[PunjabiM3]

How about those of us that are in Arizona? No way would I be interested in going farther north than Monterrey as even that is a two day drive from here.