Why is Goodguys in PA. is not catchin' on?

I went to Goodguys Pocono Friday with a friend in his Model A and back up on Saturday with the wife. I like the event and the venue better than Hershey. Lots of space for cars,friendly staff and the track time is great.
Goodguys has been tryin' to get a show goin' in PA for a long time. Carlilse,Maple Grove Dragway,Hershey,Pocono Raceway...
Why is it not catchin' on?
Cost- no one day entry price...
Scheduling- Wildwood,Englishtown...
Weather-was great this year...
Please come back next year 'cause the coupe will be finished then.

Kirk! are you listenin'?
Please help us out here. How does Goodguys feel about the event?
Thanks,Smokey

 

Wildwood show was this weekend

 

Is it right before or right after an established show nearby? If so I would think it could be due to timing along with money. I financially can't go all of the shows and usually stick with ones I have been making for years. Thats one reason why I go to Shades in Pigeon Forge instead of the Grand Run. Its 2 weeks after the Frog Follies and I'm usually pretty tapped by the end of those two shows being so close together but I've been going to both for > 20 years so the Grand Run is not on my agenda so to speak.

48 Poncho

 

the goodguys is huge in KC.... but there is also an anti-goodguys show just down the highway called greaserama. I think a lot of people around here are tired of paying 55 bucks a person for a two day pass, and then being anally raped on food and drink prices. crying baby dolls are pretty gay as well. i think it gets pretty boring seeing every single car with a chromed out chevy 350, with 80's looking billet wheels on a 100k trailer queen. goodguys feels corporate.

 

damn Id work with them,cause on the west coast and scottsdale its a killer event lotta HAMB friendly stuff and a good time,yeah it aint cheap but go to a damn movie with the girlfriend or your wife and then check your wallet,for us the entry in the cheap part of the weekend,and I plan on 3 GG events between now and next spring,,,,,,its what you make of it

 

I agree with Gsnickets also. Wanted to put that in my original reply too. GG's is pretty expensive if you are not a member and as with NSRA you have to buy a membership to participate and then pay an entry fee on top of that. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 60-75 bux total I think but could be wrong.

48 poncho

 

Thanks for the replies so far. Keep it goin'...
Smokey

 

well i didnt make the show cause most the guys i know who do the good guys shows are street rods and are stuck in the billet sbc crazy paint era. i know i sound stereotyping but bewteen that and the trailer queen and rich guys trying the "rat rodz" shit i find that 3/4 of the cars do nothing for me. I stick to the more anti billet shows, HotRod Hoe down,Mobtown GreaseBall, and local little shows. Oh and yeah im cheap cause id rather spend money on car parts and the old go cart i bought today.

 

I loved Goodguys Carlisle years ago. But I went to Pocono on Saturday and didnt like it at all. The layout is awful, no flow to it.. you walk down a lane to find a dead end, and you need to hop a wall or find the end of the fence to get to the next lot with cars.. and the price is way too much,, I'm not cheap by any means… but why can't we get a ONE DAY pass if we are only there for one day? and why do we need to join GOODGUYS for the year to put our car in the show for one day? I'm not interested in getting the magazine every month. Sorry.

I'm not planning to go back next year.

 

Goodguys is listening. I won't go into my usual.........

 

I considered going last year and this year but decided both times not to go. Why?

In this part of the country, at this time of year there are so many car shows and events that you can be very selective in choosing which ones to attend.

Good Guys shows are pretty good but way overpriced...in fact more expensive than any show I've ever attended (including NSRA York, Wheels of Time, Jalopy Showdown, Hot Rod Hoedown, etc).

So this weekend, I went to a local cruise-in and had a good time driving my roadster there ,and hanging out w. friends...no long drive, no turnpike tolls, no entry fee.

Good Guys shows seem too commercially oriented to me. I don't expect to go next year either.

That's my $.02

 

I have been to EVERY Shades of the Past ... but I kept hearing how much BIGGER the Grand Run is ... so the wife and I drove up to Pigeon Forde last weekend for the " Grand Run ".

It is BIGGER ( more folks and more stuff parked at the curb ) but it is no where near as good a show ... IMHO. If you like Chevelles, Camaros, Novas and late model Fords and Mopars ... you will like the " Grand Run "

As for the GoodGuys deal ...
I went to Hershey one time. Was not impressed. Too many 60's rides for me. Charlotte GG is some better ... with more of the stuff I like but still too many late models. GG is also higher to attend. Charlotte is the only GG event I go to ... so a membership and a entry fee for one event SUCKS.

NSRA is a good bit less $$$ ... but now they let in up to 1980 models

So I guess the wife and I will be at the Frog Follies in 2011.


May be at Charlotte GG ...
it beats the NSRA 1980 cutoff ... now ...

 

another thing that annoys me is that they let anyone in with cash in hand. I don't care how awesome the guy with the bone stock '88 mustang with 3000 original miles thinks it is.... it's still a bone stock '88 mustang.... and a viper is not a show car. one of the other things I like about greaserama is the guys actually know about their cars, because 99% of them, the owner actually built... most of the guys out there will let you really look at their car. instead of freak out if you get within it's personal bubble.

 

Scottsdale and Del Mar are great GG shows. If you cant't steal an idea or two from a gold chainer car, you aren't really a hot rodder

 

Thanks KIRK! for checkin' in on the tread. I'm hopin' that we all can learn alittle from this thread.
I know that you can't please everbody,but I don't want to see this event go away...
Smokey

 

They used to have it at Carlisle don't know why they left. Maple Grove would be nice as well. Huge area + the strip.

 

What show are you talking about?

 

Too close to hershey and carlisle ,Wont go to carlisle but always at hershey ,Trying to get funds together now ,Should have it in June

 

just what I've seen at some past shows, which is why I've never gone back.

 

I go to Goodguys to check out what the vendor have as much as I go to look at the cars. And probably spend close to equal time in the vendors area as I do in the actual show area. Look at the cars and trucks I like, take photos of them and walk past the rest.
I'll agree that the expense is a bit high compared to some events but I see open one day events in my area with 25.00 entry fees that I pass on as I don't feel I get enough bang for my buck.

As far as The run in question. Having it a few weeks after school starts may be an issue for a lot of folks plus the competing events within say 300 miles radius that weekend or the weekend before or after. Where years ago a lot of us went to runs every weekend now days it seems our budgets cause us to pick and choose a lot more. It's not just the cost of the event, It's the gas to get there and back, the cost of motel rooms or camping, the extra eating out if you do that.

Hell, I spent a hundred dollars running up to take photos and drool over the cars at the Eastside/Westside No overheads run at Vantage a week ago. Gas, breakfast out, Tshirts and goodie pack, flathead book (not actually part of the expenses but I wanted it) Pop and water at the mini mart. That was with no entry fees no spectator fees and driving the mini van. It isn't just the cost of the event it's self it's the total cost of the day or weekend that is cutting down on numbers at a lot of events.

 

I missed the KC GG show due to work, but might not have gone anyway because it was/is so close to the Ottawa, KS show. Ottawa has a great group of people with home built cars and some of the high dollar variety.

Cruise night is a lot of fun with main street blocked off for the cars.

Going to make it to the Frog Follies next year too.

Mike

 

Hey KIRK!
Maybe I shouldn't have started this thread. It's gettin' real hard to keep my mouth shut. It's damn good that I type sloww.
We saw an '88 Mustang in the FREE spectator parkin' lot and it was a pretty cool car.
Also the cool '65,68,'71,..etc ones on the track. That guy in the '71 Mustang had a huge smile on his face. You should have seen it... Priceless
Smokey

 

I had no idea it was this weekend.
I stayed home today and cut the lawn. I wouldhave rather ran around the Pocono track.
The pictures I saw of last years event were good and I really would have planned going for this year.

 

I have been to my share of shows and have never seen an 88 mustang or a viper at a gg show.

 

Correct. There is a '72 cutoff.

 

didn't one of the last shows just have a huge import section?

 

Personally, I think its too damn late in the year for a show in PA. By this time, most folks consider summer officially "over", and have started to think about putting their cars away for the year. If the Pocono show was around the time of the Columbus show, I think it would do a lot better. Sure it ended up being a nice weekend, but people generally plan to go to stuff months in advance (and since there's no 1 day rate) they plan to spend the whole weekend... It could have been 35 degrees outside this weekend and it wouldn't have been a shocker. A lot of people aren't gonna book motels month ahead of time and "hope" its not bitter cold by the time September gets here. I love Goodguys shows and am not a GG hater, but I wish this show wasn't so late in the year.

 

Uh, Nope.

Have you ever been to a Goodguys show?

 

Must have missed that, and I have been to Kansas City show the last 7 years.

 

I think there are just too many GG events, they are too close together geographically.
They should offer a one day participant entry with no frills at a fair price!
I know it's complicated to run a large show, but if attendance is falling off changes need to be made.