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

In this part of the country, in the Spring, Summer and Fall, we have more car shows and events than you can shake a stick at. Lots of competition for Good Guys.

What we really need in this area is a good indoor car show in January, Feb or March when the weather's bad and there are few car events.
Why not a real hot rod show featuring traditional style rods and customs? It would be well attended.

 

Don't Bogart that joint my friend......

 

The GG membership gets you one of, if not the best car magazine out there. Tech articles, stories, cars for sale and all kinds of GREAT pictures from events all over the country. Your membership saves you on entry to their events and so forth.
I look at what I get for my money at a GG event as compared to a local event and to me there is no comparison. At a local event you have few if any vendors, damned few cars but of course there are the TROPHIES you might win if you are at a local show. I would venture to say that a GG show will average a couple of thousand cars at an event, lots of ideas for things to do to your car and usually a killer swap meet to go along with it. Oh yeah, always a band and entertainment for the kids and usually a womens world for the wifey. Call me crazy, but it looks to me like it's not such a bad deal when you add it all up.
That being said, I still like going to other shows (the HUNNERT for sure) and others too many to name.
Later,
Dick

 

Rick you crack me up!

Ha Ha Ha

 

This year, I have been to Del Mar and Chicago and both great events...great attendance. Personally, I think the great thing about GG events is that they draw from a "regional" base and not just a local one -meaning that when I go to a place like Chicago, I can see cars from Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois, etc. Plus, I like to see the vendor stuff and their autocross shit is the BOMB.

You have to admit that when they come to town it is not the usual stuff you see locally! Don't know about the PA event, but my understanding is that overall attendance is UP.

E

 

We go to AZ and Ca have a great time , yes it's expense compared to the local shows but you get a much better show. don't go for an award but to enjoy the cars and the swap meet

 

I'll second that!

 

BeatnikPirate,
Ever been to the Jalopyrama in late October? It's both indoor (by invitation) and outdoor traditional hot rod/custom show with nothing newer than '62.
check out www.jalopyrama.com

 

I was a commercial vendor at Goodguys Carlisle then off to Maple Grove. Loved Rhinebeck! Had great spaces right across from The Goodguys booth for a lot of years. Also had ad space in the gazette for a long time. When Jack Williams took over as ad director I was shut out. In his words " guess you slipped through the cracks". Between that snubbing & the ever increasing rent I had no choice but to give them up. Still miss bench racing with Byron Edwards (seems he got snubbed in a major way) and hanging out with Kim Brizio.

 

Too late in the year for a number of reasons. Even though the weather was better than the last 2 years, you don't know till it gets here. Was stung the last two years and wasn't willing to make the trip with such risky weather again. Enjoyed it much more when it was in June even if it was on the Hershey parking lot. (Last one there wasn't so hot, but....) Just so hard to find anything to get into besides the track at the Poconos too. As mentioned earlier, Winter comes faster in the North East and folks are packing it in by then. Main thing for me would be better timing. Had perfect attendance till it started being run in the freezing rain.......................

 

Sounds like at least nine years ago.

 

And the Prowlers that show up? What pre-72 year are they?

 

I have worked for Goodguys for seven years and have yet to see a Prowler at a pre-'72 event.

 

Could be lots of reasons. For me:
$17 is a pretty fair ticket price.
What cars am I going to see that I didn't see at NSRA York in June?
The end of September is a week before Carlisle and a week and a half before Hershey-so it's too close together.
Can't count on the weather that late in the year.
Long Pond's an odd location. While theoretically in a big population zone, to get there you've got I-80 and I476-not exactly great roads for a nice drive to a car show. It's not really near Philly, not really near Jersey, not at all near the big car areas of central PA.

Lots of Carlisle,Hershey and York's appeal is to the guys in nearby Delaware and Maryland. You likely won't get that many at Long Pond.

I'd suggest a February show at the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg. We all need something in mid-winter. Get the price right and I bet we'd come.

 

Yep I'll bet it was & I never looked back. I always had fun at their shows but the "corporate attitude" was obvious even back then. It's a business to make money, I understand that but some of the things I would overhear at the Rhinebeck end of show meetings made it clear that they (they big guy) no longer cared about the little guys.

 

Boy! I don't know where some of you people get off! Goodguys puts on one helluva show
and ladies and gentlemen it is A SHOW ! I mean really at the N.W Nats They have a thurs nite kickoff party Friday drags And 3 full days of stuff to do,vendors galore for the guys and gals and alot of Cool cars. I feel almost overwhelmed with activities
I have paid 15 or 20 bucks and got plopped in a spot at other 1 day shows with nothing to do and I left early. Do the math, add up the entry fee and divide it by how many hours the show is open to you and and things to do, goodguys wins by far!!!
Alot of you guys have 20-30 K in your cars but whine about entry fees.I look at it this way I did not get in this hobby to save money! Okay rant over.....Why PA cant catch on? I dunno

 

I went to a couple of Goodguys shows here in Florida and found most of the cars to be billet boats with bright paint that the owner had built or bought and didnt know zhit about it, not a good time in my opin. Spike

 

Missed this year myself, too much going on. I take the short cut into Long Pond. The weather was cold last year.

 

I love Goodguys events. That having been said. I've been to Pocono, and Rhinebeck, and there is no comparison. At Pocono, aside from being able to run around the track, the venue has no personality. Also, being that I like to eat, the food at Pocono leaves a lot to be desired. My wife and I plan our year around Goodguy's Rhinebeck show, but we'll never bother with Pocono again. (Just the ramblings of an old man)

 

I know what you mean.
But it is definitely cheaper to take the wife than the girlfriend.

 

GG could not make at Atlanta Spedway cost was too much and no venders.They tried at Conyers no good either.Started at Ga National Fair grounds for a few years back but never went to it.They need to get prices right for one day

 

I attended the GG show this past weekend this past Saturday as a spectator. I live 10 miles away from NYC . I felt it was easy to get to. Plenty of cars to look at. I think they can use a few more vendors and a few more thing for the ladies in our lives can enjoy.
We both enjoyed the road course events
Over all i'm willing to go again. I did see the entry cost and it was kind of high.

 

GG has got to corporate,out for the big bucks.if the money is not there,they aren"t there either.

 

Let's face facts, there was a time with no local shows, then to many, and finally a few shows that have suceeded. I hope Goodguys stay in the area, I like the diversity. But it all boils down to personal choice if you want to find an excuse to not like a show you will, as a car person you will not find a show with more variety and total amount of cars in the area. Ofcourse the show is not just for you!! Price, come on, you blow more taking the family out to the resturant, or maybe you don't do that.

 

The Gazette will be better than the event.

 

I live in Indy, and a GG member, but I agree with some folks here on a one day deal for a non member, or for a member. I go to Indy on a hit or miss depending on the weather.

 

Whether or not a "price" is too high is really a conception of value. So a hotrod priced at $25K, for instance, might be seen as a good value while the same car priced at $35K might seem overpriced for the perceived value. We make these judgments every day.

The overall opinion of this thread seems to be not that the fee is too much to pay for ANY car show, but too much to pay for THIS one. From the promoter's side of things there are lots of expenses for advertising,insurance, site rental,etc.so it may be that GG needs to charge this much to turn a reasonable profit. But,it won't work if the consumers won't see the fees as a reasonable expense.

I'd like to hear f KIRK and the nbobs at GoodGuys why they think things aren't working out.

 

Not only a great traditional show, Mike ,I love the JalopyRama Site picture...wonder why...

 

I'm a GG member and live 15 minutes from Pocono Raceway. This area has been a "summer resort" area for 150 years. The NASCAR races can easily pull 150 thousand people into the region twice a summer, so location and logistics are not a problem.

After labor day, local traffic drops off and the weather becomes a crap shoot. The weather the last two years for GG was terrible. This year was better, but late September can range from 30 to 90 degrees around here.

GG marketing missed the boat locally. No local presence other than a few radio spots.

My suggestion: Move the show to summer and time it between the two NASCAR races. Advertise locally, as well as regionally.

It may not matter anyway, as I spoke to a GG official who told me that Saturday's spectator counts were going to determine whether they come back to Pocono Raceway next year.

 

Indy Goodguys has always been great and still is. Sure, there are cars there that do nothing for me (oh boy! Another red fiberglass 34 Ford with a 350!) But there's always a ton of cars that do. And there's always several that show up that are a total surprise.

Maybe Goodguys is the new '59 Caddy taillight here- it's just become the fad to bash it. At any rate, I'll be there next year- probably a couple of days. Unless they find a way to bring back the model and pedal car show, in which case I'll be there every moment it's open.