Small modification to this subforum - local meets!

[elc32955]

Hi folks,

Been thinking about this for some time now. Years ago (2012, 2013, 2014) in conjunction with the Florida G8 group we used to have informal meets in Orlando on a weekly basis where owners got together, looked at & swapped info on our cars, maybe did the impromptu HP Tuners session, and then grabbed some food at a sponsoring restaurant that would throw a bit of a discount our way. Occasionally we'd meet at Point A, do a cruise in formation to the restaurant. Or do a themed meet up on a Saturday or Sunday (Volvo guys met at a scenic place and cruised to Ikea for example). We used to have a good turnout of Caprice owners at our local/regional meets, sometimes I counted up to 6 Caprices. We had probably 2-3 times the amount of G8's there, but remember this was in the early days of the Caprice and not a lot of cars were in private circulation yet. I had one of the first 3 cars in private ownership in Florida at the time with my 2011.

Now Covid put a hell of a damper on these local kind of meets, but I think it's now time that we begin to help owners to meet socially again in their various geographical areas. Statewide and national events are fine (as long as we get the info in advance!), but we've lost something over the years when the local meets went dormant. With all the angst & vitriol floating around out there in current society, we could use a little good fellowship right now methinks, just another way to enjoy our cars.

So I'm putting this out there as a trial balloon. If anyone is going to a weekly or monthly meetup in your area, feel free to post it up in this subsection no matter what club, group, or people organize it. Or if you'd like to organize a local meet just for GM or Holden cars (Caprice, G8, SS, GTO's), post it up here! The only thing that I ask is that this topic not support street racing. That is strictly no bueno at least here in Florida, recent law changes make it a felony and Officer Friendly can seize your car if you are even caught attending an event (racing not required). However, test & tune meets at your local track rock!

Now if you go to organize an event, just a few tips....

1) Well lit paved areas work very well, especially after dark. It's nice to be able to see the cars & do small things to them (no engine swaps in Target parking lots please, haha!). Try not to park directly in front of businesses unless you plan on patronizing the establishment(s). Sometimes we'd cone off back parking areas with prior arrangement at the sponsoring business.

2) Food helps, either meet first then go to a local restaurant, or meet at the restaurant first. It's always nice to find places that will give a group a 10 to 20% discount for bringing a bunch of car owners in.

3) Be respectful of the place you meet at. No super smoky burnouts, no AutoX in the parking lots (unless you're at a track or driving range!), and no disrespecting property owners or leaving trash & garbage behind. Generally we left a very good impression with the places we frequented and never had a problem with Officer Friendly & his Band of Merry Men.

4) Communication is key. Whether it's a Facebook group, phone text group or however it shapes up, someone should be the head potentate to schedule & coordinate the meet. It sucks driving 30, 40, 50 miles one way only to find out that for whatever reason the meet is not happening that week or month.

So, there you have it. I'm going to sticky this topic at the top of the heap for easy reference. If this does take off, I can always create separate subsections based on geographical areas. If not, then this one subforum is fine.

Thanks!
Eric

[jomama]

Eric,

I’m glad you posted this; the timing is fortuitous. I’ve been thinking about arranging a get-together for fellow Caprice owners (and maybe extending the gathering out to Holden owners in general) in the Delaware area if there’s enough interest. I know there are a few PPV’s in my area based on the intro section, though I haven’t seen another Caprice out on the roads since I got here about a year ago. I’ve never coordinated such a gathering, so the tips you provided are quite helpful! So I suppose I’ll drop the invitation and see if there’s enough interest to warrant making the arrangements (and working it out with the boss…). Thanks!

Patrick