ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

XfireZ51 · 06-12-2012

I know I have kicked this can a few times, but its become pretty clear that the enjoyment we get at The Gathering comes from who's there and not where it is. I'd like to think we can avoid the "smokestackers" next year by scheduling a different date. Rather than confounding our event w other C4s, why not have a Gathering of everything ZR1? Let's make this multi-generational by celebrating the mark "ZR 1" as the ultimate Corvette of it respective generations.
Thoughts?

Kevin · 06-12-2012

i'm not sure how many non zr-1s show up any more but I can't see the ncm making room for another event for just zr-1/zr1's since they're already covered by the c4 and c6 gatherings. unless you're talking about moving the event from the ncm, I think there was another thread about this. I'm not sure how I feel about moving it but I do think there should be some discussion on the idea. long as there's an airport near by I don't really care.

Daniel_Mc · 06-12-2012

The NCM didn't really support us this year so I wouldn't bank on them doing so in the future. I was thinking of heading in the other direction entirely with The Gathering this event has been going on the longest of all the NCM events and I do not want to see it die. It is a ZR-1 event just as much as it is a C4 event. I feel if we do not embrace it as a C4 event numbers will continue to drop and it will die just as Shark Fest did (anyone remember that one?). We will inevitably break into our smaller factions (GS, ZR-1, Callaway, etc.) while at the event. However if we want this event to continue to survive we need to embrace the C4 as a whole not just the ZR-1. We (ZR-1 net registry) needs to reach out to the other C4 specific groups and work with them on this event. We have got to keep the numbers up in the C4 community. The C4 community is a great FAMILY of people with a wealth of knowledge and we need to stick together. The key is to keep it interesting and fun. We need the road tours, places of interest, racing (drag and autocross), seminars, displays, judged show, and anything else we can think of that people will enjoy. We have to give them something to do each and every day. Someone that is new will not know people and the activities and cars are what will most likely be the drawing point; however Thursday this year I wanted to attend several seminars and didn’t because I was occupied talking to everyone. I wouldn’t change this for anything but I am just attempting to make a point that a newcomer will not know people and be able to do this (unless he is super active on the forum or other activity but I’m sure you get the gist of what I am attempting to convey). With that said we need to plan a ZR-1 event as well, not at the NCM, our own unique event. The Grand Sport Registry and Pace Car Registry do this with great success. Maybe a track day, maybe a meeting (cruising the coast, Woodward Dream Cruise, Petit Le Mans, etc.) maybe all just meet in the Keys or Vegas for a few days I don’t know but something. We could move it to a different venue each year to keep it fresh and make it more accessible at times to different ZR-1 owners. Carlisle is a great event as well and I am not attempting to take away any momentum from that event but this again is a ALL corvette event not C4, not ZR-1. So why not do the C4 event at the NCM, Carlisle (because it is awesome), and have our own ZR-1 event? This would give the ZR-1 owners/enthusiasts several opportunities and venues throughout the year to come out and enjoy the Brotherhood. The more events and opportunities we have to do things together the closer the community will become. Doug Johnson said it best “It’s not about the car, it’s about the people…” and I firmly believe that.

Daniel

scottfab · 06-12-2012

I'd rather see the Gathering go to a once every 4yrs than to not have it at the NCM. Even with no support from the NCM... it's still home to the car

But then I'm a bit different.
I think it's the car first....
that then leads to great friends.

Paul in SC · 06-12-2012

I agree with both Dan and Scott. We need to keep the Gathering going and if it means camping with the C4 and GS guys, so be it. We are all C4s.

I think we have enough regional events going on that should suffice as additional ZR-1 "gatherings" including Bloomington, Carlisle, tag along on Aaron's SGC event, Texas gathering, MidAmerican could be another venue, etc., etc. I for one am excited to be back in the ZR-1 family and really appreciated all the work that was pulled together for NCM this year. We may have had fewer people attend than I remember from the late 90s and early 2000s events, but the excitement and interest by those that attended was just as great.

QB93Z · 06-13-2012

Thanks for the discussion and comments. I think that some good points are being made.

I would like to clear up one major misconception. The NCM did support the ZR-1 Gathering. We used the NCM website do do all of the event registration. The NCM produced all of the badges and credentials. The NCM provided us FREE use of the theater for three full days. The NCM provided free event parking for all our cars and in beautiful surroundings. The NCM provided the Reception Center for the banquet and served the meal for a very reasonable price. The NCM allows us to set up a display area with any and all of the cars we want on the Boulevard of Dreams. The NCM allows us to set up our hospitality tables in the Museum lobby and to sell our shirts and merchandise directly in front of the NCM store.

We will continue to have an annual ZR-1 Gathering at the NCM. To get the get equivalent event facilities at a commercial location would be very expensive.

I agree that we need to have more cruises and tours at the Gathering.

I agree with Daniel. There were times that I missed a lecture because I was enjoying talking to other people.

Racing at the Gathering is problematic. We are not a big enough group to be able to rent a track for a weekend or a full day of exclusive use. We will continue to try to find a way to schedule race events at the Gathering.

I reject the idea that we shouldn't have a Gathering at the NCM because we should have an event on the west coast. The events are not mutually exclusive. We should be able to have The Gathering AND have events in every region of the country.

Jim

FU · 06-13-2012

Jim is correct. The NCM catered to us more this year than in the past. I was impressed with the out pour from the NCM. It was greatly appreciated.
A suggestion , What about setting up a nice meet in the west.....like Vegas ?

XfireZ51 · 06-13-2012

Jim et al,

In re-reading my original post, perhaps I wasn't as clear as I wanted to be. What I was suggesting was not necessarily moving the The ZR-1 Gathering from BG and the NCM, but instead create a new event that celebrates the ZR1 brand. I disagree about "embracing" the C4 group.
Our ZR-1s aren't just C4s with a DOHC motor. The ZR-1 brand has been used by Chevrolet to designate the pinnacle of Corvette engineering for the particular generation Corvette. Its special! Seriously, when was the last time we "mingled" w other C4s and the GS crowd or vice-versa. Some time ago, I tried to make the case that this forum should open up to the new generation ZR1s out there. We get some people posting C6ZRs for sale on this site.
When I read that Chevrolet was going to use the ZR1 moniker again for the C6 version, I was excited because it would bring some additional focus on previous generations like ours. IMO, however, we haven't done very much to leverage that and so our cars continue to be considered as another C4 with an "interesting" motor although we all agree its MUCH more than that. My suggestion deals with elevating the ZR1 brand. That's why I am suggesting reaching out to the generations of ZR1s to create an event celebrating it and not just another version of a C4.

Kevin · 06-13-2012

we had some zr1's with us at carlise this year. was nice

hiperf406 · 06-13-2012

I would like to see a western ZR1 event as I believe a lot of people including me don't go because of the location. Flying in & not having a car at the event is just foolish, pretty soon it will be a bunch of guys sitting around talking about their ZR1's & not a ZR1 around. Majority of people who don't want to move live within a relatively close distance & of course they will fight it. Carlisle is just as bad for anyone but the easterners, so I guess I'll just read about it every year until I loose interest in The Gathering & I'll bet I'm not in the minority, I could be wrong.

06-12-2012	#1
XfireZ51 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chicagoland, IL Posts: 9,700	ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering I know I have kicked this can a few times, but its become pretty clear that the enjoyment we get at The Gathering comes from who's there and not where it is. I'd like to think we can avoid the "smokestackers" next year by scheduling a different date. Rather than confounding our event w other C4s, why not have a Gathering of everything ZR1? Let's make this multi-generational by celebrating the mark "ZR 1" as the ultimate Corvette of it respective generations. Thoughts? __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Former Membership Chairman Former ZR-1 Registry - BOD 1972 Corvette 4speed base Coupe SOLD long time ago 1984 Corvette Z-51/4+3 SOLD 1992 Corvette ZR-1 Aqua/Gray #474 SOLD 1992 Corvette ZR-1 Black Rose/Cognac #458 2014 Honda VFR Interceptor DX

06-12-2012	#2
Kevin Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: pittsburgh Posts: 4,632	Re: ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering i'm not sure how many non zr-1s show up any more but I can't see the ncm making room for another event for just zr-1/zr1's since they're already covered by the c4 and c6 gatherings. unless you're talking about moving the event from the ncm, I think there was another thread about this. I'm not sure how I feel about moving it but I do think there should be some discussion on the idea. long as there's an airport near by I don't really care. __________________ It's not the car, it's the people - Doug Johnson 90 r/r "KEYS ON" nick named "T.L.B"

06-12-2012	#3
Daniel_Mc Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Pineville, LA Posts: 586	Re: ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering The NCM didn't really support us this year so I wouldn't bank on them doing so in the future. I was thinking of heading in the other direction entirely with The Gathering this event has been going on the longest of all the NCM events and I do not want to see it die. It is a ZR-1 event just as much as it is a C4 event. I feel if we do not embrace it as a C4 event numbers will continue to drop and it will die just as Shark Fest did (anyone remember that one?). We will inevitably break into our smaller factions (GS, ZR-1, Callaway, etc.) while at the event. However if we want this event to continue to survive we need to embrace the C4 as a whole not just the ZR-1. We (ZR-1 net registry) needs to reach out to the other C4 specific groups and work with them on this event. We have got to keep the numbers up in the C4 community. The C4 community is a great FAMILY of people with a wealth of knowledge and we need to stick together. The key is to keep it interesting and fun. We need the road tours, places of interest, racing (drag and autocross), seminars, displays, judged show, and anything else we can think of that people will enjoy. We have to give them something to do each and every day. Someone that is new will not know people and the activities and cars are what will most likely be the drawing point; however Thursday this year I wanted to attend several seminars and didn’t because I was occupied talking to everyone. I wouldn’t change this for anything but I am just attempting to make a point that a newcomer will not know people and be able to do this (unless he is super active on the forum or other activity but I’m sure you get the gist of what I am attempting to convey). With that said we need to plan a ZR-1 event as well, not at the NCM, our own unique event. The Grand Sport Registry and Pace Car Registry do this with great success. Maybe a track day, maybe a meeting (cruising the coast, Woodward Dream Cruise, Petit Le Mans, etc.) maybe all just meet in the Keys or Vegas for a few days I don’t know but something. We could move it to a different venue each year to keep it fresh and make it more accessible at times to different ZR-1 owners. Carlisle is a great event as well and I am not attempting to take away any momentum from that event but this again is a ALL corvette event not C4, not ZR-1. So why not do the C4 event at the NCM, Carlisle (because it is awesome), and have our own ZR-1 event? This would give the ZR-1 owners/enthusiasts several opportunities and venues throughout the year to come out and enjoy the Brotherhood. The more events and opportunities we have to do things together the closer the community will become. Doug Johnson said it best “It’s not about the car, it’s about the people…” and I firmly believe that. Daniel __________________ [COLOR=black]Daniel McGuffee [/COLOR] [B]1989[/B] Red Coupe #10166 [COLOR=black][B]1989 [/B]Black[/COLOR][COLOR=black] Coupe #23990[/COLOR] [COLOR=black][B]1991[/B] ZR-1 White #1639[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]FRANK APPROVED ZR-1[/COLOR] [B][COLOR=red][COLOR=black]1996[/COLOR] G[/COLOR][COLOR=blue]rand[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]S[/COLOR][COLOR=blue]port[/COLOR][/B] [COLOR=black]Coupe #564[/COLOR] ======================================== "It's not about the car, it's about the people..." DJ Don't forget to support your [URL="http://corvettemuseum.com/"]National Corvette Museum[/URL]!!!

06-12-2012	#4
scottfab Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Portland Oregon metro area (Washington side) Posts: 3,207	Re: ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering I'd rather see the Gathering go to a once every 4yrs than to not have it at the NCM. Even with no support from the NCM... it's still home to the car But then I'm a bit different. I think it's the car first.... that then leads to great friends. __________________ Scott Vett owner since 1979._It's about the car and the people

06-12-2012	#5
Paul in SC Join Date: May 2012 Location: Bluffton, SC Posts: 151	Re: ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering I agree with both Dan and Scott. We need to keep the Gathering going and if it means camping with the C4 and GS guys, so be it. We are all C4s. I think we have enough regional events going on that should suffice as additional ZR-1 "gatherings" including Bloomington, Carlisle, tag along on Aaron's SGC event, Texas gathering, MidAmerican could be another venue, etc., etc. I for one am excited to be back in the ZR-1 family and really appreciated all the work that was pulled together for NCM this year. We may have had fewer people attend than I remember from the late 90s and early 2000s events, but the excitement and interest by those that attended was just as great. __________________ 1993 ZR-1 - "The Green Thing", LPE/LSV 385; 2021 HTC, Red Mist Metallic, Cool gray interior, stainless dual stripes; ZR-1 Net Registry #1376

06-13-2012	#6
QB93Z Join Date: May 2007 Location: Westminster, Maryland Posts: 3,689	Re: ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering Thanks for the discussion and comments. I think that some good points are being made. I would like to clear up one major misconception. The NCM did support the ZR-1 Gathering. We used the NCM website do do all of the event registration. The NCM produced all of the badges and credentials. The NCM provided us FREE use of the theater for three full days. The NCM provided free event parking for all our cars and in beautiful surroundings. The NCM provided the Reception Center for the banquet and served the meal for a very reasonable price. The NCM allows us to set up a display area with any and all of the cars we want on the Boulevard of Dreams. The NCM allows us to set up our hospitality tables in the Museum lobby and to sell our shirts and merchandise directly in front of the NCM store. We will continue to have an annual ZR-1 Gathering at the NCM. To get the get equivalent event facilities at a commercial location would be very expensive. I agree that we need to have more cruises and tours at the Gathering. I agree with Daniel. There were times that I missed a lecture because I was enjoying talking to other people. Racing at the Gathering is problematic. We are not a big enough group to be able to rent a track for a weekend or a full day of exclusive use. We will continue to try to find a way to schedule race events at the Gathering. I reject the idea that we shouldn't have a Gathering at the NCM because we should have an event on the west coast. The events are not mutually exclusive. We should be able to have The Gathering AND have events in every region of the country. Jim __________________ If it isn't fun, you aren't doing it right! 1990 Black ZR-1 - sold 1993 Quasar Blue ZR-1 1994 Competition Yellow ZR-1 1995 Dark Purple ZR-1 Maryland State Coordinator WAZOO Member

06-13-2012	#7
FU Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Found Member Posts: 4,346	Re: ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering Jim is correct. The NCM catered to us more this year than in the past. I was impressed with the out pour from the NCM. It was greatly appreciated. A suggestion , What about setting up a nice meet in the west.....like Vegas ? __________________ Frank Urbo. NCM Lifetime member # 982 Registry Founding # 237

06-13-2012	#8
XfireZ51 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chicagoland, IL Posts: 9,700	Re: ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering Jim et al, In re-reading my original post, perhaps I wasn't as clear as I wanted to be. What I was suggesting was not necessarily moving the The ZR-1 Gathering from BG and the NCM, but instead create a new event that celebrates the ZR1 brand. I disagree about "embracing" the C4 group. Our ZR-1s aren't just C4s with a DOHC motor. The ZR-1 brand has been used by Chevrolet to designate the pinnacle of Corvette engineering for the particular generation Corvette. Its special! Seriously, when was the last time we "mingled" w other C4s and the GS crowd or vice-versa. Some time ago, I tried to make the case that this forum should open up to the new generation ZR1s out there. We get some people posting C6ZRs for sale on this site. When I read that Chevrolet was going to use the ZR1 moniker again for the C6 version, I was excited because it would bring some additional focus on previous generations like ours. IMO, however, we haven't done very much to leverage that and so our cars continue to be considered as another C4 with an "interesting" motor although we all agree its MUCH more than that. My suggestion deals with elevating the ZR1 brand. That's why I am suggesting reaching out to the generations of ZR1s to create an event celebrating it and not just another version of a C4. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Former Membership Chairman Former ZR-1 Registry - BOD 1972 Corvette 4speed base Coupe SOLD long time ago 1984 Corvette Z-51/4+3 SOLD 1992 Corvette ZR-1 Aqua/Gray #474 SOLD 1992 Corvette ZR-1 Black Rose/Cognac #458 2014 Honda VFR Interceptor DX

06-13-2012	#9
Kevin Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: pittsburgh Posts: 4,632	Re: ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering we had some zr1's with us at carlise this year. was nice __________________ It's not the car, it's the people - Doug Johnson 90 r/r "KEYS ON" nick named "T.L.B"

06-13-2012	#10
hiperf406 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Spruce Grove Oilberta/In Mex for winter Posts: 1,046	Re: ZR-1/ZR1 Gathering I would like to see a western ZR1 event as I believe a lot of people including me don't go because of the location. Flying in & not having a car at the event is just foolish, pretty soon it will be a bunch of guys sitting around talking about their ZR1's & not a ZR1 around. Majority of people who don't want to move live within a relatively close distance & of course they will fight it. Carlisle is just as bad for anyone but the easterners, so I guess I'll just read about it every year until I loose interest in The Gathering & I'll bet I'm not in the minority, I could be wrong. __________________ lorne # 1748 Stock except for a modified Corsa exhaust. When the flag drops the bull sh1t stops!