Hey. I drove eleven hour from Massachusetts to Virginia last year. You know what? I was kinda dissapointed! I was quite glad that I got to meet Mike and Anita from Performance Products. It was cool to be there with them as they were fitten to purchase two nice new F150's. I did also get to meet ATST, briefly. That was cool, could have been more time to chat though. I met one other guy from the Washington area with a red scab. He waited to run at VMP, but it rained. There were a bunch of people in Lightnings who I "didn't get a chance to talk to".
This year, if I drive eleven hours to Virginia, would it be possible to meet a few more people? I realize that there are people from around the country here. Dosen't it sound like fun to some of you not so close. Isn't "ROAD TRIP" fun to anyone any more? How about some truck talk (lots!), some beers, food and story, and some good ole drag racing (well driving as fast as you can in a quarter mile). Am I all that different thinking that this would be a blast? If poeple like ATST and myself can drive for ten, twenty hours, wouldn't a four or five hour drive be cake? Is it too much do drag us away from the key board?
I was a bit dissapointed last year because of the lack of participants. I did see a huge potential for a good, worth while time. I hope this year I will get to meet a few more of my fellow F150 Online-oholics!

Tom

 

You couldn't have been as disappointed as me. I had to go to a wedding in Canada that weekend. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

 

i also missed last years but i am planning on making this years trip....

 

Anyone know how many people showed up for the other two rallies ????

Have Fun & Keep on Truckin'
Dean

 

I have to admit..... I'm local and haven't gone to either. For me it's the tail end of my busy season and I usually have a lot going on.

I'm not sure on total turnout, but it hasn't been all that great from what I remember. With the size of this site, I would think more people would go.

I'm not sure of the reason. Have people already taken the summer trip? Price of lodging? Anybody that didn't go for a certain reason, speak up.

Maybe we should all get off our butts, gather input from everybody and help Mike instead of waiting for him to do it. I think if we heard everyone out on scheduling conflicts and tried to pick a "best timeframe" that it could help. The sooner it is decided the more time to convince people to go.

 

I think that is probably the biggest factor when people decide on whether they are going or not. No Mike, I am not saying you have to move it but for people to travel from California, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona ... they have to travel great distances. Yes, they could fly over but they may not feel confortable because they don't have their trucks to show off or talk about and since this is all about our trucks, they just don't feel right.

For most of us Canadians, if it is not the distance to travel, it is the exchange on our money. Right now, the banks are exchanging at around $1.62 CDN for $1 US or so. I thought about going last year but it was close to $1000 just for estimate fuel consumption and lodging. Still looking at it this year though because you just never know what will happen.

Have Fun & Keep on Truckin'
Dean

 

Ouch! That exchange rate really bites when you travel. Maybe we should offer gas, food and lodging as door prizes for any Canadians that make the trip.

 

This internet makes our country, our continent seem small. Fact is there is a lot of space between us. It's pretty hard to arrange an event that everyone can attend. We would all have to be "real enthusiastic" about our Ford trucks, or drive Saturns. I think for now, it needs to be done by region. Hey I would love the oppertunity to talk, face to face with people from every where, logisticly though..... don't see it happening. I hope the people who can make it to Virginia do, and that there are comprable events for all to partake.
I hope that there is an event for thoes in Canada. Perhaps something near the lakes?

Tom

 

i agree on the local need for the rallies... there is no way i would drive more than 8 hours or so for a weekend rally...even 8 is pushing it....

 

Its about a 900 mile drive for me one way from where I live to Norfolk I could do it but it would be tough plus the last 2 have been on weekends I work due to the 12 hour shifts I work I get every other weekend off the bad part is working every other weekend.

 

the only problem is when and were I'll need a good map and also a motel nearby for the wife and kids
maybe the others that live in S.C. and past can meet up here in N.C. and we all follow each other in??????

what kind of activities do they have at one of these???)

 

I went to the first one.

It was three days and people attended what they wanted.

Friday morning there was a tour of the Norfolk F150 assembly plant. After the tour, we went into a classroom and they brought in a F150 Engineer for a Q & A. I think that they thought we were a random off the street audience. He was kind of shocked he was facing hardcore F150 owners firing doublebarreled, cut to the chase questions. He gave answers he probably never thought he'd have to utter. (p.s. we tried as hard as we could but, could not get a tour the next year. If a tour is wanted this year, we will use the stealth approach.)
Friday afternoon/evening there was a party at the beach, this is sponsored by the City of Norfolk.
Saturday morning was a commute to Dinwiddie (about 50 miles) to the Virginia Motorsports Park 1/4 mile track. A good oppurtunity for those who would never do so otherwise. They treated us like royality even though most of us were novices, (backing up on the track and stuff like that)

When we got there the first thing tech inspection told us was,
"There is no Street Class today, you can't run."
And Mike Troyer said something like,
"Do you know who I am?"
and it was "Yes Sir" and "No Sir" after that.

Sunday was brunch at the 'Jewish Mother'.

Here is the problem with organizing one of these things.
You have to plan things, big things, for people to do.

The plant tour has to be booked months in advance and it
must be tied to a weekend when VMP has a test & tune and it has to be tied to a weekend when there is something like a party at the beach sponsored.

and then once all that's locked in that weekend doesn't work for everybody which is what happened to me last year (Canada).

I think the reasons for originally choosing the Norfolk area were the plant tour, it's a tourist area, reasonible proximity to VMP and the fact that Mike Troyer did all the work.

 

It must have been awsome in '00. I hope we can pull something like that off this year.
Mike, you up to it again this year? I want to run the SC'd truck! Even if turnout is low,
I think it would be cool to see Mike again and meet a couple "new" people.
I'm starting to get excited. I hope we start hearing it's in the works.
I know your real busy Mike. I will help if I can.

Tom

 

Hi Lew (and everyone else),

Great to see you again Lew!

Actually, the Ford plant was adding a new addition on last summer and so we were not able to tour the plant because of that. That, combined with the fact that we got rained out for 2 of the 3 days, as those of you who were there know, was why attendance was down. Given all that, it's no wonder!

We have worked extremely hard to put together these 3-day events so that people can get to do a little bit of everything in an area that is packed with Ford presence, an F-150 production line, tons of history, and lots to see and do.

The location for the Rally event that we here at Performance put together each year is central to everyone East of the Mississippi, and you really couldn't ask for an area with more to do. That area has everything from oceanfront beaches to great clubs to one of the best drag strips in the country not far away.

What is going to help these events grow is more *interest*, plain and simple. They don't just happen, it takes a lot of hard work, planning, significant money and committment for us to make these things happen every year.

Rest assured that yes, we are having this event again this year, and we want to publicly thank everyone who has attended in the past (ATST drove in from Michigan both years!) as well as those who have graciously helped us to put this event together. We look forward to seeing you all again as well as many new faces this year!! And yes Tom, we want to see that freshly-supercharged F-150 lay waste to the unsuspecting at the track this year!

Very soon, we will start making posts and start working on the planning for this year's Rally, time sure does keep marching right on by!

Anyone who is willing to volunteer their time to help us with the organization & logistics of this year's Rally event, please drop us an email and we'll keep all of those and contact each of you as we start working on this year's Rally, to see who can do what & how each can best help, etc., so that everything is properly coordinated.

Those who have suggestions for events can also drop us an email, and all of them will be considered for their potential. This year will have the Shown & Shine event (that got rained out last year), as well as the drag strip event, we hope, and other activities, and the attendance will be up. We'd also like to do a burnout contest & other things as well, let's make this year's Rally the biggest yet!

 

Man, I am going to have to leave Neal back in Windsor then if I go this year. We would have the fire department there in now time flat with Neal doing his burnouts !!! LOL !!!!

Have Fun & Keep on Truckin'
Dean