RE: AudiFest '99

["Kevin D. Caldwell" <merlin@ameritech.net>]

Have it in Detroit...

merlin

-----Original Message-----
From:	owner-quattro@coimbra.ans.net [mailto:owner-quattro@coimbra.ans.net]
On Behalf Of Buchholz, Steven
Sent:	Thursday, February 04, 1999 4:56 PM
To:	The Quattro List; 'Jim Griffin'
Subject:	RE: AudiFest '99

> Okay folks, it's that time to start thinking of AudiFest again. To start
> the
> discussion, we need to consider a big question:
>
Thanks for raising the issue again Jim!

A lot of good thoughts have been put forth so far.  I have to admit that I
am also one of those people who are in the camp who would prefer to have the
event scheduled for something other than the Pikes Peak Hillclimb.  Notice
that I did not say that I didn't want to go back to Colorado Springs, or
even up to Devil's Playground ... just not at the particular event.  The
reason I am of that opinion is that by the nature of the event you must get
out early and wait in line to get up the hill ... at which time you are
stuck to a certain area on the mountain until the end of the event ... when
you get to sit in another long line of traffic to go down the hill.  Now, if
I knew that at some point Bobby Unser would fly by in the Audi Pikes Peak
car (or Audi showed at least some sign of supporting the event) I would be
likely to change this feeling ... :)  I have gone to AF primarily to get a
chance to hang out with my friends from the quattro list, and quite frankly
the event itself tends to make that more difficult.  Since we are there on
the hill and there IS an event going on with the excitement of a contest and
the fact that different people have different interests it tends to cause
folks to get spread out.  As we learned at AF97, the rigors of having to
live for a few hours at 13,000 feet can dissuade some from attending for
health reasons.

>From my experience it is the time spent at Steve Eiche's house or at a pizza
place in Colorado Springs that I would be more interested in.  I was not
able to attend the associated driving event at Pueblo at AF98, but this is
more the sort of thing I would be interested in.  I'd also love to be able
to plan on being there for a couple of days with a fairly centrally
organized lodging setup to maximize the opportunity to interact.  I'd love
to see a day spent like what we did at AF97 in the museum waiting to go up
the hill ... everyone kicking tires and popping hoods and comparing notes.

All that said, 1999 is going to be a special one for Audi fans.  Audi's
presence at the Monterey Historics means that we have a rare opportunity to
be able to see a lot of cars and people that would otherwise at least
require a trip to Europe.  It will be a multi-day event, with plenty of
opportunities to congregate and do the things I want to do.  It is for this
reason that I strongly suggest that as many Audi fans as possible plan to
attend the Historics, and I think it would be cool to have a qlist-centric
AudiFest there as well.  Audi is working with AQCUSA in setting up the
event, but that doesn't mean that the qlist can't have their own thing.  It
just so happens that I am involved with the effort to put the event
together, and I can tell you one thing that is lacking at the current time,
and that is an event like the Pueblo Springs event at MH98.  Anyone
interested in a q-list driving event associated with the Monterey Historics?
There is an old airport in Marina (near Monterey) where the local AX folks
hold autocross styled events.  We will certainly keep the qlist updated with
information regarding common hotels and such as they develop.  If there is
enough interest from qlisters we might even consider setting up separate
accomodations from the ones that QCUSA is recommending just to be sure that
the qlisters can hang out in the same place.

The fact that Monterey is SO close to the left coast does make it difficult
for many to attend, so it makes perfect sense to me to make plans for other
AudiFest events as well.  I personally think that the fact that Audi does
have some presence at the Mount Washington Hillclimb makes it a natural
candidate.  Perhaps we should schedule an AudiFest in Colorado on the 4th of
July weekend, but just listen to the hillclimb on the radio while taking
laps at Pueblo Springs ... :)  My only suggestion is that the events not be
held at the same time if at all possible ... you never know who is going to
want to drive from far away and would hate to have to choose between a road
trip or a local AF event.  I would also suggest that if there is going to be
any other associated driving event that the plans be made for the overall
AudiFest to be more than one day to allow for fellowship ... Vorsprung durch
Kameraderie!

Finally ... why is it that we are only considering sites in the USA?  I
suggest that we schedule an AudiFest in New Zealand ... or perhaps
Scandinavia ... Ingolstadt?  :-)

Just think of the shirt ... AudiFest Tour '99 ... :-)

Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)