What’s your opinion on Santana Row?

I have a question for everyone. Last Saturday (6/22) I went to Santana Row at our usual morning meeting place and it seems that the usual attendees were a no show for the last few weeks now. It seems to me that the meeting place at Santana Row is fading out; it’s not popular anymore to see exotic cars. What’s your opinion on Santana Row?

 

I don't make every week, but last Sat I was there. It was very slow (4 F cars, maybe 20 total, no Lambos) until about 10, when a bunch of Lambos rolled in, follwed by 2 RS's, and a number of Ferraris. Ended up with maybe a dozen Ferraris and 40 or 50 total cars, altho many of the usual Ferrari folks were missing. I think it's just hit and miss, lots of people on vacation, kids activities, etc.

Gary

 

Last week was low cause of Palo Alto Concourso - you just gotta know where we hang out!

 

I suspect all of the regular events fade over time. It even happened to CC

--Dan

 

It is true that summer brings vacation trips and kids activities, etc. And also the Concours was awesome. I am glad that I sacrificed SR for it. We should organize a drive for this weekend. It would be nice to go somewhere as a group.

 

I look at something like CC and don't like it. The public shows up, and theres no sense of community. Plus, in LA/OC, it seems like theres not many good roads to go on a drive after the meet. I really think SR is great in comparison, but going week after week is tough for some (including me). It may seem empty because we aren't as big as CC, but to me, thats great! We can be a closer, tighter community, with the downside of sometimes an empty SR

And like Gary said, I think more people show up at 10ish now days. With it getting hotter out, drives may be better to leave closer to 9-10 like last summer

 

I think it's a great gathering to have and enjoy. Participation may be low at times, but community and a place to view with others is fun. I appreciate it when I do attend and all that I have met seem to be very nice.

 

Some observations on SR as a whole - when the ********** group made the trip to SR there were some common comments..."once a week might be too much, its on a back parking lot, Peets is too far from the cars, very cool social event but not organized, and too much grouping of cars".

Before I get flamed...those were legit comments in comparison to ********** which is neither better or worse - just different. We have played with **********'s format to come up with something that is working very well. We have continual fresh faces and cars. And the event continues to grow each month. When we started, we quickly became overun with everyday euro cars and the vehicles we wanted stopped showing altogether. We introduced corral parking with attendents directing the parking to avoid clumping and focusing on the vehicles we wanted to see up front while pushing others towards the back. We have targeted who we want while being diligent in keeping others at bay (like the public at large and everyday vehicles). We rotate locations to keep it fresh and to get a change-up of vehicles because of location changes. Structure, volunteers, planned and calendared events, drives, rallys etc are all part of the make-up for a once a month informal and $0 event. We now have the cars we want (supers, exotics, rare, and vintage) in continually large numbers and without interference from the public - car enthusiasts only.

We have been toying with the idea of extending ********** to the Bay Area but not to interefere with SR. Of course we would have to have a champion (someone who will be at most of the events that has credibility with the SR gang), and just plain ol' interest from anyone who attends SR. ES is once a month and obviously on a Sunday. We can easily coordinate from our end and would love to make the trip early on to get it up and going strong provided the interest is there. Let me know either way.

SR right now seems to be a set of close friends with exotics that are regularly open to having new people but interest seems to die off depending on time of year, weather, and too much frequency. The group that are regulars at SR are the core that hold it together, but if they stop showing on a regular basis...I would guess that SR will fade away based on thier participation alone. I enjoyed SR the one time I attended. You definately have something that is fun to attend. But I would be concerned that interest may fade with time also.

 

Who are the usual suspects?

 

I made it out to SR on the 16th for the first time in a long time and it was a substantial group out that weekend. Dozen or more F cars, a Lambo or two, some P cars, a GT40, Cobras, and some Vipers. Lots of the regular posters here/usual attendees were out as well.

 

Rob, good question and Larry, a lot of good comments there. You echoed many of the thoughts and concerns that were brought up during the initial discussions about SR. This is what many of us decided on:

1. Frequency of the Meets - There was no doubt that once a week would be too much for anyone to go all the time. However, it made sense that a weekly would make sense in that it was a "certain" event every non-rainy Saturday morning. That way, you wouldn't have to think whether or not it was the last Saturday of the month, or the first Saturday, or whatever. The fact that nobody goes every Saturday assures that you do get a different crowd each week.

2. Back Parking Lot - We initially met in the parking lot closest to Peets. However, we discovered that the general public starts to mill around at about 10:30-11am and their "shopping mall" cars would start interspersing with our "event cars". To top it off, a Mercedes backed into a Murci and then tried to run off. That prompted us to move the parking lot to the far end.

3. No Organization - I totally concur with you on this. Nobody has expressed the desire to formally organize and plan for the event. I don't know if it's an issue of time, liability, or what not, but it's been a very laid back event. You're welcome to organize something if you're interested.

4. Grouping of Cars - I thought that everyone liked seeing similar brand cars together - Ferraris with Ferraris, Lambos with Lambos, Rows of Porsches, etc. That's how they have it at C & C, I believe.

5. Rotation of Venue - This is something that I proposed at the outset and got shot down from all directions. At the time, I believe the logic was that a set location was needed to get a core group going and to generate interest. Now that this has been achieved, it might be the right time to rotate the venues and make it more interesting.
.

 

Rob, maybe because since it's summer time alot of people are out of town.

 

I think this is part of the strength of SR. It's a meet in its purest sense; you show up to meet other motor heads. I like this free-form format, and that I could show up any Saturday and chances are, I'll meet someone I know. If not, I'll make new friends

I read the ES thread and realized that by and large, most folks like to see cars of the same make parked together (e.g. ES organizers even created a special corral for exotics). The free-form SR meets doesn't stop you from parking your Ferrari next to the Porsche area, or in the middle of a pack of M3's, and no one guides cars that arrive to park in a certain area. It just "happens". You come and go as you please.

I hope to make SR on a regular basis again, but I've had to work a lot of weekends lately.

 

I think this event is in more danger of dying off from getting too large than too small. Even when the 'regulars' don't show up, there are still usually at least 30+ cars and it seems to be growing as word spreads around forums. Worst case with a huge gathering is we get chased out of santana row...worst case with a small gathering is some weekends there is no drive or you just go home and go back to sleep if no one is there.


And with it being every weekend, good or bad turnout, it's always a reason to get out of bed and enjoy the nice weather on a Saturday instead of sleeping until 1:00.

 

But the concours was on Sunday...how much lead time do you guys need to get somewhere>

Gary

 

My buddies and I always had "guys Day" on Sundays, meet up ,have lunch and drive somewhere. Sometimes a little drunk miniature golf Anyways when we started going to Santana Row last year, it became our new guys day. And now sometimes even our wives/girlfriends come.

Its now our Saturday ritual. Alot of us hang out at Santana row,eat dinner there,etc and even would meet there but meet at Starbucks. Once we found out about back parking lot, it became our new meet spot. We come to met up, take a walk down to Starbucks and then hang with other car guys. We have made new friends from the SR meet. Traded test drives in each others cars and done a few cruises with new friends.

I think its a good meet, a great spot and should continue weekly. New faces will come, some old faces may go, but everyone knows, wake up saturday morning and want to meet up with some car guys....head to SR. I was there with only 10-20 cars and there when there was close to 100. Either way its nice to get out in the car, go get some coffee and chat about cars. And with the new mix of cars, it may never die completely just some saturdays may be less turnout then others. When I first heard of SR ,it seemed like it was mostly a Ferrari group meet ,but others started mixing in and so there will probably always be a decent turnout. As with any meet,sometimes the regulars, are the guys you saw at the last 3 meets. People always come and go.

 

I have found it to be pretty cool to meet up somewhere preset w/o worrying about interferring w/ traffic and such at SR. You meet up with other motor heads and make some new friends and meet up with others you already know. And if you want to, you can always walk around SR and shop or have your morning cup of joe...

 

I was there last saturday and the turnout was decent. Didn't see all the regulars I'm used to seeing. I even brought my special lady guest too. Wasn't easy convincing her to wake up early on a Saturday either.

 

IMO organized meets are overrated. I would also hardly call 30+ cars "dying off"

 

This is cool seeing the strong response for SR! This is what will keep it going and growing.

Perhaps a few misconceptions on ES - 1. Location is very important to our format. Having espresso available is a must, wide open parking that will not be interfered with other public parking is a must. Bonus if there are shops/activities in the area that are available to visit. 2. Formal ES is the 4th Sunday of each month with many reminders to everyone getting our attendance well over 100 each time. However, ESrs still meet on other weekends informally and as a much smaller group. This group enjoys the smaller outings/meets also because of the conversations and less distractions. 3. ES corral parking is to get exotics into a designated area and also to keep a BMW 318 away from a F430. (Nothing wrong with a 318, but we are showcasing certain vehicles and a 318 is not part of that) We also prefer to have things spread out so we don't have a row of 360s essentially leaving someone's car lost between the rest of the same model. Having a 360 next to a 550 on one side and a Gransport on the other, shows the cars off a bit better. You tend to linger/look more at the individiual car versus a "clump" of vehicles. It is better to consider ES's corral parking as specifically "showcasing individual vehicles". Ultimately the drivers determine where they wish to be. Our maps and designated areas are to keep everyday cars from overunning the event designed for exotics.

Harry thanks for taking note on something that is nothing more than observations on a different event from a skewed perspective of our participants. Its quite obivious that SR is working very well with the feedback everyone is giving. ES would be nothing more than an addition to SR...only if the interest is there. Specifically meaning that SR folks would like to have ES as an addition to SR in either Los Altos, Mt. View, or Palo Alto...and (most important) would plan on attending.

 

I'm still very enthusiastic about the SR meets, even though I haven't had the GT4 out in recent weekends. Between combinations of being out of town, on-call for (and at) work, and doing various mini "projects" on the car, I haven't driven it much this past month. I still show up, though - be it in my Corvette, or in the wife's SUV.

Sure - that means there's one less Italian car in the parking lot when I don't bring mine, but I don't think it means my interest in the gathering is fading, nor do I think the event itself is fading. I live very close to SR, and I enjoy spending the time outside on Saturday mornings. I enjoy seeing new vehicles. For example, this week I saw an orange Diablo 6.0 - not only had I never seen that car before, it was the first 6.0 I'd seen *ever*! We're over a year into the gathering, and there are still new cars coming out each week. I think that says something...

 

It’s been over a year since a group of NorCal Fchatters initiated Santana Row and in my opinion it's been a tremendous success. I’ve had the opportunity to see some amazing cars (from an Ariel Atom to an Enzo) and have met some equally amazing people. I never thought I would find so many new friends that share my crazy passion for cars and driving. FChat and Santana Row has made that possible.

As Harry and Larry have suggested, perhaps another venue (Sundays so it wouldn't conflict with SR?) further up the peninsula and meeting on a less regular basis could be considered. This might encourage enthusiasts in the upper peninsula, SF, Marin etc to bring out their fancy cars. Here’s a lofty goal but something to aspire to from our SoCal cousins:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148761

 

I went to SR as often as as I could, but domestic chores had to come first (getting a kitchen pass was getting as tough as turning on the TV without hearing about Paris Hilton) and then I sold my 355.

Well, tomorrow I'm picking up a 550 Maranello and what better excuse to get out of the kitchen than to show it off at SR? So, I will show up with renewed enthusiasm.

 

I have attended 3 times over the last year, going on the post meet drives twice. Each time it has been worth the drive up from Monterey.

 

Two words: Itz|Girlz