2 Cars and Coffee stupid in Portland.

schmidtwerk, (Jeff)
Before you go popping off with an ignorant opinion, you might take a moment to educate yourself.

The original Portland Cars & Coffee was started three years ago by Kevin (Kaoss), and ran for two years at Bridgeport Village. Started as a non-sponsored unofficial Ferrari and Lambo event with a good mix of additional cars. So yeah, we have a higher concentration of "euro cars" as a result.

One year ago, we moved it out of Bridgeport due to increasing traffic issues (too many cars, and shopping hour issues with Bridgeport patrons).

Now that we are in the lot behind Starbucks, we have room for about 150 cars. Everyone is welcome, and invited to attend. Ferraris and Fiats, Porsches and Peugeots, Ariel and Astons. Packards, Chevelles, Rolls, ... the list goes on. About half of the cars are regulars, while the other half are new or occasional visitors. And with 50-60 cars per event, we are hardly "small". By July, we will be at our maximum. More than 150, and we have to start dealing with crowd control.

Over the past three years, there have been two similar groups that have started, both on Saturday mornings, then disappeared quietly. It is interesting to note that the only conflict has come from those who have supported the other events, yet have frequently not actually attended our event. There is plenty of room for other events and gatherings. As you say, it is all about the cars.

What is disappointing is that the Cascade group has chosen to hold their event at the same day and time as the original Portland event. So they really are the ones forcing attendees to choose one or the other. (And apparently encouraging the conflict and tension)

Besides, are you complaining about having too many Euro cars on the FerrariChat forum? Are you expecting sympathy?

Finally, the last time I checked, a 2012 VW Golf R was German, and generally considered "euro" car.

.

 

As the co-founder of E@RTC, I too agree that one show is better for momentum, however I disagree that Cars and Coffee Irvine has worked as intended. I've attended that show many times and in late 2008 there was a fiasco when it was difficult to tell which cars were there to show and which were there as spectators. We're in smaller communities here, so yes, we have to blur the lines a bit, but all the car cultures don't mix. We've had huge problems with tuners who somehow have the need to do burnouts to show what they have under the hood. That's not our audience. We just had someone from our event down to Cars and Coffee last week and said there wasn't a single Lamborghini in attendance. It began as an exotics show at Crystal Cove and had to move because of noise complaints. It's hard to mix all the cultures. Yes, there is room for more shows if the cars are segmented, but otherwise, if you don't have the draw, one event is best.

At E@RTC, we now average well over 100 cars every Saturday with peaks closer to 200 cars in 2011 and we will be close to 250 this year. Our opening Saturday was 180 cars on a cold day. We built the event by carefully defining who we are to set expectations for both spectators and participants. We draw about five to one on spectators. They key has been our focus.

We'd love to see Portland unite into one event so we could get a circuit going of interesting cars. I've not been to either Portland show, but know Kevin really put his heart into building something down there. My advice is build one event and once the cultures form, if you have to, then split events. As for the exotics in Orange County, they still meet, but privately at different locations.

 

Yes, one event is better for momentum, less confusion, etc. We have spent three years building an event where anyone feels welcome, and invited to participate. And it shows through the comments of those who attend for the conversation, cars, and community which we have built.

The conflict has come from the start-ups who decide to meet at the same time in a different location, and then criticize us for not being like them.

If there are to be multiple events, we would prefer to build bridges between the events, not canyons. Yet I suppose there will always be those like Jeff who throw grenades and then run away to watch the aftermath.

.

 

I really hope the 2 Cars and Coffee don't merge.

 

For reasons of logistics or culture?

 

We went through a similar phase of bomb throwing from all directions. You have to simply restate what you're about so outsiders don't redefine you. Remember the old saying, a lie told often enough can become the truth. We reiterated who we were almost weekly in our early days to keep that from happening. Some people just have a need to destroy the work of others. It's like graffiti- the art of the self-absorbed. Most of the unfounded criticism came from a few individuals who never did anything for the car community in the first place. Eventually it all went away. We do are best to be as welcoming as we can and still have a standard. None of us like to turn anyone away, but it occasionally happens.

Momentum is everything to getting factory support. We have Bugatti coming at the end of May for the third time. We've had so many cool factory events over the past year. We just hosted PACCAR's unveiling on a new truck this past Saturday. We have Lexus bringing another LFA, and we've got some huge surprises coming this summer. For us to make all that happen, we have to have the cars and the spectators. This is where two events destroys you're pull of the very cars you'd all love to see. It's a big challenge getting owners to pull their $30 million dollar Ferrari 250 out of their display unless there is the audience to see it.

We draw extraordinary cars because we deliver the group. We can guarantee 150 mostly exotic cars on those days. Some of our biggest collectors now send something just about every week. For us, location from the viewpoint of distance was never the issue. Central point to owners and setting was key. Redmond Town Center spends a lot of money to support us and provides things like heaters, tables, chairs, signs, posters, etc., because we've added so much business to the mall. None of this would be possible with split events at our size. Drawing an average of 50 cars or less just won't get the factories all that excited.

 

Cars and Coffee has actually come and gone several times in the past. The Bridgeport originally met June 21st in 2008. Before that it was in Jantzen Beach if I am not mistaken. It has contuned on due to a group of people who enjoy meeting up on Saturdays. If it is the same cars every weekend, we are not complaining. As stated before, there are some 50 to 60 different cars the filter in every so offten, and I think this has increased to 75 or 100.

As for the size of the venue at Portland, the main lot has 250 spaces, with more over follow to the north. We have actually been filling the lot for the past two to three months. The reason I hear the most in regard to non attendance is "its too far", "its all highway driving" or "I can't make it on Saturdays". Now we can add "Its not like LA". I have heard several times people wish Cascade was on Sunday so they could attend a C&C.

Personally I don't have a problem with the second location. Its far enough away from the Portland location it doesn't really compete, and its a great venue for those on the east side. Several people I have talked to have told me that the Cascade venue attracts mainly muscle cars and tuners. I am not sure how combining Portland and Cascade will lure out the exotics.

There also doesn't seem to be as many exotics in Portland as there use to be. Most have either gone under ground or just never go out. I know of several owners with in a few miles of Portland C&C that just never come out. Is it because the Cascade location open up, doubtful.

 

I'm a bit confused about the Portland C&C that is NOT located at the Starbucks near the Carmen Drive exit. Is this the one that was on the south waterfront near the OHSU skytram or a different location?

 

No Allen, that is the South Water Front C&C.

 

Seriously? You have no idea what the current situation is, but have all the answers on how to solve a problem that doesn't really exist.

 

nt

 

Why is this a big deal to anyone, seems like there is enough to go around or people can check out different ones on different days?

I have been to the cascade C&C and its fun, no attitudes or people looking down their nose at you no matter what you drive. How are the other ones?

 

As a part time westside attender and in the interest of peace... Nobody owns either and nobody's feelings should be hurt if each group wanted to check out the other. I would encourage an open invite to each and perhaps an organized effort by each group to schedule a summer "exchange" at each location. Much the same way Salem c&c lures many to its once monthly event.

 

First, my thanks to Mark and Jon for their work in organizing the Portland C&C. I'm a relative newcomer, but I really enjoy the event and the people I've met.

Given the discussion about E$RTC, I wouldn't like to see the Portland event grow that large (my hat's off to Tommy for organizing a regular event of that magnitude). One of the nice things about the current event is that it's intimate enough that you can have quiet conversations with other owners and enthusiasts. Too large a crowd and the general hubbub would limit one's ability to do that. I'd say that the limit imposed by the parking lot probably sets a good upper bound on crowd size.

 

Much to do about little! Freedom of choice still exists in the great US of A.

 

I'm not familiar with the Cascade event. Where has the discussion been on this event?

With folks blasting events other than their own, not knowing the full history of past failed events around town, and generally coming across as wanting to pick a fight by calling things "stupid", I'd have no interest in attending events with those in attendance. As they say, "with friends like this..."
I don't understand how some take this so personally.

I say let there be choices with multiple events.

 

There are assumptions that our event limits the ability to have conversations and the reality is that it does just the opposite. There was a tipping point after our first year when there were just too many people to make it around and meet everyone. There are people who've attended E@RTC that I've still never met and I rarely miss a Saturday. Once you're above about 100 people (average of two people per car at the time) you begin to fragment into small groups of mutual interest. This is a good thing. We have no one crowd, image, type, of attendee. We're not one group and have not been one group for a long time. Our spectator ratio is now about five people per car over the two-three hours and therefore it's impossible to chat with that many people and it's impossible to distinguish the difference between the spectators and owners.

For us it was never about a convenient location as a goal. It was always about the right location, with support from the mall itself. They are our biggest supporters and without them, we wouldn't exist. We have tables, chairs, heaters, nice signs, blocked off parking lots, security and local police support, and we're about to add a web-cam. All of this is critical to building an event. Everyone can get people to come out once or twice, but to sustain something that actually grows takes a huge effort. We've grown to a dozen dedicated volunteers in vests and on radios and EVERYTHING we do about parking is about great photos. Show individual pictures of cars with empty stalls all around as your evidence of success and you're going to kill your own event. We angel our cars for a reason- they look great in photos. We showcase cars and we go out of our way to draw from collectors.

Yes, we have show standards, but we really try our best to not implement them. We simply ask people to use some discretion on their own about what's interesting to show off. There is no common definition about what's "exotic" however having a specific theme is important because it sets expectations. We've gone out of our way to NOT call ourselves "Cars and Coffee". We've asked those who post on You Tube to please use "Exotics at Redmond Town Center" so their own videos can be found, and they are. All of this has been with purpose and the results are that we've got people who fly in from all over the world. We even have a rate code at the Marriott at Redmond Town Center "L9Z" if you wanted to visit us.

The point is that all of you could see such huge growth if you all worked together on one central location, built a theme, and grew from there. We'd be more than happy to share all our tricks to growing our event as it would benefit us all to have the manufacturers work in a circuit. We could draw even cooler cars if we had more to offer from Portland.

This summer we have Bugatti coming on the 26th, along with the LFA. We also have a One-77 coming. We're negotiating with others for some big surprises and until there is the audience in Portland, it's difficult for us to send these cars your way.

 

Sounds like fun but not my sort of venue.