How many cars were there?????
Rather you like it or not, if the "Pontiac" hobby is to live on and survive to what we know it to be today, you better except, acknowledge, the late model Pontiacs. look around you, who do you see in the hobby right now?? Older guys getting ready to retire some already retired (Some who retired when their 49
) and then you drop down to the guys like me in their mid-late 40's who were around these cars when they were still obtainable back in the 80's and 90's when we were in high school. Do you see the 20-30 something guys really interested in these cars??? There are some but nothing like it was when we were that age. These guys mainly only know the LS platform or whatever V6 that's their Gran Prix, Grand Am, Bonneville came with. You also have the guys who are considerably older who are selling off their cars or people who inherit them thru some ones estate.
This hobby needs the younger generations who grew up with the later model cars and who gives a rats ass if it not a true "Pontiac" powerplant or not? These cars are branded Pontiac, they have an engine between their wheels that "Pontiac" engineers and bean counters felt should be there. So what's the big deal? Everyone Bitched when Pontiac went away. Why would you have cared since none of them had an original "Pontiac" style motor in them? This could be and has been debated until the cows come home!
You need the younger generation with their late model cars in the hobby, period. That's the best way to expose a generation who have know idea, nor probably care, what a "real Pontiac" is. Only when you get those people in can they see first hand how cool these old cars are and the misconceptions they may have heard about the old Pontiac motors on how they can't be fast, affordable to build, etc etc are thrown out the window. Once this happens, these are the guys who will then hopefully carry on with the hobby by purchasing these older cars from the guys who are retiring, dying, or getting out of the hobby. And if you really think about it, the same principle holds true with the original SBC/BBC's and the new generation LS platforms.
An event that was promoted for almost a year that pulled 20 cars, in my mind, is a total flop. If I was a sponsor that catered not just to Pontiac specific but to other brands also, and had skin in that game, I'd be pissed.
That email N2 mentioned previously went out to someone I knew that was planning on coming. Because of that email, it not only stopped her from attending and racing, it also kept about 5 other guys from bringing their traditional and late model cars to the event.