Hands down this year was probably the worst (although I've heard horror stories about when they allowed on ground camping). I doubt they'll cancel it though, they're making way to much money off it. Figure 40,000 peple all told probably spent at least $100 after entry, food and a hotel room so that's $4,000,000 that was spent last weekend.
By the way, anybody who was judged and though it was shady, a guy off another forum emailed them and got a response.
Mr. Huber,
Thank you for providing me with your feedback. Your email was passed along to me from another staff member and I would like to address it.
First, let me apologize for the lack of professionalism in judging. This became apparent to us as the weekend went on. At that point, it was too late to cancel the show or not give any awards, although that is what I would have liked to have done. When I got the judging sheets in my hands at the end of the night on Saturday, I wanted to burn them. I am as sorely disappointed as you and many others are. I know this does not change the fact of what happened. Many people were deserving of the awards they won, some others were not, and many were overlooked. This is definitely an issue that will be seriously addressed from this day until next year's event.
We are currently discussing the feasibility of working with a different judging team under a totally different format where more than one judge would look at each car and discuss it before scoring, hopefully eliminating the shortcomings in knowledge from one judge to the next. I don't agree that age is a determining factor of quality judges. At the age of 18, I had been in the automotive industry for a few years and I knew what it took to make a show winning vehicle. Many of your younger message
board members would probably agree with that. In this particular case, let just say it was the judges themselves and not the entire age group of 18 or 19 year olds.
Finally, to be honest with you, the money isn't what keeps this show at Carlisle. It's our love of cars and the hobby as a whole. It's our desire to provide a show of the magnitude that you won't find in many, if any, other places on the east coast. By the time we deal with the negative press and assist the community in rebuilding the town that many of the participants destroy year after year, we don't make any more money than we do at any other show where people are more responsible for their own
actions. This is the reason you get harrassed by the police. We don't request it...your fellow enthusiasts bring onto themselves and, therefore, onto you and your friends who may be totally innocent of any wrong-doing.
Again, I share your complaint about the judging and I apologize. What I ask of you is to pass these concerns on in a positive way and return ideas and challenges to me so that I can make this event better with the help of those who participate. I'm new to this facility and this show was already organized when I got here. This is not an excuse but rather a glimmer of hope for changes to come. We take full responsibility for the actions of the judges, as disgusting as I think they were. There may still be problems as there always are at a show of this magnitude.
Hopefully the concerns that I am made aware of this year will be resolved. Thank you for your understanding and hopefully passing this letter on to those other concerned parties which you mentioned in your letter.
Regards,
Mike Kelsch
Event Manager
Carlisle Events
1000 Bryn Mawr Ave.
Carlisle, PA 17013
(717) 243-7855 ext.113
mikek@carsatcarlisle.com <mailto:mikek@carsatcarlisle.com>
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'06 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Stock, for now
'98 Civic EX - CTR headlights and grill, Kosei K1's, for sale
'90 240SX - SR20DET that will never get installed, project car.