2012 Vcoa National Meet- St Louis

[94850tx]

2012 VCOA National Meet in St. Louis, MO

St. Louis, MO, March 6 – “Meet Me in St. Louis” is the theme for the 2012 Volvo Club of America’s National Meet to be held in St. Louis, MO on June 1-3, 2012. The St. Louis-area’s Gateway Chapter of the Volvo Club of America (VCOA) is hosting the 3-day event.

Tickets for all events are available now to all VCOA members on the www.vcoa.org website. Tickets include admission to all meet events. A special room rate is available for attendees at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. More information is available on the Hotel Details page of the Gateway VCOA website at: https://sites.google.com/site/gatewayvcoa

On June 1, registration for 2012 VCOA National Meet ticketholders takes place at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel lobby from 3:00pm until 7:00pm. A dinner will be held for all registrants at the Weiss Brentwood Volvo dealership that evening from 6:00pm until 8:00pm.

The premier event of the meet will be held on June 2 when the Volvo Car Show will be held at the Forest Park Muny Upper Parking Lot from 10:00am until 3:00pm. This is open to the public with no admission fee. Participant check-in for the car show will occur from 8:00am until 10:00am. New and vintage Volvos of all years and models will be on display, including a 1962 Volvo P1800, the 5-time Volvo Historic Series Champion Car. Food and Volvo accessory vendors will also be in attendance at the show.

The new Volvo C30 EV electric concept vehicle will be on display at the car show. This all-electric sedan seats four and has a range of 90 miles on a 24 kWh battery. First seen at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, the electric car has acceleration from 0-60 mph in 11 seconds, a top speed of about 80 miles per hour, and needs eight hours to recharge the battery pack from a 220-volt household outlet.

In the evening of June 2, a dinner and awards banquet will be held in the Lindell Ballroom at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. The keynote speaker at the banquet will be Lars-Erik Lundin, who led Volvo’s groundbreaking development of the Volvo 850 model, from 1983 to launch. 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of the 850.

Lundin was most recently Vice President and General Manager of the Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center (VMCC) in Southern California. Now retired, Lundin spends his winters in California and his summers in Sweden.

On Sunday, June 3 a breakfast will be held at the Suntrup Volvo dealership in O’Fallon, MO from 8:00am until 10:00am. Following breakfast, meet participants can drive in the Volvo Rally from 10:00am until 12:00. An awards ceremony will also be held to award trophies in six car show categories: Rear Wheel Drive (People’s Choice), Front Wheel Drive/All Wheel Drive (People’s Choice), Performance Oriented (judged), Champions (judged), Best of Show (sponsored by Volvo Cars North America), and other special awards (Dealer’s Choice, Diamond in the Rough, and Road Warrior for most miles driven).

Dealer sponsors for the three-day event are Suntrup West County Volvo, Suntrup Volvo of O’Fallon, and Weiss Brentwood Volvo.

For more information about the 2012 VCOA National Meet, visit the Gateway VCOA’s website at: https://sites.google.com/site/gatewayvcoa or the chapter’s Facebook page by searching for Gateway VCOA.

We have worked very diligently to make this an event that is welcoming to all Volvo owners, including those with a more performance oriented attitude. As you can see by the addition of the Performance Oriented class and some of the exhibitors at the meet. All are welcome.

If you're coming from the South you might want to stay over until Tuesday when the Hot Rod Power Tour comes to town. I am going to run the tour from E St Louis to Miami, OK; Stillwater, OK; and then finish the tour at it's closing in Arlington, Tx. Anyone that wants to join in with that is welcome.

If you have any questions please feel free to shoot me an e-mail or a PM.

Thank you!

[Snabb T5M]

How do you attend if your not and don't want to be a VCOA member?

[Burn-E]

So could I bring my 1998 saffron C70 to the car show on June 2 without paying the registration fee or being a VCOA member? Is that what is meant by the show being open to public? Or are privileges to have a car on the show field only available to registered members?

[brick-a-brac]

So could I bring my 1998 saffron C70 to the car show on June 2 without paying the registration fee or being a VCOA member? Is that what is meant by the show being open to public? Or are privileges to have a car on the show field only available to registered members?

Only members who are registered for the show can have cars on the field in the judged show.

The show is open to anyone who wants to attend, but their cars will have to stay in the parking lot.

If you owned a BMW, a Porsche, a Saab -- whatever -- and you wanted to take part in a club event, you would have to be a member of that club. Why should it be any different for VCOA?

Seriously -- I want to know.

[Burn-E]

We went through this 2 years ago. See the thread from our alternative plans to VCOA 2010

You know the answer to the question is, why not charge a minimal fee ($10 say) to participate in the just the car show? VCOA needs to evolve its model and reconsider the approach. I know you mentioned that the Chapters are individually responsible for making the arrangements and setting up the meet structure but it seems like the Board didn't listen to any of our suggestions from 2010.

We hold large car meets all the time that don't cost anything (if it's VS guys) - like Volvos at Ikea or XXX out in NWC. They do Super Car Saturday's here in Chicago during the Summer and anyone is free to register and participate because enthusiasts want to come check out the various cars. There are usually 200+ cars of all types but all owned by enthusiasts of their particular brand.

Some shows require a $15-20 entry fee to participate in if it's a larger car show like the many euro centric and muscle car shows . VCOA is throwing a big Volvo centered conference and there are many of us who have no interest whatsoever participating in the conference since it will all largely be grey hairs who are near retirement age - and that's coming from a grey haired 40 something. What we as enthusiasts ARE interested in is participating in the show since that's where all the fun happens anyway.

So I was hoping based on the experience from the 2010 VCOA event where a group of us from VS (12 cars and definitely the best modded examples there) with stickers that stated Not@VCOA 2010 - helped the organization understand that we want to participate in the show. We don't want to come hang out all weekend.

My question to the VCOA board of directors is this:

You know we are the future of VCOA and yet you're not really doing anything to solicit input from us on what we want out of the organization - why not?

EDIT: My original statement which I've struck out wasn't fair. The reality is that most of the cars and owners at the VCOA event aren't focused on performance and modifying cars. You have the classic owners P1800 and Amazons who are more pursuing a concours style event where OEM like it rolled out of the factory is the focus. You have the average Volvo owners who love the brand and enjoy driving the cars but would never consider doing significant modifications. 90% of what I saw at VCOA 2010 matched this description. I love coming and checking out their cars but I would rather spend time hanging out with the VS guys at a local pub after the event rather than attending a lecture on the 850 or an awards banquet.

We find more in common with the BMW, Audi, VW meets where modified cars either for low and slow (Stance) or power are the focus. But we like hanging out with the Volvo crowd and VCOA doesn't seem to want to make it easy for us to do so at the national show.

[brick-a-brac]

We went through this 2 years ago. See the thread from our alternative plans to VCOA 2010

And I guess I remain curious why people are asking about showing at a meet when they have no intention of joining the organization that is putting it on. Is it, as I asked two years ago, the result of some urge to belong without the commitment?

You know the answer to the question is, why not charge a minimal fee ($10 say) to participate in the just the car show? VCOA needs to evolve its model and reconsider the approach. I know you mentioned that the Chapters are individually responsible for making the arrangements and setting up the meet structure but it seems like the Board didn't listen to any of our suggestions from 2010.

We hold large car meets all the time that don't cost anything (if it's VS guys) - like Volvos at Ikea or XXX out in NWC. They do Super Car Saturday's here in Chicago during the Summer and anyone is free to register and participate because enthusiasts want to come check out the various cars. There are usually 200+ cars of all types but all owned by enthusiasts of their particular brand.

I also go to many shows. I have been known to drive to Connecticut to have lunch with VS guys. I pay to attend shows that require me to pay. What we're talking about here is an event that is organized by a car club comprised almost entirely of volunteers. What we're asking is for people to become members of the club in order to participate in this one big annual event. I have no idea if the chapter has a show-only option for registration. We did it in Ipswich in 2009 and it was fine. However, it has been made clear to me over the years of my advocating for joining VCOA that that club does not offer anything to this group -- except for the national meet.

My question to the VCOA board of directors is this:

You know we are the future of VCOA and yet you're not really doing anything to solicit input from us on what we want out of the organization - why not?

I'm interested. I have tried proposing tiered membership for those who don't want the magazine, for instance. However, I am only one vote. If you are interested in changing things, become a member, get involved, join the board when a vacancy becomes available (two just got filled this year).

[Zappo]

You know we are the future of VCOA and yet you're not really doing anything to solicit input from us on what we want out of the organization - why not?

EDIT: My original statement which I've struck out wasn't fair. The reality is that most of the cars and owners at the VCOA event aren't focused on performance and modifying cars. You have the classic owners P1800 and Amazons who are more pursuing a concours style event where OEM like it rolled out of the factory is the focus. You have the average Volvo owners who love the brand and enjoy driving the cars but would never consider doing significant modifications. 90% of what I saw at VCOA 2010 matched this description. I love coming and checking out their cars but I would rather spend time hanging out with the VS guys at a local pub after the event rather than attending a lecture on the 850 or an awards banquet.

The last VCOA West Coast National Meet was in 2006 in Lake Tahoe, which I attended. Cars were split between stock and modified, which the appropriate sub categories from there. I won the Modified 850 Sedan class (Raf didn't bring his car) and also won the modified class in autocross the next day.

Categories for judging is up to the club(s) putting on the event. The California club(s) (especially Golden Gate chapter) have quite a few modified Volvos as members and therefore can dictate that modified cars be judged differently than stock. Judging was done by people with cars in the show, but they weren't allowed to judge their own class. Stock classes have strict rules on how the car is judged, but modified classes are more based on the number and quality of the mods, as well as the overall cleanliness of the car.

I am a VCOA member, and have been since at least 2006. My car was modified then and is a hell of a lot more modified now. I go to VCOA meets all the time and see lots of VS people at them.

When was the last time any of you read Rolling magazine? Practically every issue has a story on a modified Volvo, not just stories about restoring a 544 to showroom condition.

My point is you can't just sit here whining about how VCOA needs to change to fit your needs before you will join. If you have done nothing with VCOA since 2010, then most likely 2012 isn't going to be any different. Join the club and participate in your local chapter. That is how VCOA is going to change. There is plenty of room for both modified and stock cars in the club.

The West coast chapters already welcome modified cars, but then we all know the West coast is better than the rest of the country. :P

[Burn-E]

Dude, been there joined it, paid the dues, have the magazine collection. Even posted a couple of relevant modified articles from said magazine in the last year on VS.

There is a broader world of Volvo enthusiasts than the magazine and VCOA. My impression is that the Midwest Crew from VS covers 65% of my needs to belong and contribute to the world of Volvos and VS offers the other 35% and my total cost to participate in the last 3 years has been the cost of my Supporting membership on VS.

I've engineered meets, built a community and worked to foster relationships within the region. We help each other out and make connections to help a guy out. And I can say the same about pretty much every one of the MWC members. We don't need the VCOA but we would like to participate and contribute. A number of us were members but we allowed that membership to lapse because frankly we're not sure what value VCOA delivers in the world of the WWW and enthusiast forums.

The continual attitude that we get when we respectfully ask why the organization makes the decisions it makes are a primary reason why we let our memberships lapse.

[Burn-E]

In response to your question about why we're interested in showing at a VCOA meet it's because we are enthusiasts and we go to great lengths to foster a community and passion around the Volvo brand. We're just like the officers of the VCOA. Our mission is no different: build great cars, celebrate our passion for those cars, and build enthusiasm in others for those cars. So why wouldn't you want us to participate is perhaps the better question?

For the cost of the $130 attending VCOA 2012 plus the hotel costs that would keep the group of us in beer, chorizos, jalapeño Lays potato chips, and gas for the welder for the next 2 years with our regular 6-8 week meet schedule.

Charge us $20 a car and let us show...why would that be such a bad idea???

[The Big Tuna]

Golf clap or you sir lol

Had the same feeling in the NW when my membership was up

[Zappo]

Charge us $20 a car and let us show...why would that be such bad idea???

Have you asked this question to VCOA, or just posted it in here?

[Tommy.]

Pretty sure that's been asked/proposed to them for about a year now maybe longer.

[Burn-E]

Have you asked this question to VCOA, or just posted it in here?

Ask the MWC - I don't do things half assed. We asked them 2 years ago. Bric Brac is on the board. I'll send a letter / email to the St Louis chapter and the Board again.

I was busy petitioning the Cook County Zoning Board combatting a multi billion dollar Canadian rail company earlier today (a battle I should surprisingly win tomorrow) and making sure the local school board follows through on the decision I helped lobby them on tonight. So I haven't had time to write that letter today but I suspect the first draft will be pulled from what I've written here

[gilber33]

Is it the result of a subconscious longing to belong?

Had to repost this from the VCOA alternative meet thread. A longing to belong? Please.

And I guess I remain curious why people are asking about showing at a meet when they have no intention of joining the organization that is putting it on. Is it, as I asked two years ago, the result of some urge to belong without the commitment?

Because there is no benefit to joining VCOA. And please don't make it sound like we want to join without the commitment. The only reason to join would be attend these meets. But then you have to pay to join VCOA, then you have to pay the huge fee just to enter . Especially when it's a multi-day thing and then you have to pay for a hotel. I mean, there shouldn't be any reason why a Volvo enthusiast who doesn't wish to join the club can't show a car there. I'm sorry, but I am 100% unwilling to pay the $100 plus to attend a show.

In response to your question about why we're interested in showing at a VCOA meet it's because we are enthusiasts and we go to great lengths to foster a community and passion around the Volvo brand. We're just like the officers of the VCOA. Our mission is no different: build great cars, celebrate our passion for those cars, and build enthusiasm in others for those cars. So why wouldn't you want us to participate is perhaps the better question?

Bingo.

Have you asked this question to VCOA, or just posted it in here?

Ask the MWC -

Have we asked the question? Absolutely, we've asked the question. We asked, got denied, and went as far as to drive all the way to Michigan with stickers saying "NOT@VCOA" just to show that we want to be there, but asking us to join the club, and then pay the absurd entrance fee just to show our cars is ridiculous.

I mean, we parked at the entrance to the show, and I swear we had more people over by our cars than the show had in there. We had judges coming to judge our cars and we had to stop them and explain our situation, which is weird, because you wouldn't believe how many of the judges understood and agreed.......and I see how far that made it. We had the most modified cars there.

Seeing another show for this thread, and how little has changed makes me want to have no affiliation with VCOA. It's ridiculous. How many VS members show up to these events? How many people without P1800s come? Do you wonder why at your 2010 VCOA meet the only VS members there were us? I mean, isn't something clicking here? It's like you are completely fine with the group of the members you have now, but in ten years, and I hate to say it, your group is going to be considerably smaller. And the group of people who love the cars and want to be a part of this and is the next generation, you're just pushing away.

I'm already pushed away. I will never be a member of VCOA, I hate your guys' practices. But you know what, keep doing what you're doing, but I won't be surprised if by the time I'm 35-40, still driving my Volvos, that VCOA will be close to nonexistent.

[94850tx]

First off why would you NOT want to be a VCOA member and support an active group of enthusiasts for the brand you love? I guess I've read all of your posts and don't share the same views about my hobby. If you want to come make a statement and have an anti VCOA meet right next to ours we'd still be glad to have you, we've already discussed it. Just keep in mind you're only hurting the local chapter that has invested a lot of time and effort personally to see this meet through. Your issue is with VCOA national and I certainly urge you to lobby them if you feel this strongly about this issue. I guess at the end of the day I still don't understand the point over a pretty low cost.

This is the same as every other national car club- to attend the national meet or be a member of the local chapter you need to be a national club member. For the record YES we did ask about having a $10 or $20 show only fee and that was shot down by VCOA. Don't get mad at the local chapter that is going to a lot of effort to put this event on. If this is such an issue why don't you write VCOA or show up to the meet and complain?

I had a feeling this topic would come up online as I've seen it on past VCOA meet threads. All I can say is wow....I've owned numerous brands of cars and always have been a member of their national club (which has always been more than VCOA dues BTW) and it was always fully supported by the brands followers. I've always felt I got a lot out of my membership as an active club member even if I didn't attend the national meet. I don't understand the issue- maybe Volvo owners are just cheap???

What do you get as a VCOA member? The 10% off on Volvo parts at your local dealer is enough to cover the cost of membership. I do FCP, Junkyard, and everything else too and still get in a bind and need OEM parts same day and this comes in handy. Not to mention the magazine, events etc.

VCOAs issue is the national meet is a benefit of being a member. If they let folks show at the national show without being a VCOA member it would erode membership and the club would loose it's roots. This is the same reason 99% of other car clubs operate the same way. At many clubs I've been a member of this is also a rule due to insurance.

I hear your complaint about modified cars and VCOA. Here in St Louis our president has a gorgeous P1800 that's stock and a modified T5R. Many of the other members are the same, we have several local turbo brickers with highly modified cars and we also have a lot of "gray hairs" with totally stock cars. We get together throughout the year and do mini shows/cruises and we all have fun together and I've never had one person be derogatory about a modified car. If you think VCOA is bad you should hear what goes on at other national and local clubs in the stock vs modified debate! This is pretty tame and the modified group gets a fair amount of exposure. We went out of our way to contact several people across the country with highly modified cars and asked them to attend to ensure we have a good group of cars.

With all that being said, I certainly respect your opinion and we did try to have that option. Unfortunately it is not an option at this time and we welcome you to lobby VCOA to change the rules. If this is going to turn into a big long drawn out thread I'll just ask a mod to remove the thread or lock it. Again, we tried to honor what you are requesting, the answer was no so please post if you'd like to attend if not let me know and I can get you the VCOA presidents contact info and you can have a discussion with them. The local chapter doesn't control this.

Thank you.