All Mitsu Cookout -- Sunday, August 24th, 2008

[A//// Guy]

The day definitely needs to be shorter, I also noticed alot of people left before the trophies were handed out. 10-2 or 12-4 would be plenty of time for the show.

[curt_gendron]

Originally Posted by M/// Guy

The day definitely needs to be shorter, I also noticed alot of people left before the trophies were handed out. 10-2 or 12-4 would be plenty of time for the show.

The fact that there were 30+ cars there by 10:30am when the event doesn't even start until 11am tells me that the event is the right length. If anyone feels like its too long, then show up a little later. I go to a lot of shows. Five hours is about right for me. If its a six hour show, I'll usually show up an hour late. If you think the Cookout should be an hour shorter, then show up at Noon. You won't miss anything.

Based on how things went this year, I doubt I'll make it a full weekend event next year. We were 32 cars less this year. (134 total Mitsus) I'm very disappointed in the car numbers, and the fact that I barely broke even this year. And to top all of that off, there were more cars in the lot that didn't bother to register.

I'll also make this promise. If next year's numbers are not above the 160 from 2007, the 2009 Cookout will be the last one.

I will post up all the dyno numbers and trophy winners, but it won't be today.

[9guy9]

Originally Posted by curt_gendron

The fact that there were 30+ cars there by 10:30am when the event doesn't even start until 11am tells me that the event is the right length. If anyone feels like its too long, then show up a little later. I go to a lot of shows. Five hours is about right for me. If its a six hour show, I'll usually show up an hour late. If you think the Cookout should be an hour shorter, then show up at Noon. You won't miss anything.

Based on how things went this year, I doubt I'll make it a full weekend event next year. We were 32 cars less this year. (134 total Mitsus) I'm very disappointed in the car numbers, and the fact that I barely broke even this year. And to top all of that off, there were more cars in the lot that didn't bother to register.

I'll also make this promise. If next year's numbers are not above the 160 from 2007, the 2009 Cookout will be the last one.

I will post up all the dyno numbers and trophy winners, but it won't be today.

Its obvious you put a LOT of your time and effort into making this happen each year. Even if everyone doesn't let you know we all appreciate it.

Does it really matter if theres 160 or 130 cars there? Either way thats a lot of Mitsu owners and fans getting to show off their baby's and checkout other peoples. The years I have made it to the cookout I have really enjoyed it.

I am not sure of the reason it has been moved to the school (I would guess more space). I thought it was more fun when it was at the museum. Hanging out on the grass on a nice summer day is much more fun that walking around on hot blacktop.

[123abc]

If you want to make sure everyone registers, have a system setup where you gotta register before you can park.

If the numbers are still low, jack the price up a few bucks. I wouldn't bother paying 10 bucks. It's a lot of work to put these gatherings together.

[Matt D.]

Originally Posted by curt_gendron

Based on how things went this year, I doubt I'll make it a full weekend event next year. We were 32 cars less this year. (134 total Mitsus) I'm very disappointed in the car numbers, and the fact that I barely broke even this year. And to top all of that off, there were more cars in the lot that didn't bother to register.

I'll also make this promise. If next year's numbers are not above the 160 from 2007, the 2009 Cookout will be the last one.

Why does it seem you are shooting for specific numbers, or even making such a big deal out of how many cars show up? You're not running a business, there should be no reason to expect increasing numbers year to year. The more the merrier, obviously, but is it that much of a deal breaker if you lose a few cars from one year to the next? There are ways to cut costs.

Barely breaking even is all a part of the deal... You win some, you lose some. If I had a dime for every time an event I helped run barely broke even, or didn't break even at all, I'd have a lot of dimes.

It's hard to tell if you're venting frustration or just taking this whole thing far too serious. Lighten up, take the good with the bad. You run a great event and have done so for as long as I've known you. No reason to be discouraged over such trivial details.

[curt_gendron]

Originally Posted by Matt D.

Why does it seem you are shooting for specific numbers, or even making such a big deal out of how many cars show up? You're not running a business, there should be no reason to expect increasing numbers year to year. ..........It's hard to tell if you're venting frustration or just taking this whole thing far too serious....

Hey Matt,

I do treat it a little like running a business. You have to unless you don't care at all about breaking even. The All Mitsu Cookout is the biggest Mitsu event in the country that isn't run by a business. Thats no accident.

The Cookout also wouldn't be as big as it is if I didn't care about the numbers. For me its all about building a bigger and better Mitsu enthusiast community. Having a smaller event tells me the community is getting smaller. Whether that is true or not, who knows.

Bottom line is, I want the All Mitsu Cookout to grow. And what happened on Sunday set us back three years. Who wouldn't be frustrated at that?

later,
Curt

[Matt D.]

Originally Posted by curt_gendron

Hey Matt,

I do treat it a little like running a business. You have to unless you don't care at all about breaking even. The All Mitsu Cookout is the biggest Mitsu event in the country that isn't run by a business. Thats no accident.

The Cookout also wouldn't be as big as it is if I didn't care about the numbers. For me its all about building a bigger and better Mitsu enthusiast community. Having a smaller event tells me the community is getting smaller. Whether that is true or not, who knows.

Bottom line is, I want the All Mitsu Cookout to grow. And what happened on Sunday set us back three years. Who wouldn't be frustrated at that?

later,
Curt

Has there ever been any thought of having it at any other time of the year, or at a different, dare I say more attractive, place in the Twin Cities? Yes, the majority of the cars there are from the local area, but what would it take to compel people to come from out of state or more than an hour or two away? Heck, I still meet Mitsubishi owners on occasion who have never even heard of the Cookout.

We all would love to see the Cookout grow, I don't think anyone would deny that, but getting frustrated over losing a few cars from one year to the next in the Mitsubishi enthusiast community, which is flaky at best to begin with, is really no different than crying over spilled milk. Chalk up your losses and move on to next year and do your damnedest to make it even bigger and better.

[twack]

Originally Posted by curt_gendron

And what happened on Sunday set us back three years. Who wouldn't be frustrated at that?

I just cant see this as actually "set back". You tried a whole weekend idea and the numbers were not there. Dont beat yourself up so much, hearing all the complaining about numbers and saying you might end the cookout does not get me stoked about the next one, I like to think that this event will be there every year no mater what rain or shine.

[v8klla]

Originally Posted by curt_gendron

Based on how things went this year, I doubt I'll make it a full weekend event next year. We were 32 cars less this year. (134 total Mitsus) I'm very disappointed in the car numbers, and the fact that I barely broke even this year. And to top all of that off, there were more cars in the lot that didn't bother to register.

I'll also make this promise. If next year's numbers are not above the 160 from 2007, the 2009 Cookout will be the last one.

I will post up all the dyno numbers and trophy winners, but it won't be today.

I don't want to sound harsh, but you definitely could have generated some more revenue for the event had you allowed "competing sponsors" as you put it, as we definitely would have paid for some space on Sunday and donated some product/merchandise for prizes. Having a performance focused car show and only allowing one performance shop to sponsor the event just doesn't make sense, and I don't even think the other shop had a display set up on Sunday?

Also, you could have had at least one more car registered if you allowed "mitsubishi powered" vehicles in the other category