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

[A//// Guy]

Yea it is a great event, and Id definitely keep it going even if the numbers were lower this year. Im sure numbers fluctuate, and not everyone can attend for one reason or another.

We did show up a little before 2, but I was getting antsy towards 4 for the awards to be given out.

Thanks Curt for organizing it all though!

[Kracka]

I say keep doing it even if the numbers continue to slowly drop. DSM's and 3/S's are getting old and there are fewer of them on the road. I look forward to this every year.

[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.

[adm2204]

Remarkably stock:





Heading all the way back:


[/quote]

So do I win the "most stock looking" award? Actually I was surprised to see that I had the only Laser with no spoiler/extra bodywork. I had assumed that all the lasers were like mine stock. My car had been sitting outside for 2 months and was REALLY dirty (Don't ask about the ding on the driver's side fender ). I should have at least gone through the car wash. I'll hopefully have it cleaned up/tuned up for the next event. I envy the owner of the maroon (burgundy?) AWD laser (won third) I was stunned that it didn't win. It was SO clean and nice looking I would take that car over any other 1g pretty much for sure. I will definitely be attending more events (I was at the dyno day at DBP in... may?) see you all again soon hopefully! It was a blast.

[adm2204]

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.

I agree wholeheartedly. That was the most fun I've had in AGES. It was great to see all the cars there and it was all organized VERY well. I would hate to see an event cancelled because the number of attendees isn't constantly rising. I can assure you that now that I've been to two of the DSM events this year I'll be attending any and ALL future events that I possibly can. I must admit I didn't register because I had only barely enough money to buy gas to drive there and back. Next time I will definitely register. My apologies also for the burnout in the parking lot I wasn't really thinking about it. I'm sure the school expects good behavior in order to allow the usage of their parking lot. To anyone else who agrees that the events should continue (despite attendance numbers) and enjoyed them as much as I do give some more encouragement to the organizers and everyone who did a fantastic job of making it an AWESOME event.

[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

[Kracka]

Is the point of the Cookout to hang out and have fun with other enthusiasts or to get data to write down on a piece of paper after the fact?

Nobody wants you to take a loss on the Cookout so if needed charge more for registration, charge for food similar to how we do at dyno days, etc. Its hardly like the event was a total failure; you broke even and still had a great turnout!

[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.

[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

[Kracka]

Rogers is quite a hike for some people, a more centralized location would definitely boost attendance.

[scheides]

Curt, this event was awesome. I think you are feeling a bit burnt out after a full weekend of organizing a car event. One day is hard enough let alone a whole weekend! I still like the length of the cookout, and you're right--if you want to not be there as long, come later!

Don't sweat the numbers, whether you broke even or not. Life (and business) has its ups and downs and you can't let one setback kill everything for you. With the number of volunteer hours that go into events like these it is impossible to 'break even' with it, and I think some small changes would really bring the event into its own. Charge admission at the gate(s), get people in charge lanyards that say 'staff' on them, and really I think you should consider delegating more! Have someone else do the vote tallying or the registration (or complete registration as you suggest), etc. You're stressing yourself out because you were looking at a clip-board all day and not the cars you invited there. I think this year there was a VERY strong showing of SUPER clean cars and we are really seeing the cream of the crop at this show.

Remember, the economy is down and its possible we're seeing the results of this as well. You did a good job scheduling around the autoX and rally events scheduled this summer, and despite the lower turnout, everyone had a damn good time!

Lastly, I'm wishy-washy about the two-day event. I think if you want to grow the cookout, axe the dyno day. Dyno days are DAMN fun, but I honestly think that it hurt the cookout numbers this year. If you do keep it, lets convince the out-of-towners to bunk up with locals and keep them around for the whole event, and anyone that is at the dyno day needs some sort of encouragement to come back the next day for the cookout.

Keep your head up, we all had a good time!

[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.

[TkrPerformance]

[mdost03]

My car would have been there had it been running, but I still attended. I am sure there were more people in the same situation I was in as well. Don't get rid of the event just because we were short some cars this year. I say we go back to the 1 day event next year and maybe charge a little more for food and everything. $5 seems like a great deal for all you can eat food, but I wouldn't mind even paying $10 just because you get to see a lot of great looking cars and meet a bunch of people you might not have before as well. There are ways to avoid just breaking even or not breaking even at all.

Also, I like the idea of having "competing sponsors" at the event. Doesn't seem fair (IMO) that only 1 shop or dealership can sponsor. I say, the more the merrier. It can only help the event, not hurt it. Plus, the more sponsors, the more potential prizes that can be given away.

I guess what I am trying to say is, DON'T GET RID OF THE ALL-MITSU COOKOUT!

[curt_gendron]

Originally Posted by scheides

Lastly, I'm wishy-washy about the two-day event. I think if you want to grow the cookout, axe the dyno day. Dyno days are DAMN fun, but I honestly think that it hurt the cookout numbers this year. If you do keep it, lets convince the out-of-towners to bunk up with locals and keep them around for the whole event, and anyone that is at the dyno day needs some sort of encouragement to come back the next day for the cookout.

Keep your head up, we all had a good time!

Chris, I think you might be right. We did have 6-7 out of towners staying at the hotel, which was good. But I think there was at least that many locals that chose to come to the dyno challenge and skip the actual Cookout because they didn't want to make two trips.

A centralized location might help the numbers by a few, but with all the stuff I need to bring to the event, it is always going to be held in my back yard. That I can guarantee.

I don't think picking a different time a year is going to help. I personally like the second half of August. The weather is usually a little cooler than planning a July event. In September a lot of kids are busy with school. In the Spring I'm way too busy planning the Upper Midwest 3/S Gathering. My preferred weekend would have been the weekend before last. But with the DSM/EVO shootout going on that weekend, I felt it was too big of a conflict.

later,
Curt

[Kracka]

I always like the timing, mid/late August seems to work well since summer is kind of winding down.

[Goat Blower]

Yeah, the dyno day and a car show on the same weekend is probably a little overkill because they both seem like car shows to me. Now if you had some kind of autocross thing set up the day before, now that's a different story.

[cmspaz]

I think a slightly earlier date would help. Quite a few of the DSMers I know on a personal level are college students. EVERY SINGLE ONE had class starting the 25th. There would definitely have been at least a couple more cars there if it had been a week sooner, ignoring the fact that my car was still down at that point.

And on that note, you really can't expect numbers to grow every year, when these cars, save for the Evos (Mark exculded), are getting into their teens. Things break, it happens, not everybody can bring their car every year anymore. I know at least 3 people who have broken DSMs that still came to spectate.

Now, this was my first cookout. I've only had this car since April. I have to say, I had an absolute blast. I could easily justify paying more to do this again. If the money's an issue, just up the price, people will still pay it.

[blageo23]

I like the 2 day idea. It will help bring in some out of towners in. But it did get a little long at the end. mainly because I was burnt like none other and hated the sun with a passion.
On another note it kinda pissed me off when we got there and parked one of the guys helping out told me and Kerry to park our cars straight. We parked at a slight angle so we could have space in the back for us and our friends to sit instead of sitting in the middle of the road blocking people from actually looking at our cars.

[curt_gendron]

Originally Posted by cmspaz

I think a slightly earlier date would help. Quite a few of the DSMers I know on a personal level are college students. EVERY SINGLE ONE had class starting the 25th. There would definitely have been at least a couple more cars there if it had been a week sooner, ignoring the fact that my car was still down at that point.

And on that note, you really can't expect numbers to grow every year, when these cars, save for the Evos (Mark exculded), are getting into their teens. Things break, it happens, not everybody can bring their car every year anymore. I know at least 3 people who have broken DSMs that still came to spectate.

Now, this was my first cookout. I've only had this car since April. I have to say, I had an absolute blast. I could easily justify paying more to do this again. If the money's an issue, just up the price, people will still pay it.

Colleges starting up the next day has always been an issue. But next year there are five weekends in August so we may luck out. The Shootout is the middle weekend. If the Bemidji rally is the last weekend, we can squeeze inbetween. Most schools will probably start later than this. We'll see.

This is the first year the Cookout has declined in numbers. We've had: 23, 42, 55, 75, 100, 113, 137, 142, 166 and now 134. So it is kind of disappointing to see a decline. At least thats what I see when I'm "staring at my clipboard."

later,
Curt