[DeTomaso] Sacrificial Panteras / Moving Our Marque Forward

Will Demelo wdemelo at cogeco.ca
Sat Apr 10 22:46:50 EDT 2010


I don't agree with destroying  Pantera's to get 15 minutes of fame. But it 
would be nice to get some exposure. God knows we don't do it. Most Pantera's 
sit in garages and get spoken about on forums.
Will
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Christopher Kimball" <chrisvkimball at msn.com>
To: <dfcex at excaliburre.com>; "Pantera List Serve" <detomaso at realbig.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2010 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Sacrificial Panteras / Moving Our Marque Forward


>
> Very well-said!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Chris
> #3846
>
>> From: dfcex at pacbell.net
>> To: detomaso at realbig.com
>> Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:31:09 -0700
>> Subject: [DeTomaso] Sacrificial Panteras / Moving Our Marque Forward
>>
>> Personally I think it's very sad that any member of the Pantera community 
>> would be so desperate for money as to allow their Pantera, which, in most 
>> of our cases is an extension of our soul, to be damaged or destroyed for 
>> consideration that is likely only slightly above market value, and 
>> completely disgusting that any leader of our community would assist in 
>> this effort.
>> I can't see myself supporting any publication or organization which 
>> facilitates in the destruction of our prizes.
>> There must be better ways for Panteras to get their "fifteen minutes" 
>> without being sacrificed to sell movie tickets.
>> This is as low as it gets.
>> If it's really so important for Pantera's to get "fifteen minutes" we 
>> should be expending our energy and resouces towards the campainging of 
>> Panteras in mainstream and public competitions.
>> Unlike other marques, we don't have factory support. We need to support 
>> and encourage any vendors and manufacturers with the resources, 
>> capability and motivation to, in turn, support our owners and vehicles 
>> with the time, oppurtunity and ability to campaign.
>> The best examples which come to my mind, are, of course, Mad Dog who for 
>> years has been forcing us to test our manhood (and womanhood - haven't 
>> forgotten about you, Laurie, running SS). I think The Dawg's 
>> "encouragement" has contirbuted incredibly, if unoficially,  to R&D and 
>> real life testing of the modifications and improvements to "finish" the 
>> Pantera into a real Supercar.
>> Larry Stock, The Byers, Dennis Quella and others have helped considerably 
>> through their supprt and participation in competitions.
>> Gary Hall, in his day, did more than any one person to further the 
>> Pantera. He raced for decades, developed and/or brought to market 
>> hundreds of products and trained/mentored the majority of our current 
>> generation of So Cal vendors and shops.
>>
>> Unfortunatly, when one of our owners is brave enough to compete and they 
>> lose an engine or component the total replacement / repair cost has to 
>> come exclusively out of their pocket, making it expensive and 
>> discouraging their continued particiaption in competitions.
>>
>> Collectivlely we all spend substantial amounts on parts and service. 
>> Probably in the millions.
>> And not just with Pantera only shops, but with all kinds of parts 
>> suppliers.
>>
>> WHAT IF we could pledge support to those shops and manufacturers who 
>> support our fallen warriors?
>>
>> WHAT IF each local chapter could organize member assistance to help those 
>> who compete with getting their cars back to the track or ORR?
>>
>> WHAT IF those members with connections worked towards gaining entry and 
>> publicity for Panteras into mainstream and heavily viewed events?
>>
>> It does help the value and reputation of our vehicles when they are seen 
>> going fast.
>>
>> Pantera participation in track and open road events has dropped over this 
>> past ten years. Heck, when I first ran Silver State in '99 we had like 
>> twleve Panteras.
>> Over the same period Jim Saxton's TPOC track events at Wilow Springs has 
>> dropped from like 20 Panteras to one or two.
>> It's great we have a Pantera running Bonneville, which get's allot of 
>> press.
>> Having a Pantera particpate in that TV series last year was also 
>> fantastic.
>> Of course there will never be a Pantera running in NASCAR or other top 
>> tier events, but there are plenty of other events which get significant 
>> coverage these days.
>>
>> We need to have Panteras competing in the Historics, so we need cars that 
>> can be sanctioned, either by their history or as "tribute" cars.
>>
>> We need Panteras competing, and moving up in Club racing, like SCCA.
>>
>> If the organizers of the ORR events don't pull in worthwhile publicity, 
>> we can field a team and, thorugh our connections, use the occasion to 
>> stir up our own publicity. Our cars are going on 40 years old now. A team 
>> of 40 year old vintage exotics competing sucessfully at high speed is 
>> indeed newsworthy.
>>
>> Let's move the Pantera name forward in a positive and supportive manner.
>>
>> For my small part I intend to continue competing The Beast in track 
>> events and moving up through the club racing ranks.
>>
>> I'll also volunteer The Beast for the Super Sport bracket (160 mph avg.) 
>> in the September Silver State Challenge, on the condition (challenge) I'm 
>> joined by at least two rookies.
>>
>> It would help if we could come up with a sponsorship campaign to offset 
>> the entry fees and other expenses, which are significant. Maybe we have 
>> some business minded members who can think along the lines of developing 
>> this campaign. What sponsors to approach and what to offer them in 
>> return?
>>
>> We also need the chapters to support any of their members who have the 
>> guts to step up, perhaps with a late August tech event specifically to 
>> support the competing vehicles.
>>
>> It's not just track and ORR events though. Let's keep our thinking caps 
>> on and our antennas out for other high exposure oppurtunities to show off 
>> what great cars our Panteras really are (and not just by crashing them)!
>>
>> Dan
>>
>> Dan F Courtney
>> Twenty One Years of Excellent Representation
>> Excalibur Commercial Real Estate Services
>> La Jolla, CA
>> (858) 551-5455 P
>> (858) 551-5456 F
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