[DeTomaso] 2016 Fun Rally Attendance

Julian Kift julian_kift at hotmail.com
Fri Dec 18 14:29:22 EST 2015


Jeff,

I understand your sentiment and thank you in your continued efforts to keep the board honest. I am hopeful that there is a wind of change coming, but I also think the task should not be underestimated in part because of some of the things you mention. I believe there's a different breed of owner getting into the Pantera market..... coming of age has it's benefits and drawbacks.

The fact is that the value of our cars has been rising exponentially of late, what that can do is create a misconception that owners must be 'well off' or 'rich' to have such a an expensive car. Much like property values increasing where older owners are forced to sell due to rising values and taxes I believe there is an element of that at play in the Pantera market, for sure with the later GT5/GT5S cars where a number are being sold as they are perceived to have become too expensive (value as opposed to running costs) to drive. That in my opinion is a sad day, when our cars are destined to adorn the inside of a collectors garage never to see the light of day, moreover it is a double whammy as it is often difficult to get these new age collector/investors impassioned about the marque, it is a commodity to be traded for profit and maximum profit is originality and low miles.

Sorry I digressed, my point being, what the rising values doesn't do is put more money in the pockets of the long time owners, those that were there in the beginning and those that we have to acknowledge as starting this annual get together. Historically things were done on a shoe string budget and many are still instilled with the 'value for money' approach, thus it can be a challenge to find a venue that is upscale with modest enough rates to attract all. As a late comer to Pantera ownership my first events were at the Orleans, then we moved to Circus Circus in Reno. I live in Reno, love this City but I don't go down town much for a reason! Then we went to Wild Horse Pass, now that was a step up. I cannot compare the San Diego or Houston venues as I did not attend. I Googled photos of the Plaza hotel, it looks to be in fine shape and definitely a cut above some of those previous Vegas/Reno event venues, I would hope that parking is in an allocated garage with a security presence, if not I'll take first watch! At least being in NV open carry is still legal!

I would be interested to know how many former Pantera owners still participate or attend the Rally? We are drawn together by the love of a car (or marque so as to not exclude the Mangusta, Longchamp, Deauville and Vallelunga owners, oh and that Innocenti/Daihatsu mini thing, but I don't know anyone who admits to owning one :-)), but it's the people that keep coming back (with or without their car) we are all of different walks of life but find a common bond that endures even post ownership. I don't know that can be said about many other cars, there's something magical about a De Tomaso where people will go miles out of their way to help a fellow owner.

Julian (I read back through what I wrote and decided I must be getting old.... but as they say you are as old as you feel and I feel myself every day! I honestly never thought getting old would come around this quickly, but now the challenge is staying alive long enough to enjoy it!  )

________________________________________
From: DeTomaso <detomaso-bounces at poca.com> on behalf of Jeff Detrich <jjdetrich at gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, December 18, 2015 10:16 AM
To: Forest Goodhart
Cc: detomaso at poca.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] 2016 Fun Rally Attendance

On Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 9:13 AM, Forest Goodhart <forestg at att.net> wrote:

I don't know why some people seem to think that it is a POCA sponsored
>    event and that the POCA Board needs to have approval of what is done.
>    If you don't like what the organizers have put together then don't
>    participate.
>


Vegas is centrally located for most Pantera owners (except for those of us
in the Midwest and East) so I think Las Vegas is a great idea, too; but
"seedy" hotels and  $90,000 cars, not so much. I suspect the rest of us
would rather be somewhere a little nicer and a little safer, especially
some of the newer members who may be bringing their wives.

As for me, I'll probably go either way and I hope to be driving my car to
it if we can get the Midwest Pantera Squadron organized for the trip and
seeing old friends. I, too, was an original owner of brand new 74 Pantera
so, after 40 years of Pantera ownership, the nostalgia part has some
meaning for me as well. Maybe this can be the "last hurrah," where we
celebrate the good old days when people looked down their noses at the
cars, when we struggled to keep them running  both financially and
technical know-how-wise, when you couldn't find a shop that would touch the
cars much less know anything about them, when we couldn't wait to hear from
the Pantera experts like Ted Mitchell and Jack DeRyke with their monthly
Newsletter and Eveline Blanchette's original Pantera International
Magazine. But in the end, we all knew they were great cars just waiting for
their day in the sun. And it seems to be happening. take a look at the cars
that are showing up at the Fun Rallies. People are actually investing money
and effort in good, high quality restorations, not the cobbled together
fixes that were so prevalent in the 80s and 90s. Magazines are talking
positively about the cars, something they never used to do. And values are
going up, something that has never really happened in a meaningful way
before.

Just to set the record straight, the Fun Rally used to be run by the
Snyders and Coopers but since they gave it up 6 or 7 years ago, POCA took
on the responsibility and it is now fully a POCA event. Until someone like
Kent and Sandi want to take it over, it belongs to POCA. They take the
financial risk for it, they provide the insurance for it, they organize it
along with the hosting chapter, they take responsibility for the paperwork,
they have added activities for the Members and for the Members' wives,
making it a much more memorable event. The event, just like the cars, has
changed. So of course, the Board should be approving it, and has been
approving it up until the 2016 Fun Rally when it was arranged without the
Board's prior approval or knowledge. And the Board works for all the
Members.

Jeff Detrich
Outgoing Secretary, POCA
6559



More information about the DeTomaso mailing list