From: Bill Chambers (bchambers@hoovers.com)
Date: Thu Dec 12 2002 - 07:29:05 PST
A US Beltring:
What a great concept. At this time, it would take much more that the MVPA.
Beltring is not just a vehicle show, it has living history, mess halls, and
an hell of a display core.
The last MVPA national convention was a vehicle display. period. That is
what was designed to do.
If we could get folks to work on bringing it up a notch in events,
participants and "crowd grabbers" then it might be something. But, as
mentioned, the US is a little bit bigger to transverse. The cost associated
with lugging Armour and the use of commercial carriers for the big stuff,
puts a big dent in the collectors wallet. It takes two days driving from
Texas to haul a vehicle to the east or west coast, so you are also talking
about taking a week off for an event (and most US employees only get two
weeks off a year). Throw in room/board/gas and expenses, and even a jeep
collector will be looking at several thousand dollars to attend.
Shame really, If there was one event a year that brought together the living
history, reenactors, MV and public. One that could be planned on for a
yearly basis. Held somewhere that tankers could crush cars, motorcycles
could race, folks could watch show battles, we would have it made. To make
is a success, it would have to be centrally located, but to make is a
success, you need a large population to attend, both entrants, and more
importantly, the public. Gate revenue equals the ability to subsidize
hauling costs.
What we need is a large land owner, near a major city and a core of
organizors with guts, determination and open minds to put together a show. I
have thought that you also need to be near rail (train) transport for the
big guys. Just to put a spin on it, I counted 9 different vintage airshows
in Texas alone last year.
Just my two cents,
Bill
1906 Raliegh Military
1937 Phillips
1942 Phillips Hvy Infantry
Military Bicycles, not everyone drove in a jeep.
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