Forgive me for starting a new topic on this but I wanted to start fresh since the other topics got a bit long.

We are starting planning for our next national event. Mania 4 in Dearborn, MI, for the week of July 28, 2003.

We have not decided at this time if we should do a 3-day event or a 5-day event.

What we have on the agenda is the following:

Wixom Manufacturing plant tour

Engineering Facitiliies tour

Driving Event (either on a local track as a high-performance driving event or an autocross)

Directors Meeting

Advisory Council Meeting

General Membership Meeting

Show-and-shine

A possible 3-day scenario is this: (Thanks Joe!)

Sunday evening Welcome Reception
Monday morning tour of Wixom plant
Monday afternoon tour of Engineering facilities
Monday evening Chapter Directors/Advisory Council Meetings
Tuesday morning continuation of Engineering facilities tour
Tuesday afternoon show-and-shine/vendor booths
Tuesday night General Membership Meeting
Wednesday daytime track event/musuem tours or alternate activities
Wednesday evening Farewell Reception

This would be a lot of things to do within the 3 days but an advantage would be for anyone whow wants to participate in the Eastbound or Westbound LS convoys. This way those folks would be able to drive in and still only need to take a week of vacation. The down side is that the Wixom tour and the Engineering tour will be a very packed and frenetic day-and-a-half.

We are looking at putting a package price for the event, with the exception of the track event, which would be a separate charge. Cost is targetted at $100 per day or $300 for the 3 days, with the exception of the track event. We're waiting on the tracks to contact us so we can find out cost. If it is too expensive we'll come up with an alternate.

We are also looking at hotel pricing in the area. The Dearborn Inn is way too expensive at $179 per night so we may also look into the surrounding areas. We will attempt to find good hotels for around $79-$99 per night in the area.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions? We're wide open at this point so post away.

What would an alternate 5-day schedule look like in your mind?

Or would 4 days be a possiblity?

4 days or 5 days are also possibilities. Either of them would allow us some breathing room and we can plan additional activities. Additional tours are a possibility or we can stretch out the Engineering Facilities tour into it's own day and keep the Wixom tour by itself.

All depends on what the majority would want or can handle. Definitely want input from the folks who attended Mania 2 since they know what we went through. Of course, maybe this time we'll use buses instead of the rent-a-vans!

I'd like to see if we can schedule time with the Marketing folks and some of the higher-ups in Lincoln to participate in a roundtable discussion on where the LS is and where it's going. We could do that as part of the General Membership Meeting or schedule it as a separate event, if we can get them. If we can then maybe slotting them into the afternoon of Tuesday would work, then have the show-and-shine and vendor fair on a separate day.

Brian, some thoughts:

1. General Membership Meeting, Monday AM to get acquainted, discuss issues, and raise topics for you "big wig" Directors and Advisors to address at your meeting later in the week.

2. A seperate round table with Marketing and decision makers is a fine idea. Don't mix it into the General Meeting since the topics are different.:verysad: Hope they don't hold a grudge for some of the posts we've (I've) made.

3. An extensive Q&A period, which we didn't have time for at Mania II. Maybe written questions a day in advance to smooth it out and help Lincoln prepare.:talktohand:

4. Farewell Reception as you outlined Wednesday evening, FOLLOWED by a full day of racing, abusing, tire destroying, fun for those so inclined....followed by lots of lies, exaggerations, and awards, of course.:wwww:

5. Big name tags with Edmonds/LLSOC handles and city of origin. Oh, and a strict rule forbidding Charter Member or Socal cliques. We need to mingle, especially with new members.:laughcont:

In this way we can have a three day MANIA event, and a 4 or 5 day Maniac event:smile: Just kidding guys........

If you're kidding I'd like to see the ideas when you're serious! I think your suggestions are pretty good Gary. At this early date we can definitely noodle ideas around with Lincoln to see what we can get away with. We do have to keep in mind that while we'll be having fun, they will still be working so I don't know how much time we can take of their time.

But I've never been shy of asking! :llsocflag: :idea3:

Gary has great suggestions. I hope you're writing all this down...


IMNSHO,
If we have a sufficient number of events which will be long enough to cover 4 days (not including autocross) without getting boring or uninteresting, then we should go for 4+1... that is 4 days of events and the last as an optional autocross.

Also, we should find out if LM will be willing to put up with us for that long. We wouldn't want to wear out our welcome.

Please everyone chime in....

Random thoughts: If time allows, breaking up the Wixom and engineering tours would be a very good idea. It would be nice if the pace of the tour were a little more relaxed than last time. Especially if we're holding meetings in the evenings. I seem to recall a few of us who had little energy left at the end of a couple days at Mania 2. Of course, we are and should be considerate of what the people at Lincoln are willing to do.

I'm assuming the welcome reception penciled in for Sunday night will be for arriving members. How about we host another Happy Hour for the Lincoln people on another evening? A nice way to say "thank you", plus some very interesting automotive conversations take place in that setting.:eyebrow:

I especially like Gary's idea of a Monday AM club gathering, before any tours or other events. There will be lots of new faces this time.

One more suggestion, maybe not a popular one, but: We should have an early cutoff date for registration for this one. I'm thinking June 1 at the latest. Polls are fine, but the sooner we have solid numbers for attendance, the better it will go. Newer members, please understand that our current membership is roughly 10 times what it was at the time of Mania 3. Lots of trial members, to be sure, but we, your humble servants of the Advisory Council, really don't know what to expect.

But we do expect to have 10 times the number of great ideas, so keep them coming.

I don't know, I kind of liked taking the corners fast with that 15-person van! :devil:

I assume that we will only allow permanent members to attend... no trial members, yes?

A Monday AM meeting will be a good thing to get everyone's heads screwed on straight and set the plan and pace for the coming events. It doesn't have to be a long meeting... maybe an hour or so.

We can discuss the club's business at the evening meeting for the membership.

As shown on the agenda, we should have the Director/Advisory meeting before the general membership meeting.

I'm going to stay out of this discussion for awhile to let people express their opinions. I'll chime in once we get additional feedback. I'm liking the thoughts so far!

You mean working on the LS isn't fun?

I'd plan to be there for the whole thing, but certainly recognize that not everyone can do that. I'd agree that the driving event be the last day so that those that want to partake in the "heart" of the event can do so and leave without feeling that they missed something.

I'd also like more time in the plant. If Lincoln is amenable, I'd like to see what we missed last time, e.g., robot welders. Scott is right on the money in that a more relaxed pace would make for a more gratifying tour. Also, I think there was a consensus last time that the Q&A in the plant was too short.

Perhaps it would be better to have the advsory council meeting more towards the end so that we can evaluate any feedback we might get from members, new and old.

Good ideas, guys. Keep 'em comin' :llsocflag:

Not so much ideas as Comments and Questions from me.

Comment

I will defer to the long-standing members' opinions for pacing, agenda, etc.

Questions

The cost per day. Is that per person or per membership or....? For instance, I would like to bring my wife and kids with me (4 of us). Would that be 400 per day? Are kids considered appropriate (esp. on the tours)?

how long is the drive from california to michigan? i never drove over there so i have no clue. driving there and back + the 4-5 day maia, i gotta start planning out vacation days early.

OK I'll jump in now and answer some questions:

Great ideas - keep 'em coming so we can plan out the agenda.

Scott: I agree on a firm cut off date. Since I was the one handling all the registrations for all previous Mania's - I can attest to the headaches it caused with folks waiting to the last minute - lot's of things have to change in that instance, i.e. planned meals, numbers for meetings, get-togethers, foods, etc. YOU GET THE IDEA

Gary: As for the Edmonds handles - I agree with the LLSOC handles and location, what does everyone else think about using the Edmonds - I for one, don't know everyones Edmonds and it would make a lot more work - (but hey, we are used to that) however, if it is agreed upon - consider it DONE - members would have to supply them to me and of course, another deadline.

Chris: What we did last year, and YES this is a family, fun event, was charge the member the full amount and family members a discounted amount. This would cover any dinners, welcome reception food and such. We realize that it could become quite costly for a family so we take this into consideration. As for the Wixom tour, children must be 13 or older to attend due to safety issues. I missed it myself because we had our then four year old son. We do not know what the cost are yet, but as soon as we can get some idea of attendance we can figure it out.

We are planning additional family events in addition to the "car events" so there will be plenty for a family to do. Can you provide me with the ages of your children so we can look into activities age related. You can email if you'd like.

savz529: There is a thread on the eastbound Mania IV caravan - look under National Events.


Debbie
(aka Mrs. Kahuna)

Chris G.

Please don't feel that your opinions doesn't matter because you haven't been around that long....or made as many jokes as me :biglaugh: . We'd like to hear everyone's opinion.

Regarding kids. Unless your kids are older teens, I think LM might have some heartburn with them in the plant. Also, for younger kids, it might get pretty boring after a while especially at the engineering sites.

Debbie snuck her post in before me...

Regarding handles... I thought most folks Edmunds handle is the same as here (mine is). I think we should use the LLSOC handle but if people would like, we could put the Edmunds handle in parenthesis or something.

Food: Remember the problem we almost had at Mania II when we took only about 10 out for dinner? I'm not sure how we'll handle it this time. I suppose we'll have to cater.

As my Kitchen Pass is only good for 3 days , that's my vote. We will have to leave Thurs. morning for another commitment in MSP.

savz,

I checked Mapquest and Dearborn is just over 2300 miles fron San Diego. We are leaving the Thurs before, planning to arrive Sunday. If my Jethro cyphering is right, that's 4 days. I imagine the distance from the Bay Area is close to my 2300 miles.

I ASSuME LLSOC and Edmonds handles are the same. Heck, how many posters "over there" are not club members?

It would sure be nice to see the paint shop this time. Oh, and how about half a day on their test track, in a 3.9 blower LS or maybe a 4.6 LS :biglaugh:

The option of a catered dinner or two, while a logistical nightmare, would be fantastic. Maybe we can pull it off at the hotel we wind up in.

I have a gut feel this will be a well attended, BIG event :llsocflag:

Joe, I remember well the nightmare of the dinners at MANIA II - for those who didn't attend, we were told we didn't need reservations for large groups, turns out we did and couldn't get large parties together.

Gary,

You're dreaming....but wouldn't it be great if we could pull that off - I like your thinking :llsocflag: :llsocsign:

And yes, we have discussed catered dinners for at least one or two nights - and maybe at the hotel we are booked at. If we have enough attendees this could become bargaining power :buttrock: :buttrock:

One thing to remember - the more we have in attendance the more bargaining we can do overall...


Keep the suggestions coming.


Debbie
(aka Mrs. Kahuna)

Joe,
It's not that I think my opinion doesn't matter, I just don't have any previous experience to base a decent opinion on.

Everyone,
The Edmonds handles seem a little redundant to me. It wouldn't benefit the LLSOC-only folks at all and the Edmonds folks will know each other from the LLSOC handle anyhow.

Okay ground rules in play here.

Edmunds handles will not be on the badges.

A) They aren't paying for anything and they don't seem to like the club much since we've taken most of their LS discussion away from them.

B) The LLSOC handles will be the ones displayed. Mania is a paid member event so everyone will have a LLSOC handle along with their name, city and state, and whether they are a Charter, Advisory Council, or Chapter Director member.

Catered dinners are definitely what we are considering based on what happened at Mania 2.

Paint shop is probably the toughest to get to look at since everyone would have to be in those "bunny suits" that they were. Very tough to get groups of people through that area. The test track may be a possibility.

This is very definitely a kid-and-spouse friendly event. Ryan was all by himself for the last two Manias and Debbie didn't have much company. If there are enough spouses and kids we'll be able to set up alternate events for them to enjoy while we're acting like pigs digging for truffles as we go through the techie stuff. But if the spouses would like to come along on the techie stuff as well and there are kids we'll also work on finding the Fort Knox of babysitting services for us to use. Trust me, no one worries about who watches their kid more than me, so if I feel comfortable with them everyone will.

IIRC, Ryan was a very well behaved bar boy at Mania II. Breaking him in right

He was our secret weapon! The bartender and waitress both fell in love with him and he had a seat for his command at the bar. He got all the attention and because he was ours we got very attentive service. We'll be using him again in this role for this event! :grin:

Here is something that I thought would be neat for everyone for the Welcome Happy Hour Reception or one of our dinners. What do you think? Kart 2 Kart Indoor Karting and Conference Center

OH YEAHHHHHHH!!!!!! Indoor go-kart racing is AWESOME!! It's really popular in Ireland when I was there a few years back. After a few pints, it became hysterical! I live in Chicago and if there is anyone that wants to make a stopover (we're about 5-6 hours from Dearborn) and be shown around, just say the word! I'll most definitely be coming as all I have ever heard was positive feedback about the earlier Manias! As far as travel time from San Diego, if you push, you can make it in about 3 days to MI. Take I8 out of SD to Yuma and then cut up through the proving grounds (Pretty straight and not a car in sight for the entire drive). It'll dump you on to 10 and then from there you can take that over to near Phoenix and then cut up to 40 which will take you Oklahoma City and then from there you can pick up I-55 which will take you to I80 near Joliet and then you get on I80 and that meets up with I90/94 and get you in to MI. We drove from Joliet IL to SD and it took about 2.5 days of hard driving (time not speed!).

MAS

hey
i am one of the new ones.
would like to attend with my wife
do you have a brochure yet for this year
do you have one from last time
i am thinking auto-train from fla to as close as it gets to dearborne,has anyone done this
does fla particapate in any events
i know, questions, questions
thanks
jle-lse

ps what do youneed to pack,ie clothes

Jim, questions are good, otherwise the things we don't think of never would be.

If you're thinking of driving, there are other members in your area; maybe you could put together a caravan like we're doing from the west. As for clothes, we don't do anything dressy, but keep the weather in mind and the fact that we'll be spending lots of time on our feet during the tours.

Catered meals are a wonderful idea, with a big enough turnout maybe even an economical one. And/or a hotel closer to restaurants than the Dearborn Inn. For those who weren't at Mania 2, the references are to the last night there, when about a dozen of us waited too long to make reservations and were too pooped to work up the energy to leave the hotel. The hotel restaurant was jammed, and if it weren't for Ryan charming the waitress in the lounge into bringing us supper, we'd have gone real hungry.

Indoor cart racing is excellent! Looks like a more sophisticated setup than what we drove on in Irvine. Note to those who have never done it: You don't have to be good at it to have a lot of fun. My performance at Mania 3 is proof. :blush21:

Count me in as well, and also my fiance, who has a 2 year degree in child care and also a 4 year degree in teaching. soooooo... if someone is needed to assist in watching kids during the tours, Marcy would literally jump at the oppertunity. Im sure she will not go through the tours so it will work out well if need be!! Since we would be coming from madison/milwaukee area it would be nice to meet up with the caravan eastward. as for question/suggestions......

Brian, if you find a hotel/motel will rooms be reserved for members?
4 day is good for me 3 is better but 5 may be too long. if 5 is the plan we may just catch the last 3-4 days.
since im a new member i an just looking forward to meeting others members and the show and shine with a little autocross inbetween!!! :buttrock:
Ellenor

Kart... great idea.

Catering... probably the only way to go.

Test Track... Oh yeah. I still fondly remember the little trip Jonathan took us over the "hill" and through the bumps. Didn't know a Navigator could do that. Wonderful stuff.

:laughcont: :glad:

I definitely vote for a longer event (5 day). Mania 2 could have been much longer and I think everyone would have enjoyed it much more. It takes a lot of effort just to get there and the more there is to do, the better. There definitly has to be a firm deadline for reservations (perhaps with a deposit?).

I would like to participate in an autocross event, but will not be able to drive in.

I would think many of the people at Lincoln have sons and daughters that would like to earn some extra money baby sitting.

Many restaurants can accomodate large groups with advance reservations. I think most people would like to eat together at night. Perhaps this question should be part of the registration so we get a count of people.

Ellenor:

What we do is block so many room under LLSOC - (we get the number by how many say they are attending) and you call and make the reservations yourself by saying your with LLSOC so that you get the group rate.

Sounds like we could certainly use the help of your wonderful Marcy. You won't be disappointed with meeting our crazy group. We are very friendly group. Looking forward to meeting you both.


Debbie
(aka Mrs. Kahuna)

I just mentioned Mania 4 to my wife and daughter the other day and they haven't quit bugging me about it since ... and I don't even have an LS yet!!! I think I'm in trouble...

I just took a look at the Infiniti web site and viewed the M45 quicktime movie Chris (Lolaj42) mentioned awhile back - "the muscle car with brains". I gotta admit, it got me goin', bigtime! I had to come back over here just to get a reality check. Infiniti definitely has their act together in the promotion department. Just imagine how many people don't even know (or care) about the Lincoln LS. :veryangry:

I suggest you take a copy of that movie into the meetings with Lincoln and play it for them. They just have to get their act together and do this car justice. :llsocsign:

I like the idea of some guest appearances - introductions to some of the top brass would be good, and maybe have some of them give a little 5-10 minute talk about what they do and where they think Lincoln is going.

Indoor karts would be cool too, as I think my whiplash has fully healed from the crash I had at Mania III!

And definitely at least one nice night of drinks and finger-food with some of the engineers - I think we owe them for what they've given us this year. :nod: Plus, if we get some drinks in them, maybe we'll hear a bit more about what's to come! :slysmilie2:

Everything else I'd look for seems to have been covered already.

One question though - for those of us who live nearby, could we pick which days to show up on, or was that cost estimate an average? Ie, what would I pay if I attended only 2/n days (hypothetically)?

Richard,

While I agree with you on how well Infiniti marketing does their job, the M45 just isn't a great car, and certainly not as good as an LS, let alone an '03 LS. The M45 tag line of "Muscle Car with Brains" is pretty accurate . . . the motor/drive train is very nice (the brake system is very nice also), but the handling leaves much to be desired, and the steering is VERY numb. Infiniti marketing correctly focuses on the M45 strengths, and clearly avoids the shortcomings. . . useless trunk (unless your only objective is to put two golf bags back there) with intrusive trunk hinges, below average exterior styling, heavy chasis, rough ride over less than ideal road surfaces, et. al.

If I had to choose between an M45 and an '03 LS, the LS wins hands down! :llsocsign:

Chris,
I understand and agree. When I said I had to come back to LLSOC for a reality check, it was your previous, very similar comments that set me straight. :nod:

My point was that the movie really got my attention and made me excited about the M45. The LS needs that kind of hook to get people's attention. They can't just wait for people to wander into the showroom and educate themselves. The odds are against that.

You guys have been talking about this for some time now. I was just very surprised at how effective good advertising can be. I just hope you guys can get Lincoln to understand how important this is at Mania 4. They are really dropping the advertising ball.

I've been in contact with both Waterford Hills Racetrack and Kart 2 Kart. For Waterford Hills the following dates are available: Mon, July 28, Tue, July 29, and Thu, July 31. Cost for track rental is $1,000 for the day from 8am-5pm. First car on track at 10am, last one off at 5pm. Ambulance service (not planning on needing it but required) is $75/hr. Have to find out instructor cost from the SCCA.

Kart 2 Kart has all days of that week open. We figure we can do the kart thing one evening. We can have the facility for 4 hours, and that includes a barbeque dinner.

Question for anyone who's going to participate at the driving event at Waterford Hills: What day do you suggest we take? Mon, Tue, or Thu.?

And for the kart facility, what evening do you suggest?

We may do a 3 day event with the 4th day the optional track day. Thoughts?

Day 1: Wixom Assembly Plant Tour and Q&A
Day 2: Novi Transmission Plant (Mark's home!)-morning
Day 2: Proving Grounds Tour???? and Brass Q&A (Marketing, executives?)
Day 3: Show-and-shine, vendor showcase, awards.
Day 4: Waterford Hills

Brian,

That schedule works PERFECT for me! I still get to do everything (well, except for the track :cry: ) and have enough time to get to our other engagement in MSP. :llsocflag: :llsocflag: :wwww: :bmwbam: :bmwbam:

I agree; for a tentative schedule, that looks pretty solid. Lots to do, but not too jammed together.

I'm in favor of making the last day the driving event. That way people who aren't interested in participating can head for home without missing anything else. I'm pleasantly surprised at the cost. We won't need a whole lot of drivers to cover that, & maybe we could swing a simple catered lunch at the track. What goes on between 8 and 10 am? Is that planned for instruction? Will non-driving members who want to spectate be allowed to?

One more suggestion: Jonathan, and any of the other Lincoln people who have participated in LLSOC should be invited to participate, as our guests. Oh, yeah, and they get to bring any car they want. We'll allow any, um, modifcations they want to show up with, right? :idea3:

One other possibility: Waterford Hills could be at the beginning (I think the end is better, however). I personally like to see a 5 day event....

The 8-10am is quiet time. Cars are not allowed on the track until 10am so I figure the 8-10 time would be instruction and me haranging everyone about not doing the Walter Mitty thing and attempting to turn their LSes into a Formula 1 car at the safety briefing. There is going to be some additional cost for the SCCA folks but I don't know what that will be yet.

Andy, I wouldn't mind a 5-day event either,but unless we get a lot more people saying that they want that long we may not have very many that sign up. We've got to be aware that a lot of people if they drive will only be able to take a week of vacation. If we make it a 5-day event we may get people to fly in instead of drive in.

I also still have to run the tentative schedule by Lincoln to see if they can arrange all that as well.

The Lincoln folks have a standing invitation to ALL the LLSOC festivities. As a matter of fact, I was thinking it would be fun to have them be the instructors at Waterford Hills and maybe have a kart race, owners against LS Team!

I am pleased to announce our first high-level guest speaker for Mania 4. Allan Kammerer is the Lincoln Director of Product Development. He reports to Richard Parry-Jones, who in turn reports to Bill Ford. He is excited about the opportunity to talk with the Mania 4 attendees.

Al is responsible for all of Lincoln new product development. He is a phenomenal engineer and someone that I've talked to and grown to admire over the last year.

BINGO.

Great speaker. Can't wait to hear his ideas for the future.

That ball is OUTA HERE!!

Nice going, Brian.

Again.

Okay it's starting to get set in stone.

4 day Mania event (Appropriate since it is Mania 4! )

Sunday, July 27: Arrival at Mania hotel site (Possibly around Northville) and LLSOC sponsored Reception Party
Monday, July 28: Wixom Assembly Plant Tour and Q&A/Alternate Activity for Spouses or Kids
Tuesday, July 29: Livonia Transmission Plant Tour(Mark's home!)/Alternate Activity for Spouses or kids
Tuesday, July 29: Romeo Proving Grounds Tour and Brass Q&A (lined up Al Kammerer, Director Lincoln PD so far)/Alternate Activity for Spouses or kids
Wednesday, July 30: Show-and-shine, vendor showcase, awards.
Thursday, July 31: Waterford Hills Performance Driving School
Thursday, July 31 or Friday, Aug. 1: Departure

All evenings will have dinner catered at a location to be determined.

Approximate cost for a single person is about $100/day. Participation at the Driving School may require additional amount. At this point not known yet. Spouses and children will be at a reduced price. We will know for sure what the final price will be by the end of February. LLSOC makes no money off of the event. We charge whatever our costs are. We will have to look into bus rental for the group tours.


Questions, thoughts, comments, volunteers?

Brian, Are we all invited? Hotel cost plus $100 a day? Correct? :nod:

:llsoclogo:

Thanks Al :grin:

Looks darn near perfect, Brian.

"Invited", Al? How about "encouraged"?

I'd like to mention the driving event, for the benefit of people who have no previous experience in this sort of thing. You need to be a sane, responsible person of reasonable intelligence to safely participate. You DO NOT need to be an expert driver. Some of us have autocrossed our LSs, some are better at it than others. I, myself, am one of the "others". I seem to lack the competitive drive, or maybe just plain nerve, that other people have, and that will always limit my success. It doesn't detract from my enjoyment one bit. This will be a rare opportunity to have some real fun with this superb performance car we all own, in a way that's controlled, safe, and legal. It will leave you so impressed with the engineering that went into the LS that you'll never look at it the same again. You will also gain a real appreciation for the way the LS can handle real-world driving situations and emergencies. If you like the idea of the driving event but are reluctant to participate because you don't feel like you're "qualified", please think again. You won't be sorry. Street racing and pushing the limits on public roads is for punks; this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Besides, slow guys like me get the most track time for their racing dollar. :blush21: :laughcont:

Well said Scott! I couldn't agree more with your comments . . . anyone that participates will go away with a FAR better appreciation for their car. I autocross my LS regularly now, but I've learned that my driving wasn't as good as I thought it was, yet it improves all the time now! I may not be the fastest guy on the skid pad, but I doubt anyone is having as much fun as me! :grin:

Well put Scott and Chris. Any paid member can attend Mania events (one way we dangle a pretty nice honking carrot in front of you to buy in! ).

Mania has, and will always be, a sensory overload. Touring the Wixom Assembly Plant, mingling with the extremely talented engineers who built your car, meeting a bunch of really nice owners, can't beat it.

The driving events have always been structured for everyone, from owners who have never even squealed their tires and still have the little nibs on the shoulder of their tires after 20,000 miles to the full-bore racers. Everyone has a fantastic time learning their own comfort level and how the LS handles. Safety is always of paramount importance. Especially at this event, which if we get enough people signing up, will be our first true track event. Owners will be asked to honestly evaluate their driving and comfort level and then they will be put into similar groups. There will be no passing allowed. And anyone that I or any of the course marshals deem to be unsafe will be black-flagged and removed from the track.

I am working with either the SCCA or NASAProRacing to line up instructors for us. I'm sure that the LS team handling engineers, including Alex, will be happily participating as well.

Depending on how many people sign up who went to the last Dearborn Mania, we may have to limit the number of people that can go on the Wixom tour. All depends on the number of tour leaders available from Lincoln. And pricing is tentatively targetted at $100/day. That may change as we tie down some more details. Doubt it will be higher except for the track day. It may even be less. We strive to put a quality event together while being mindful of the cost for everyone.

And, as the Mania veterans know, every Mania event since Mania 1 has always had at least 1 surprise that we aren't able to talk about with non-attendees! Right gang? You just never know what Lincoln and I have up our sleeves. If all goes according to plan, there will be several at this Mania event! :llsoclogo: :glad:

I can't add much to what's been said, I'll just say that I've been to all 3 Manias and I would move heaven and earth to attend. If you love your car, meeting and talking to the people who engineered and built it is an unparalleled experience. These people eat and sleep LS. Combine this with seeing where your car came from and mingling with some of the greatest folks on the planet and you have a truly memorable experience.

Don't miss it :llsocshooter:

During one (or more) of the group dinners, maybe we could designate a few "birds-of-a-feather" tables to enable and promote "special-interest" discussion? For example:

- LS care and maintenance
- Performance modifications
- Audio-system enhancement
- Which wax/polish is best?
- Aftermarket tires and wheels

The Dallas group met yesterday and we decided we'd like to host the west to east caravan on the way through. The only problem I see is you'll probably be heading east on 40 which is 200 miles north of us.
So the deal is to slow down on the cross counrty effort and linking up in Dallas or blasting on through. If this is the case we'd meet up in Oklohoma City.
If you came down we'd arrange for our sponsor John Eagle to to do something such as service the cars and/or host a BBQ. We were also thinking of having the local media cover the event.
We'll need to know far enough out to let everyone organize for it.

Ray,

We can also split up the eastbound caravan and have two forks, one picking up the northern folks and one picking up the southern folks. The southern one could stop in Dallas and pick up those folks. We could then decide where to bring the two eastbound groups together to meet up with the westbound group to form one big tour coming in to Dearborn.

BTW, in case anyone was wondering, we are trying as much as possible to get as many attendees to drive in as opposed to flying. Think it would be more fun with more cars.