I agree with you 100%. One of the biggest problems I find with the class
is parts. Being in the south a bike engine would make more since. They
are
everywhere and are not limited by location. They could be retrofitted to
the cars fairly easily and after market parts are abundant. Just my 2
cents
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 4:02 PM
Subject: Re: [F500] Class survival. - losing vs. gaining - an outsider's
viewpoint.
Hey, maybe a couple of cents from me on your class.
f500 is a quirky little car that I was enamored with for enough time to
follow this mailing list and do an awful lot of research. There were
only
a
few things that turned me off, but it very well may be my next step if
spec
miata ever loses its charm to me.
your right, the sound is terrible, theyre really unpleasant to
watch. They
are the worst hangover medication in the history of racing and I don't
drink. I dont think that people are staying away from the class because
of
that.
With "no suspension and no transmission" the cars should cost
substantially
less to purchase and maintain than they do. From out here it looks like
there is a lot of money being spent on the next best thing...the montra
of
a
spec class is much more attractive (though as an insider I know that is
flat
out bullshit).
Your class members have been some of the warmest, least mysterious folks,
you are all very helpful to one another, and the level of unbalanced
individuals seems to be the lowest of the classes I've followed.
I think in a lot of ways FF, and FVee are competing against you, diluting
the class. As an insider I know there are stark differences between the
classes. I can't afford FF and I don't want to deal with the
personalities. FVee to me is a bunch of old hippies and the cars are
past
their prime. I think f500 is cool looking cars, with an interesting
newer
tech. As an outsider all of this is just "small open wheel"
Take a look at your community for a moment. As a spec miata driver we
have
the obvious specmiata.com to support that angle, and we have miata.net.
Both have extensive memberships, huge aftermarket and manufacturer
support,
and they easily advertise themselves. Where is f500's simple, generic
resource on getting in and getting the wheels spinning. (think about
other
specific examples, i.e. vw vortex for some of the production classes,
bimmerworld for those guys, etc, etc). Also, where is SCCA magazine and
GRM
magazine support? I don't think I've ever seen an interesting write up
on
what an f500 is or what the class is about.
While I know none of you want 80 cars in a field, I think you could
easily
double your class if you wanted to by consolidating effort into some
basic
marketing. But do you want to? To me, f500 is the most obvious open
wheel
class to get into, with cost of ownership and maintenance comparable to
several other classes. Unfortunately, at first blush, the class does not
differentiate itself well from your compatriot classes.
And I may be way off base, but just try to take this from the eyes of a
"noob" -- it is my gut reaction to the cars. I find it funny that at
races
when I inquire about an f500 the guys kinda wince like im about to take a
shot at the car, when I am just curious and ignorant. People joke about
funny looking/sounding/smelling things. Again, though, when people find
out
I am genuinely interested they have taken great amounts of time and pain
to
explain all the ins and outs of the cars and the class and the culture.
...and im only at sfi3.2 today so take it easy with the responses.
--
http://beatracing.com
97 STS2 CRX & 97 SpecMiata
