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Yes - I got the stuff through. We will have a slot. I meant to sort it and post details at the weekend but started rum cocktails at 3pm Friday and have just woken up.
Updates probably during this week!
Got there early today, met up with a couple of people, had a chat about the Formosa to a few interested parties and that was about it.
Down to just one hall this year and that was spaced out and sparse . The club areas are much reduced and spread out .
The "show" was running down by about 2.30 so it was time to go !
There was a German bloke who parked next to me in a Seven style car. He had come all the way to visit the show, don't know what he thought but he left before me !
A bit of a let down really, I think this type of show has had its day. The older halls that were once used as an area for selling your car are now taken by a company making prefab buildings. Much of the site has been handed over to HS2. Other parts of the site are run down and in a mess !
The organisers would do better by integrating with one of the larger "classic" shows, Stoneleigh as a venue has run its course.
I thought that might be the case when I looked through the list of exhibitors on the show website, which appeared to be very sparse to me.
It's possibly another example of the internet killing traditional retailing - twenty-five years ago, apart from magazine coverage, the only way a kit manufacturer could get its product in front of interested customers was to display it at a show.
These days, anyone who's interested in building a kit is just a few clicks away from all the information they need to make their decision, apart from physically seeing and touching the finished article, and it's been that way for at least a decade.
It would still be good to have a show where manufacturers and owners can display their cars, but I suspect you're right about needing to piggyback with the classic car and/or hotrod scene.
The last time I went I was aiming to stock up on some tools and consumables, however, everything up there was exactly the same that is on offer on eBay except that it was all considerably more expensive. Just not worth a 4 hour return trip for me, the only stall I would have been interested in this year was Grassbanks but they don't have a stall this year.
I took the Formosa over to Broadway in the Cotswolds today, I had more interest in the car in the first 30 minutes than I did all day yesterday, says it all really !
I have to say I thought the show was good, when you look at the FACTS...
The organisers only had 6 weeks to get it all going.
Hall 1 was a Covid vaccination centre!
Is it really justified to write-off the show in view of the above?
lots of businesses/exhibitors had very little notice to get staff, goods, displays etc in place. Funds may have been tight, and next year may be much better if the traders/exhibitors have the necessary time and funds available. Lots of the clubs had a good turnout, and (for the manufacturers who were there), it appeared to be fruitful from my observation of the queues at stands, and the feedback I heard from their staff.
making a comparison........ have you been to a restaurant recently and found the menu much reduced compared to how it was 2 years ago? i know I have.
Make allowances guys, and be positive - It is our hobby, and it helps if we support it.
I don't know, there appeared to be a low key vibe about the whole day, go back a few years and it was buzzing. I know things have changed but I remember the days when the showground was packed with kit cars filling the entire site. When I was an active member of the Robin Hood owners club we would get over 100 cars on our club stand. Whilst some of the kitcar marques such as Westfield and Marlin were well supported most were not.
I spoke to a couple of traders in the hall, they both said they wouldn't have come if they had known how quiet it was going to be, that was about 11am Saturday.
I don't know how much it costs to put on the show but I would be surprised if it is still viable from the organisers point of view.
I don't like to knock the show, I've been going there since the 1980's so I've seen the ups and downs, sadly this time was a low point for me !
I counted 5 Tribute cars in all and they were attracting interest. The main problem seems to be that the showground management weren't bothering to make the show viable. Presumably the high price of stands for traders and manufacturers is down to the fee charged to Grosvenor. Many manufs resorted to bringing their cars in and setting up on club pitches. The lack of camping facilities didn't help. Apparently Grosvenor were being charged £500 per water standpipe, that's just connecting one and turning on the valve. The showers and toilets around the site (ie not in the halls) are just embarrassing. Stoneleigh is now being touted as a business park and new or refurbished offices are all over it now.
Having said all that, I enjoyed the show and the wide variety of cars represented. You may be able to see pics and get specs from a website but there's no substitute for seeing the metal/plastic and talking to owners who are only too willing to share their build and drive experiences.
I hope it continues. My personal suggestion would be to DROP the outside trader stand prices to encourage their attendance. I'm not actually sure that the Stoneleigh Park management even wants that.
The deal for a show at the Newark Showground next year has already been signed.
I spoke to a couple of traders in the hall, they both said they wouldn't have come if they had known how quiet it was going to be, that was about 11am Saturday.
Bit of an early judgement call? Things tend to (and did) get busy after midday.
I hope the traders had a satisfactory weekend in the end, there just appeared to be an air of despondency in the morning, which is a shame for what is meant to be the showcase event in the kitcar calendar.
Yeah, shame about the low attendance of traders, I still enjoyed the show - not as many cars as previous years but I think that's partly down to this wrenched plandemic making it difficult for organisers to plan events etc.
I really hope it improves in future years again.
I've been to a lot of car shows over the last 5 or 6 weeks. All of them were very well attended both by public and traders, some were very busy. Stoneleigh was the most recent and unfortunately just failed to deliver. Covid or not, the organisers simply didn't get it together. The site has become tired, dated and rather run down as an exhibition venue. As has previously been said it is fast becoming an industrial estate, and a second rate one at that.
If you had travelled a long distance to to look at what was on offer , paid for yourself and family to get in, what would you have thought ? Like I said before, this is meant to be the "National Kit Car Show" and showcase for the industry. If it was me I would have been very disappointed.
Sorry for the negative vibes but I'm just thinking out loud !
Notwithstanding the current climate I couldn't agree more. In my view it would now be much better as a one day event and perhaps an alternative venue that didn't look so tired. And not have the HS2 right through the middle!
Cheers Robin
It seems Newark has already been booked for next year (July)........ I always liked Newark, a different 'vibe' to it (and it's an easier journey for me :icon_biggrin
TBH, I was surprised at how little of the site had been taken by the HS2 route. The area behind the big blue fence is so far untouched. Cancellation of the project (I know) would only leave the new tarmac road to Cumber Park in place.
A bigger impact is the area of grass that has been overlaid with stabilising plastic mesh to allow easier car parking on it, (includes the area where Jago and GTM used to pitch). Can't see camping being allowed on that in future.
