CA - Festival of Speed - Where have all of the Air Cooled Gone?

[War584]

Is it just me or did anyone else notice the absence air cooled models at the So Cal Festival of Speed this weekend. I was there on Saturday. In year's past the corral had 100+. Saturday looked like maybe 30 tops. Not sure if Friday or Sunday were any better.

Has the collecting trend overtaken the driver trend for these cars?

[996AE]

I saw the same thing.

I drove my 1988 911 Friday and my 996AE Saturday.

Friday was a ghost town and Saturday the lightest attended I can ever remember.

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

My colleague Eric said the exact same thing, but did mention that vendor row looked a lot more full than in years past.

[pmax]

Was Singer there ?

[Rawknees'Turbo]

Originally Posted by Jrboulder

Can't risk burning out a date-matching lightbulb.

Oh man, that's hilarious (and likely true for some of the originality weenie types! ).

[War584]

Originally Posted by pmax

Was Singer there ?

Not that I saw. There was an engine builder and customizer (name slips me) with a couple of his long hood coupes that were understated but well done. Otherwise, many of the same exhibitors: models, tee shirts, detailing products, suspension, LA Auto D, etc.

Best thing of the event was the track tours which were broken down into drivable groups of 10 cars this year - although regrettably I didn't do it because I thought it would be another traffic jam like last year. Several of the groups hammered out of the pits and were able to get some good speed up along the way.

[991gts6s]

too slow to keep up now...lol

[pmax]

Originally Posted by War584

Not that I saw. There was an engine builder and customizer (name slips me) with a couple of his long hood coupes that were understated but well done. Otherwise, many of the same exhibitors: models, tee shirts, detailing products, suspension, LA Auto D, etc.

Best thing of the event was the track tours which were broken down into drivable groups of 10 cars this year - although regrettably I didn't do it because I thought it would be another traffic jam like last year. Several of the groups hammered out of the pits and were able to get some good speed up along the way.

Disappointing given Singer's claim to performance these cars are MIA in such an event, a local one.

The Williams car should be plenty fast !

[pmax]

Originally Posted by 991gts6s

too slow to keep up now...lol

The upcoming electrics will make all IC cars appear slow.

[Cajundaddy]

At todays prices and valuations we are seeing air cooled cars slowly moving away from track/performance events and gathering at specialty shows like Luft. Different interests and different demographics. I missed CFOS this year but I understand the 356 timeline display was a hit.

[Rot 911]

I agree with Cajundaddy. When I first got into the air cooled 911’s 20 years ago people were buying and selling them for much less than $10,000. Even for the coveted 1972 911 S. I remember several people on this board working on them outside in their driveway. But with the escalation in prices over the last few years the daily drivers have now become objects of desire for car collectors. They don’t want to risk devaluing their baby by taking it outside for a drive.

[pmax]

I don't think it's just the money.... tracking these have never been a cheap endeavor as far as i can tell. There are plenty who can afford to do so even at today's prices.

Some folks, even the same who used to track them, nowadays seem more obsessed with a pretty and clean engine bay than how it runs !

[Helix8]

It is easier to drive a fast car fast (w/nannies) than a slow car fast w/o

[piscator]

"...long time passing. Where have all the air cooled gone? Long time ago. Where have all the air cooled gone? Ol' men picked them, every one..."

[spyerx]

I didn’t bother with fos this year. Spent better part of the weekend ripping up,the canyons. Driving better than spectating and autoclub speedway is not a fun track for me.

[NYNick]

Originally Posted by piscator

"...long time passing. Where have all the air cooled gone? Long time ago. Where have all the air cooled gone? Ol' men picked them, every one..."

Showing your age Robert.
I'm showing mine recognizing a PP&M song.

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

War584, I believe you're talking about Rasant? I liked seeing their stuff on display. The digital dash inside it completely caught me off guard too!







The air cooled presence was definitely way less than I expected. Overall it was still pretty good, I just didn't enjoy the heat too much. Heavy winds and road construction were horrible too. Here's a few shots I took of the air cooled cars... the gallery will be up later, i'll link it to this thread.

[War584]

eric@pelican. Thanks for the pics. Rasant it was, good engine note when he fired up the red model. Didn't have the familiar flax six note though to my ear but real strong sounding. @Picator - glad you picked up on the Kingston Trio reference. I think we all show our age with that reference.

Sold my 85 Targa last year to a guy I met a Luft. AZ guy who caught me at a moment of indecision with a big offer - I loved the car but was a little put off by the current Air Cooled movement and hype. I owned the car for 6 years and spent 34 years before that wanting one and raising kids. Bought an '06 997 C2S - which is phenomenal but not the same. Perfect driving machine that has no limit the way I drive.

With that said, feeling the need to get back with an air-cooled but deciding whether to pull the trigger now or wait for the bubble / hype to deflate. Looking at a 914 2.0 'as a stop gap. But not the same.

[Hi_Fi_Guy]

People are afraid, or simply don’t want to drive these cars anymore. My wife and I drove our 71 911 T Targa to Rennsport Reunion Monterey from Arizona. The judges were not impressed, they were shocked and offended. They could not believe we would “abuse” the car like that. We’ve reached the point where driving these air cooled cars is no longer acceptable. It’s a shame as they are so rewarding to drive, but the collector’ market deems the object more valuable than the experience. I don’t accept that logic but the majority seems to.

[piscator]

Originally Posted by Hi_Fi_Guy

People are afraid, or simply don’t want to drive these cars anymore. My wife and I drove our 71 911 T Targa to Rennsport Reunion Monterey from Arizona. The judges were not impressed, they were shocked and offended. They could not believe we would “abuse” the car like that. We’ve reached the point where driving these air cooled cars is no longer acceptable. It’s a shame as they are so rewarding to drive, but the collector’ market deems the object more valuable than the experience. I don’t accept that logic but the majority seems to.

Good Lord! They couldn't believe you would "abuse" the car by driving it? What was it built for? I find this so astonishing that I'm going back in my hole now! ;-)

War, Thank-you for creating the reference! -- long time passing for all of us.