All Southeast members please read.....very important!

[JasonRan]

As many of you know, and as I'm sure many of you do not, Subaru of America has offered to start a Southeastern Subaru Club for us. Kelly Subaru in Chattanooga took the lead on this, and SOA has agreed to back it fully. Several of us had a meeting at Kelly Subaru during the Cherokee Trails Rally Race a couple months ago, and some very good ideas were discussed. The only problem is, it stopped right there. Mainly because the guys that were present at the meeting have been super busy, but still, we need to get going on this thing. SOA has basically said...you guys have wanted our backing, we are offering it, now crap or get off the pot! You might be wondering what the club will have to offer. Well, the sky is the limit really. What we need are ideas of what people want. They have offered to give us a website, possibly discounts on parts, the use of Kelly Subaru's facilities once a month with lunch included, possible (and I do mean possible, not for sure) import of STi parts, a tour of the parts factory in Georgia, a banner with out name on it, and some other things. They said that they would let us design a logo and they would help pay for stickers, shirts, hats...whatever.

Ok, enough of that...here is what I need. I need to know who is interested in a club like this. I know that for a long time, we have all wanted SOA to recognize us, and here is our chance. If we don't step up this time, I guarantee that they will never offer again. We need, first of all, someone to step up and run the thing. Preferrably, someone that has a little more free time than I do. I know that we are all busy, but some of us have more free time than others (people in school, part-timers, etc). I also need your ideas on what you want out of the club. Keep it realistic though, please. And finally, I need to know what locations you would like to have meets at. I know that Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Birmingham would all be good places, and within a reasonable driving distance for most of us. And to all the Florida people, we are not trying to dis you guys...you are the largest group of Subaru owners in the south, and we need your support. It would proably be a good idea to branch off of the club so that you guys could organize meets in Florida.

Ok, I have said enough...you guys know what I am looking for. Feel free to post here, or drop me a line at [email protected]. If you would like to contact Alfred Odister at Kelly Subaru, he is the one in charge of this whole thing. His number is 1-800-242-1562 and his e-mail address is [email protected]. I'm sure he would love to hear from you...he is a really cool guy!

Happy miles, and I look forward to hearing from everyone!

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[ForesterPerformance]

Well, the Southeast is pretty big, and I am as far from where you are saying the real benefits will be had as I can be and still be in the Southeast...

I would like to become a charter member IF:

1. All charter members are given free of charge one (1) MY 2002 WRX STi wagon emblazened with the SOA South East Club's logo, or maybe we could all get WRC replica WRX STi Sedans... yeah...

2. Not everything would happen in Tenn. Howzabout mixing it up. Something in FL, GA, etc.etc.etc...

3. I get to be supreme commander generalisimo el Jefe all being lord and master of all I survey.

4. See #1.


[This message has been edited by ForesterPerformance (edited April 20, 2001).]

[ForesterPerformance]

Okay, so maybe just #2?

Or #'s 1 & 2.

[ForesterPerformance]

One question. What good is a banner with out a name on it?

"They have offered to give us a website, possibly discounts on parts, the use of Kelly Subaru's facilities once a month with lunch included, possible (and I do mean possible, not for sure) import of STi parts, a tour of the parts factory in Georgia, a banner with out name on it, and some other things. "

Sorry, I am in one of my rare and annyingly sarcastic moods. It sounds like a really great idea.

[This message has been edited by ForesterPerformance (edited April 20, 2001).]

[Matt]

Sounds like a great idea Jason.

I think that meets should occur in cities that are good for everyone to meet at. For instance, I live right near Miami, but I'm willing to drive just about anywhere.

How about...Atlanta, Orlando, Savannah, Charlotte, Charleston, or Richmond. That should pretty much cover most of the Southeast US. And as always, some are convienent to some and not to others, but it's always fair to have at least one in everyone's back yard.


How's that?

[Robmat]

Hey this is really a great idea! Let me know if I can do anything to help. I'd love to get in on this.

Robmat

[Suba-RAW]

Well, it looks like ForesterPerformance has a lot of spare time.

I think it sounds great! We are having a meet at Troncalli Subaru on the 28th of this month. There are supposed to be a few SOA reps there. I'm sure this will get mentioned. If our SOA reps and your SOA reps can get together, maybe we can do this, maybe they're the same people.

I want STi! All the STi I can get. And cheap shipping too. If we can get them to start a STi distributor in the US, it would benefit the entire club, not just the Southeast. They would definitely make money on it. We mentioned that at our last meet with SOA there and the guy seemed interested.

As far as where to centralize, I don't care. ATL would be cool because it would be local, but I don't mind driving somewhere once a month. It could rotate, if you want to drive to the next place on list you can, if not have a local meet. As far as FL, maybe we can organize a big meet every quarter or something, everyone drive down to a central area, Jacksonville FL, Valdosta GA, Gainesville FL, whatever.

This is definitely a good opportunity. It's always nice to have this kind of backing and sponsorship. Hats and shirts and stickers... that's too cool. Maybe shirts with our names, real or screen names, embroidered (sp) on them. That might have to be done locally.

Anyway, Southeasterners come up with ideas that we can take to our meet this month. SOA will definitely be there, just not sure how many. I'm sure we can get them in on this, they seemed pretty supportive of the club last time.

Thanks

[deadbolt]

I more than likely could get Prestige to be the host dealer, we sponsor lots of other Subie stuff, like the recent invitational autocross, the hillclimb, etc.

[Turk]

I'm sure you have everyone in the SE's approval. Us NC people are all about Auto Xin. Let me know if I can help, I'm a student and every now and then (not too often) I have free time.

Turk

[Templar]

I normally don't speak for other people, but I am pretty sure that both Pleiades and myself would be up for pulling whatever duty is necessary for us to do to get this thing going. Here in NC we have a thriving Subaru Performance community and it is getting bigger every event it seems like. Steven's hard work has been a big part of this success. There are some things on the horizon that will bring even more attention this way as well, so I think this is an excellent idea.

Kent

[Opie]

I think this is a great idea! Why don't we get all the enthusiastic dealers to be the "host" dealer in each state? It seems that there is alredy one dealer in every state that stands out above the rest;
Kelly Subaru in Chatanooga, TN
Prestige Subaru in Marshall/Asheville, NC
Troncalli Subaru in Atlanta, GA
Mastro Subaru in Tampa, FL.

If we can get these dealers to work together with us, we can get more done in each "region" and possibly hold larger meets (and/or track days, rallycrosses, etc.) sponsored by SOA and the host dealers. Don't get me wrong, banners, hats, shirts, etc are all awesome, but I would be very interested in some SOA backed performance driving schools, rally schools, etc. The cars are already awesome...it's me, the guy behind the wheel that needs improvement.

Or how about we have SOA sponsored auto-x's to see what region is the "best" in the SE.
How does that sound?


[This message has been edited by Opie (edited April 20, 2001).]

[jwooman]

Isn't the southeast headquarter of SOA in ATL? ATL will be a great place to host, other than that, I think FL is a ideal state.

If SOA really wants to back up, it'll be great! But, depend on how much they want to spend for us? I tried so hard before on owners meeting, mountain drive, even a track day for Subaru only. The only problem is no one(Road Atlanta, Panoz Racing and SOA) will sponsor. I don't think Subaru owners are rich enough to pay full price for all the events and I bet ever owners like to do some track, right? So, the main point here is $$$!

Also, don't forget there's a big auto show every year in ATL - NOPI.

[This message has been edited by jwooman (edited April 20, 2001).]

[pleiades]

Great idea Opie! The "Subaru Invitational" that we just held was a little test to see what kind of turn out we could have for a SE Subaru event. I feel that 9 cars at an event on Easter Sunday was great. I think that means we could plan a little further in advance and have at least 20-30 cars for a weekend autocross or rallycross or otherwise event. I am also sure with the increased intrest in Subaru with the release of the WRX we will see our membership grow. I have some good ideas I'm willing to donate, just give me a shout!

Steven

[Blindeye_03]

I am certainly interested in a regional club-- as long as I know far enough in advance, *a month or two*, of a meeting I should have no problem making it anywhere in the southeast. I only work full time right now, but scheduling is very leninent. I am taking a 'break' from school for about a year so I have 'some' free time.

[Xeno]

i'd be really interested in this too..i think Opies idea of 'chapters' in each state is a great idea..

i wana do sum rallycross (or i'll settle for AutoX)

[Tkacik]

I have been interseted in this ever since the first mention of it. I agree that the meets should rotate around the southeast so that everyone has a chance to attend, not all of us have enough time to drive 7-8 hours to a meet(including myself). Jeff Woo tried to get us some track time at Road Atlanta a while back but no one wanted to front the bill, not even SOA. Maybe at our next meeting at Troncalli I can bring this up to the reps. As far as who will be the leader in this little crusade, I would volunteer but I have waaaaay to much stuff going on. I would like to help out as much as possible though. Thanks Jason.

[Overtime]

Sounds great, but Tennessee is a long way from Raleigh. Maybe someplace more central?

It would be nice to get a place to meet and free promotional items from SOA. It would be VERY nice to receive discounts on parts, and even nicer to have use of Subaru facilities.

[mpaone]

Well, I caught this topic a little late I guess. As I'm sure most of you know, I'd be more than willing to work with Lisa and Troncalli on arranging meets in the Atlanta area. I'd also be willing to drive to meets in other areas with enough notice. I've already e-mailed Kelly Subaru in Chattanooga, and apparently they were expecting me for the Cherokee Trails Rally but I could'nt make it.

I think SOA is going to back an endeavor like this 100% because they have little to lose and alot to gain! Plus it's beneficial to all of us as well.

Let me know what I can do to help get this rolling Jason. In the mean time, to everyone that's coming to next Saturdays Atlanta meet, we'll discuss ideas on the "Atlanta Chapter" then.

-Mike.

[Snowman]

I think this is a great idea. It would be nice to have some SE region meets that produce the #'s like they have in the NE and NW regions.

I am more than willing to offer any services that might be needed. Let me know.

Snowman
Bad spellers of the world, UNTIE!!!
SnowmansRS

[pooreman]

I think the best solution is to alternate the site to a different dealer/city each month and get around 4-5(like "Opie" listed above). This would allow everyone to get to participate and maybe share the responsabilities. Each area could have an chapter head(s). They could be responsible for that area when it rolls to them. I unfortunately missed the last Rally and get together over a Kelly--sorry had some issues to fix at work. This would take alot of buy in from folks though.

I'm not from that area, but I do offer my services in any way or form. I do web development. Got a advertising degree if ya want a logo (could alway use the one i submitted to the iclub). I would add one of my cartoonz thought to each side (old and new body). Chekc out www.electric-mojo.com/cartoonz/

As far as what I'm looking for, maybe some fun fire road drives, shows?, rallys, discount parts, tech shops howto's?. I look forward to the next event.

take care.
chad poore
memphis, tn

[ImprezedRS]

I don't know if this was said or not(didn't read the post, don't really have the time, waiting for girl to call) but i would like to see different chapters of it like a Carolinas region with the support from Prestige, Georgia region with support from Troncalli, Tenn region with Kelly, and Florida region with Mastro. But this would be a great idea and i would like to see a slight discount if possible.

[jwooman]

If SOA willing to sell me a WRX STi version, I will do anything cos I have a lot of time...

[wagonman]

i like imprezed's idea. get some of the local dealers involved maybe some way. Prestige would be perfect for western NC for example. just an idea.

Jeff

[Sunrise City Rider]

I want Subaru to work with at least the dealer's in Opie's post. I want the dealers to push Aftermarket parts as well as stock. I want them to be supplied with many parts from Reputable tuners around the world. I want prices to be in reach of us enthusiasts. If certain parts are not readily available, I want the dealers to make the extra effort to get the parts we want. I want a few expert race mechanics at each dealer. I want more of what the Mastro Meet had. I want promotion of the Subaru Brand in all motorsports...Auto X, Rally X, Drags, Road Racing, etc... I want R&D to always be running for the different model Subies that we drive. I want to be able to make suggestions on certain parts and services without being forgotten about. I want the 6-speed tranny available from the dealer with no extra special order BS. I want body tuning and chassis tuning to be offered as well. I want SOA or Dealer Sponsorship for those that have track cars and something for us Daily Drivers. I want custom work to be available if neccessary. I want experts in Tuning the different ECUs that we use in our Subies. I want this to last forever and not fade away with time. I want all Subies owners to represent their Subies to the fullest, always promoting good driving habits and safety while still having fun. Schools will be neccessary as Subie driver's always approach everything in a Professional Manner. We need to stand out from the everday Jap rides with loud exhausts and burnt out drivers. I want a reputation that Law Enforcement can respect. If biker's can get respect from 5-0 then us Subie enthusiasts can get the same benefit of the doubt. I want people who see me in my Subie to say, there is a Real Car Enthusiast who knows his Stuff. Thats the reputation that we need to achieve.
Zee

[Silent Ben]

I would definitely be interested in this idea. I like the idea of mixing up the meeting places every time, since I really don't have the free time to make a drive out of state very often. Although, Atlanta really is a central location for pretty much the whole South East (hint, hint). I also like the idea of discounts on service, parts, and definitely discounts on performance driving schools.

Ben