Car meets are facing challenges as bad behavior from some attendees threatens their future. The Porsche Club Insider crew discusses the differences between car meets and takeovers, emphasizing the importance of responsible behavior to preserve the car culture. They share personal anecdotes and examples of how reckless actions can lead to event cancellations. The episode also highlights the need for community education and accountability to ensure a positive environment for car enthusiasts. Notable discussions include the impact of social media on car gatherings and the role of law enforcement in managing events.
On this episode, we talk about the negative side of car meets and what can be done to prevent people behaving badly. With some high profile events in the news, it can cast a negative light on car enthusiasts which can lead to the cancelation of these gathering. This is a problem that can affect everyone who enjoys getting together with other car enthusiasts. Plus, we have Porsche news, PCA coming events and a PCA video update.
"But before we get into it, let's thank our presenting sponsor, Pirelli. Pirelli tires have to achieve the highest levels of performance, safety, noiselessness, and grip on the road surface."
Pirelli is a brand that makes tires, which are the rubber parts of a car that touch the road. They are known for making tires that help cars perform well and stay safe.
Pirelli is a well-known Italian tire manufacturer, recognized for producing high-performance tires for various types of vehicles, including sports cars and motorcycles.
"Actually, let me just say we will be talking about, we're going to be differentiating between takeovers and car meets."
A car meet is a place where people who love cars come together to show off their vehicles and talk about them. It's like a social event for car fans.
Car meets are informal gatherings where car enthusiasts come together to showcase their vehicles, share experiences, and socialize. They can range from small local gatherings to larger events with many participants.
"Actually, let me just say we will be talking about, we're going to be differentiating between takeovers and car meets."
Takeovers are events where car lovers gather, often to show off their cars and do tricks. Sometimes, these can get out of hand and lead to dangerous driving.
Takeovers refer to events where car enthusiasts gather in a specific location, often leading to impromptu street racing or stunts. These events can sometimes attract negative attention due to unsafe behaviors.
"Oh, look at this. This is a 356 parking lot. We've got a cab, a coupe, and two coupes."
The Porsche 356 is an old sports car made by Porsche. It was popular for being light and fun to drive, making it a favorite among car enthusiasts.
The Porsche 356 is a classic sports car produced by Porsche from 1948 to 1965. It is known for its lightweight design and rear-engine layout, which contributed to its agile handling and performance.
"...my middle son had a little fender incident with it, and it was not severe enough where..."
A fender is the part of the car that goes over the wheels. It helps keep dirt and rocks from flying up and hitting the car. If it gets damaged, it can be replaced without needing to fix the whole car.
A fender is a part of a car's body that covers the wheels and helps protect the vehicle from debris and damage. It can be made of metal or plastic and is often one of the first parts to get damaged in minor accidents.
"He proceeds to remove the lug nuts while the car is still on the wheel."
Lug nuts are the bolts that hold the wheels on a car. They need to be tight so the wheels don't come off while driving.
Lug nuts are fasteners that secure the wheels to the vehicle's hub. They are typically tightened with a wrench and are crucial for keeping the wheels attached while driving.
"...I have a perfect O5 gold Corolla fender with OEM paint that now Jonah will learn to swap out. How's the match? It's a perfect match because OEM."
OEM paint is the original paint that comes with the car from the factory. It's important for making sure that new parts match the color of the car perfectly.
OEM paint refers to Original Equipment Manufacturer paint, which is the same paint used by the manufacturer when the car was built. This ensures a perfect color match and finish when replacing parts.
"...make fun of mustangs and challengers and chargers because..."
The Dodge Charger is a larger car that still has a sporty feel. It’s good for people who want a car that can carry more passengers but still be fun to drive.
The Dodge Charger is a full-size sedan that shares its platform with the Challenger. It offers a blend of performance and practicality, making it a popular choice for those who want a sporty car with more space.
"...ve to kind of try not to make fun of mustangs and challengers and chargers because You have to try not to."
The Dodge Challenger is a big, powerful car that looks like the classic muscle cars from the past. People talk about it because it's fun to drive and has a lot of horsepower, making it exciting for car enthusiasts.
The Dodge Challenger is a classic American muscle car known for its powerful performance and retro styling. It has become a symbol of performance and nostalgia, often discussed in the context of its rivalry with other muscle cars like the Ford Mustang.
The Infiniti G35 is a stylish and comfortable car that also goes fast. It's a good choice for people who want a nice car that feels sporty.
The Infiniti G35 is a luxury sports sedan that was popular for its combination of performance and comfort. It features a powerful V6 engine and a well-appointed interior, appealing to both enthusiasts and luxury buyers.
"...maybe even Nissan 350Zs. Okay, let's just get it out of the system..."
The Nissan 350Z is a fun sports car that is great for driving fast. It has a strong engine and is loved by people who enjoy modifying their cars.
The Nissan 350Z is a two-door sports car known for its rear-wheel drive layout and strong performance. It features a V6 engine and is popular among car enthusiasts for its handling and tuning potential.
The Hellcat is a powerful version of certain Dodge cars, like the Challenger and Charger. It has a really strong engine that makes it go super fast, which is why many car fans love it.
The Hellcat is a high-performance variant of the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger, known for its supercharged V8 engine that produces over 700 horsepower. It's designed for speed and power, making it a popular choice among muscle car enthusiasts.
Lamborghini makes very fast and expensive sports cars that many car enthusiasts admire for their looks and performance.
Lamborghini is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer known for its high-performance vehicles and distinctive designs, often featuring sharp angles and aggressive styling.
Ferrari is a brand that makes some of the fastest and most luxurious sports cars in the world, known for their red color and racing success.
Ferrari is an iconic Italian sports car manufacturer famous for its high-performance vehicles, racing heritage, and luxury status, often associated with speed and exclusivity.
"...a lot of the discussion has been around the super car crowd and the hyper car crowd..."
Supercars are very fast and expensive cars that are designed for high performance. They are often made in small quantities and have unique designs.
Supercars are high-performance sports cars that offer extreme speed, advanced technology, and luxury features. They are typically produced in limited numbers and are known for their exceptional design and engineering.
"...a lot of the discussion has been around the super car crowd and the hyper car crowd..."
Hypercars are the most advanced and expensive cars, even more so than supercars. They are built with the latest technology and are extremely fast.
Hypercars are an even more exclusive category than supercars, representing the pinnacle of automotive performance and technology. They often feature cutting-edge engineering, extreme speed, and high price tags, with only a handful produced by manufacturers.
"were 16, 17, 18 year old kids in E46, E90 BMWs who I think had just come down..."
The BMW E46 is a model of the BMW 3 Series, which is a line of compact executive cars. This generation is well-liked for its driving experience and style.
The BMW E46 is the fourth generation of the BMW 3 Series, produced from 1997 to 2006. It is known for its balanced handling and strong performance, making it a popular choice among car enthusiasts.
"...a task force for illegal car rallies, they called it. And this is basically those pop-up ones..."
Illegal car rallies are gatherings of cars that happen without permission from local authorities. They often involve racing or doing tricks on the street, which can be dangerous and against the law.
Illegal car rallies refer to unauthorized gatherings of vehicles, often involving street racing or stunts, that can disrupt public order and safety. These events typically occur without permits and can lead to legal consequences for participants and organizers.
"...I remember in Ocean City, Maryland, H2O, that was a huge modified car show with lowered cars,..."
A modified car show is a gathering where people display cars that have been changed from how they originally came from the factory. These changes can make the cars look different or perform better, and it's a fun way for car lovers to share their work.
A modified car show is an event where car enthusiasts showcase vehicles that have been altered or customized from their original factory specifications. This can include changes to the car's performance, aesthetics, or both, often featuring lowered suspension, aftermarket wheels, and unique paint jobs.
"...do you think your car is so special that you can take two? It's half a million dollar car that just passed..."
A car that costs around $500,000 is usually a very expensive and special vehicle. These cars are often made by luxury brands and have features that make them stand out from regular cars.
A 'half a million dollar car' typically refers to high-end luxury or exotic vehicles that are priced at or around $500,000. These cars often feature advanced technology, superior performance, and exclusive designs.
"Yeah, you think in your Impala, you have that special of a car that you need to take two spots... The Impala was nice."
The Chevrolet Impala is a big car that many people in America like to drive because it has a lot of space inside and is comfortable.
The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size car that has been produced by Chevrolet since 1958. It is known for its spacious interior and comfortable ride, making it a popular choice among American families.
"...when I had my race car, I would take it to cars and coffee once in a while and it was straight pipes on this 911."
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that many people love for its speed and unique shape. It's often seen in car shows and races.
The Porsche 911 is a high-performance sports car known for its distinctive design and rear-engine layout. It's a popular choice among car enthusiasts and has a rich motorsport heritage.
"...we know the difference between a lumpy cam and you having to rev it a little bit to make sure your car doesn't stall versus you being an idiot and revving it..."
A lumpy cam is a special part of an engine that makes it sound rough when it's running. It's designed to help the engine perform better, especially when going fast.
A lumpy cam refers to a camshaft profile that has a more aggressive lift and duration, resulting in a rough idle and a distinctive sound. This type of camshaft is often used in performance engines to enhance power at higher RPMs.
"...what about the older dude in the Camaro? I'm like, yeah, because that dude has a 454 that's cammed..."
The Chevrolet Camaro is a sporty car that many people love for its speed and cool looks. It's been around for a long time and is often seen as a symbol of American muscle cars.
The Chevrolet Camaro is a classic American muscle car known for its performance and aggressive styling. It has been a popular choice among car enthusiasts since its introduction in the 1960s.
Term
454
"...that dude has a 454 that's cammed and he has to do that..."
The '454' is a type of engine made by Chevrolet that is very powerful. It's often used in muscle cars to give them a lot of speed and strength.
The '454' refers to a big-block V8 engine produced by Chevrolet, with a displacement of 454 cubic inches. It's known for its high power output and torque, making it a popular choice for muscle cars.
"You may not realize, as you're coming from a 2020 Boxster and you bought yourself a 944,"
The Porsche Boxster is a small sports car that you can drive with the top down. It's known for being fun to drive and has a good reputation for handling well on the road.
The Porsche Boxster is a mid-engine sports car that offers a balance of performance and everyday usability. It is significant for its agile handling and convertible design, making it a popular choice among driving enthusiasts.
"And just to put it into perspective, a base model Macan with that motor, zero to 60 is faster than a V8 E..."
The Porsche Macan is a smaller SUV that feels sporty and fun to drive. It has a nice interior and is designed for people who want a luxury car that can still handle well on the road.
The Porsche Macan is a compact luxury SUV that offers a sporty driving experience and high-quality features. It stands out for its agile handling and impressive performance, making it a favorite among those looking for a smaller SUV with a premium feel.
"zero to 60 is faster than a V8 E1 Cayenne. So even though it's got a little motor, it hustles pretty good."
Zero to 60 is a way to measure how fast a car can go from a complete stop to 60 miles per hour. It's often used to show how powerful a car is.
Zero to 60 time refers to the duration it takes for a vehicle to accelerate from a complete stop to 60 miles per hour. It's a common performance metric used to gauge a car's acceleration capabilities.
"...ith that motor, zero to 60 is faster than a V8 E1 Cayenne. So even though it's got a little motor,"
The Porsche Cayenne is a fancy SUV that drives like a sports car. It's known for being fast and comfortable, making it a great choice for families who still want a sporty feel.
The Porsche Cayenne is a luxury SUV that combines sporty performance with practicality. It is notable for its powerful engine options and high-quality interior, making it a popular choice among those seeking a luxury vehicle with performance capabilities.
Select text to request an explanation
Welcome to the Porsche Club Insider, your one stop for all things Porsche and PCA.
Here's your host, Vu Gwin and the Insider crew.
Welcome everyone to episode 192.
We should have a fun discussion today and maybe a little frustrating because of the topic.
But before we get into it, let's thank our presenting sponsor, Pirelli.
Pirelli tires have to achieve the highest levels of performance, safety, noiselessness, and
grip on the road surface.
Innovative tires that can satisfy even the most specific mobility needs of the end
consumer.
I want to thank you all for listening.
If you aren't currently a PCA member and own a Porsche, what are you waiting
for?
Grab that VIN, head over to PCA.org and make yourself a member.
And for those of you that don't currently own a Porsche, check out our Test Drive
Program.
It's a program where we unlock resources to help you find that special Porsche for your
driveway or garage.
Again, PCA.org.
Manny, we've got a box here.
Let's start with that.
Actually, let me just say we will be talking about, we're going to be differentiating
between takeovers and car meets.
We're going to be talking about behaving badly at car meets and examples of behaviors
making a car enthusiast look bad.
So that's a topic.
But before we get into it, I'm going to open this box.
That was sent to us by one of our Panorama and Digital Media contributors, Tom Neal.
Normally, we would be a little bit worried of opening random boxes, but I think we can
trust that he sent something cool.
So this box has layers, two layers deep.
And what did he send?
Oh, look at this.
This is a 356 parking lot.
We've got a cab, a coupe, and two coupes.
Burgundy one and a red one.
Oh, my gosh.
What is this?
Oh, wow.
How cool is this?
I did not expect to see this inside the box.
Wow.
Thanks, Tom.
So this is like a diorama.
Tom has done many dioramas.
In fact, the big one sits in the, as soon as you walk into our office, right?
Very cool.
Very cool.
So this is a diorama.
Manny, you tell the story.
So Tom has sent us an email saying, hey, did you guys know that the location
for the first ever Porsche Parade in Gaithersburg, there's actually a motel on it.
Not the same one, but there's a motel.
And I said, hey, actually we have.
I've been talking about what we're going to do next year for Parade to celebrate
the 70th.
And the name of the original hotel was the Washingtonian motel.
That's where the first two parades were held in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Now there's a Marriott property.
Spring Hill Suites.
Spring Hill Suites in the same location.
So yeah, we were chatting back and forth on email, but Tom, we created, I guess, the
sign.
That's pretty cool.
Washingtonian where the first parade and second parade were held.
That is pretty impressive.
Maybe next year we can do something where we make this sign and go over to that hotel
and get some cars lined up for like a photo op.
That'd be kind of cool to do.
Yeah, I was going to let them know that, hey, did you know that this is the beginning
of what's become an international success as far as the best go?
Maybe we can give them something that they can keep in the lobby of their hotel.
That'd be pretty cool.
Man, thanks, Tom.
That's really cool.
Not to be upstage, but you also got something.
Yes.
That's very cool.
Which I rarely get packages, so I would make sure there was no ticking sound when
I got mine.
And there was it.
But shout out to David Stalker from Arizona, a member who donated.
I know I've said before in the podcast that we gladly accept donations to the PCA archives.
Believe it or not, we do not have every portion of books made.
It's actually rare that we get books, usually for donations or what not, or the publishing
house sends us a copy to review that goes into the archives.
If you remember last year, I think, or the year before Borscher came out of a book called
Archives.
Stupid me.
I did not buy it right away.
And of course it's sold out, I think, in days.
But it's also pretty pricey, though, right?
It was not like a $50 book.
Yes, why didn't I buy it right away?
Because I was like, do I really need this book?
And after looking at it, I think I do really need this book.
But David donated this to the PCA archives, it's just overwhelmingly how well done this
thing.
I'll take this.
No, it's all one piece.
Oh, okay.
There's a slip cover, and there's tons of pictures of the archives in the Borscher
Museum that I know all three of us have been in those archives.
But for those who haven't, you get the sneak peek into what's inside those archives.
Not a big room where the archives are held, but boy, do they have a lot of cool stuff
in it.
So, yeah, David, this will be cataloged, and your name will be attached to it.
It'll be a permanent part of the PCA collection.
Tom, David, thank you so much.
I've been remiss that I did not welcome Mr. Sass and Ethan the Greyhound to today's
show.
So, welcome back.
Oh, thanks.
Thanks.
And of course, Damon's at the controls.
And let's see, what else do we want to get into?
Many, you were curious about my latest acquisition.
Yeah, it was just funny.
So, I'm texting my wife because we're having a costume contest tomorrow, and I'm dressing
up as Bill Murray from Caddyshack.
Oh, nice.
And at first I was going to dress up as Bill Murray, like, ground keeper.
But then Charlotte made a mention about the candy bar, and I thought, that's right,
he's in another scene, and that's probably easier to dress up because you're wearing
a white Tyvek suit.
You get it like a mop or something and a candy bar, but I was seeing the thing, it was
a Milky Way.
And I said, I think it's a baby roost.
And have you seen the movie?
I don't remember that scene, but I have seen the movie.
That's one of the most iconic scenes.
It's been a long time, man.
Oh, Rob, you know what I'm talking about, right?
I do, yeah.
He doesn't remember.
He doesn't remember.
He's just seen it.
And he's crunched.
He thinks a bite out of there.
Out of the baby roost part.
It's funny, but cool.
He thinks something else is something else that someone doodoo didn't play.
I think the line is, well, definitely something remnant.
Oh, he's like, it's okay, it's okay.
Anyways, I had to Google it to tell him, we're shivering.
Mrs. Smales passes out.
Yeah, can we take one quick break?
So yeah, I've got my costume coming together, but you'll find out what it is tomorrow.
All right.
All right.
Rob, do you have a costume ready?
I don't.
You're not going to be here, though.
I thought you were leaving.
No.
I've got my kids for Halloween.
So I got a Halloween there, yeah.
Gotcha.
All right.
So I've heard the story three times, but it's a really good story.
You're telling over the weekend about how you didn't get shot flagging down a truck
driver.
That story.
Yeah.
So I apologize.
This is not specifically Porsche content, but I'll try to be quick with it.
It's car content.
So those of you that know the famous gold Corolla that my family has, my middle son's been driving
it, and now my youngest son is about to drive it.
Well, my middle son had a little fender incident with it, and it was not severe enough where
it really needed to be fixed, and nor was it something that I needed to send it to
a body shop and get it repaired properly.
So it's been used with this not so perfect fender, but the joke in the family is
every time we drive.
There's tons of 05, 06 gold Corollas out there, and I always see them, and when we drive by,
I might tell my family, oh, I need that fender.
I need that fender.
Well, the other day I was coming home from the airport, and I see a gold Corolla on a
trailer being pulled somewhere, and I'm on 95, so we're doing 65, 70 miles an hour.
I catch up to it in hopes that there's some number on the truck there, but no
number.
So you know what there's like, how the heck am I going to get?
And this thing was on the trailer looking like it was going to a salvage yard or something.
Like the front right was busted.
I couldn't imagine someone bought it to restore it or something like that.
So I'm like, where is this thing going?
Anyways, being on 95, no numbers, there's, I'm like, all right, whatever.
Just like the other time, I just forget it, and I take off and get onto the main route
back to the house.
Well, I did look into my rear view mirror, and I saw that that tow truck was also
still behind me.
So then I started to slow down.
And now we're getting closer to my neighborhood, and I'm like, where is this, where is this
truck and Corolla going?
And so I slow down, but I don't slow down enough because he's towing and there's traffic,
and I'm just kind of keeping an eye on him on my rear view mirror.
So I'm like two exits away from my house, and then I see him duck into the exit right
before my house.
I'm like, where is this car going?
So I thought to myself,
There's a story going.
Yeah.
Where is this going?
Yeah.
Like, wait a minute.
There is, there is like this junkyard that isn't really opera operating, but it's like
a tow yard, not too far from our house.
I'm like, wonderful.
It's going there.
So now I'm accelerating to get to my exit to loop around to see if I can't, you know,
catch the guy there, right?
So I get to the, to the road, not too far from the junkyard.
As I come down the hill, I see the truck coming up the hill.
I'm like, man, I am a freaking detective.
I'm a genius.
I'm ahead of him.
I'll just go to the junkyard, wait there and I'll withhold genius until you.
Yeah.
So I was like, I'll just wait in the parking lot.
He comes up to the parking that blows by the parking lot.
I'm like, man, where is he going?
So I get back in the car.
I follow him again.
But now he goes like four driveways down, turns down this gravel driveway
that I have no idea where this is.
But of course I followed him.
There's this key code to this gate that you can't see through.
And I'm like, huh, so I pull up next to him.
I kind of wave at him, try to get his attention.
He doesn't roll down his window because I think the passenger side window doesn't work,
but he waves me into this yard.
So as this gate opens up, I see like a bunch of wrecked cars.
I see some commercial equipment.
I see some trailers.
I had no idea this place even existed, not too far from my house.
So of course what do I do?
I follow him in and then he gets out.
He starts unhooking the, the Corolla.
I'm like, hey, you know, this is going to sound weird,
but is there any chance I can buy that driver's side fender?
And he goes, I just transport the cars.
I just picked it up from Baltimore.
I have, yeah, I'll let the guy know that you're interested.
So this guy comes out with a forklift and he kind of ignores me
and just goes towards the Corolla.
And all I can do is I'm like, how do I make sure he doesn't mess up
the driver's side fender because he's taken the forklift to it?
Thankfully the forklift tongs or whatever are long.
So he put it in the middle of the car,
didn't get anywhere near forks, by the way.
Forks, what I just called a forklift.
Oh, forks, yes.
Fork songs.
Same thing lifts it up, takes it off.
And then he's like, yeah, how can I help you?
I was like, hey, I was like, what are the chances?
I can buy that fender.
And maybe I'll buy the wheels too.
Cause the wheels were alloy and Jonah and Jason's car
have hubcaps.
So anyways, he's like, yeah, you can do that.
I was like, how much?
Oh, like 300 for the wheels and tires.
And how about 150 for the fender?
I'm like, I probably won't get the wheels and tires,
but sold on the fender.
So now we're like looking at each other kind of like
in an awkward state because I wasn't sure, like, what's next?
Like, do I come back?
Obviously people don't come back here very often.
So I'm like, hopefully they leave.
Yeah.
Do they come back?
Do I come back with tools?
Is he gonna take it off?
So, you know, that awkward stare for about a minute
or two, I'm like, so do I come back?
He's like, yeah, yeah, no worries about it.
Yeah, this car will be taken apart here this afternoon
and just come back in the morning.
I'm like, great.
So I go home, I'm thinking, man,
I'm a freaking genius, right?
So I text the guy just because I wanna make sure
this is like a solid deal.
I'm like, hey, thanks for saving the fender for me.
I'll see you in the morning.
He texts back, it's okay.
So Manny, what does that mean?
It could mean.
You said thank you.
No, I said, yeah, I said thank you.
Thank you for.
So he's saying, it's okay, no problem.
Is he saying it's okay?
Like I'm happy to do this for you?
Or is he saying it's okay?
Like I don't wanna be bothered by this.
You really overthink things.
I see.
So now I'm like, man, did I lose this deal
or something?
So anyways, and I didn't wanna be too anxious.
I waited till the next morning and I, you know,
I'd say, hey, you know,
what time would you like for me to stop by?
And nothing, no response.
I'm like, oh, dang, what happened?
And a few minutes later, he does write.
So the guy could, you've already asked too many questions.
I know, I know.
And I'm trying not to be, yeah, too many questions.
But he's like, no, come by any time.
So I get there, no one's around,
and it does look kind of shady.
I go back there and I see the car
with the fender still on it.
I'm like, okay, what part of this did I not understand?
Did we not get, anyways, find the guy.
He has some other dude come out
and he's like, yeah, it says something to the guy
and the guy does not look happy
that he has to take this fender off the car
because usually they probably just saw the car in half.
So he comes out with a bunch, with channel locks,
not channel locks, what are the big wire cutter things?
Big, big huge cutters.
And he comes out with an impact wrench.
I'm like, what is this guy doing?
So he opens the driver's door, zips the door,
throws the door so that he can get to the fender,
opens the hood, zips the hood, throws the hood.
And while he's doing this, I'm going,
does he realize I need my fender to be nice
because I'm not gonna repaint it, right?
So I'm like, is he gonna manhandle this?
But at the same time, I don't wanna be that guy
overshadowing him saying like,
he doesn't know what he's doing.
So I'm just like, you know what, it is what it is.
And hopefully he understands the objective.
So he needs to get under the fender liner
and he can't with the wheel on it.
So he calls to the other guy and I'm like, okay,
it makes sense.
He's gonna come back with a forklift and lift it up.
He proceeds to remove the lug nuts
while the car is still on the wheel.
I'm like, if this falls over,
it's gonna go into the fender
and crush this fender that I need.
And so luckily it just, the car just shifted
and it didn't go into the fender.
And then the guy with the forklift
come forklifts the car, wheel falls off.
He zips off a couple more nuts
and I have a perfect O5 gold Corolla fender
with OEM paint that now Jonah will learn to swap out.
How's the match?
It's a perfect match because OEM.
Well, yeah, but I mean, you know, cars fade differently.
It's also a car that's been outside
and well used like our OEM.
You should have grabbed the door
in the hood, cause you never know.
Honestly, I was, it was a win to find.
Well, next episode we'll talk about
how you should have grabbed the wheels and tires.
But that's the next episode.
That's the next episode.
But hopefully you enjoyed that story.
It was basically about me being cheap and me scoring.
The hunt was the big thing.
And finally I found it.
And I found it out.
You're not being killed in the shooting.
Not being killed was good.
Yeah.
There's more little details I've shared with the office
and we won't take more time up here,
but I'll take some pictures of Jonah doing the swap out
and he'll learn something too.
It could have been $1,000, $1,500 to do a new fender
and here it was, 150 bucks.
Nice.
My life was placed in jeopardy, but that's okay.
Yeah.
Well, you know, it's worth it to save, I mean, honestly.
All right.
So that's a happy story.
Let's talk about the not so happy stuff
that's going out there.
I think if you've been following any sort of forums
about meats and takeovers, you know,
you have to kind of try not to make fun
of mustangs and challengers and chargers because
You have to try not to.
And in G35, infinities and stuff like that,
that rural drive cars, maybe even Nissan 350Zs.
Okay, let's just get it out of the system.
We're not going to make fun of specific cars.
You're not.
It's always the Hellcat bull part.
Sorry.
Stop it, stop it.
All right.
No, it's not though.
That's the thing.
It's not though, it's not though.
And I can tell you it's not.
I don't know how many car meats you go to around,
but there's a lot of that,
it's all cars and it's not just young people.
It's also the older people that should know better,
but we wanted to talk about how,
what's the difference between a takeover and a car meat?
Why behaving badly?
And let's face it, we probably have done it ourselves
and we probably have friends.
I guarantee you, you have a friend that has,
okay, let me just throw it out there
like a Lamborghini or a Ferrari
that revs their car for no reason, right?
Like they do that.
And that's not good for the car meat
and it's just making us look bad.
And the world is, I wouldn't say the world,
but the car community has already has its challenges
with possibly being seen as not green.
And then all of a sudden you see people racing
or taking over intersections and all that stuff.
We have an uphill battle
and if we wanna preserve the fun of what we do,
not only do we have to be responsible for ourselves,
but also look after our friends that may not understand.
And even I would encourage you
to help your event organizers
if you see someone doing something bad,
either in the car or behind the wheel,
like help them enforce it, so to speak.
Don't put yourself in harm's way, but enforce it.
And also if you see a lot of these events,
you see kids, you see adults trying to egg drivers on.
And yes, the driver should be mature enough
to not be persuaded by that,
but I often walk up to these people
that are standing on the side of the curb.
They don't understand the ramifications
of what they're doing.
So educate them and say, look,
we love that you're taking photos and videos,
but if you get them to do this, this thing goes away.
This could be shut down and we won't have this fun.
And I think a lot of people,
once they're reminded about that,
they understand, but there's so many people
that we still have to educate.
So let's talk about what's the difference
between a takeover and a car meet.
And a perfect example was Monterey car week,
there was a big crowd at the in and out
and that was not a takeover.
Manny?
No, so the takeover is what you see
probably most on the news.
That's when people block intersections.
Usually at night,
they block intersections so that their friends
can go in the middle of it and start doing donuts.
And I'm not even sure they're car enthusiasts.
More for disruption or a video.
And there's a lot of content creators.
For clout, they always talk about clout.
Clout, but that's not really,
I think what we're talking about,
we're more talking about the car shows.
Although the public puts those people
who are shutting down intersections
and the people who are at cars and coffee
all in the same bucket, they don't differentiate.
To them, this is all car people
regardless of age and their nuisance.
So that's, we differentiate it
but I'm not sure the public does.
No, they just, they see possibly modified cars
or they see sports cars or anything.
Similarly, not your regular daily driver,
they kind of lump us all together.
Right, but I mean, what happened at the In-N-Out Burger
was just too many people at the same time.
That's all that was.
And you couldn't get into the In-N-Out Burger.
It was blocking traffic on Del Monte.
I mean, they were not making friends for anyone.
It's kind of a shame because the In-N-Out Burger
is both of you well know,
is a fun place to go at 10, 11 at night.
You run into, I've seen Dario Franckitti,
Bobby Rahall, all sorts of interesting people
at the In-N-Out Burger and I couldn't get near it this year.
Yeah.
And then the thing is, we talk about,
a lot of people will say, the kids these days don't,
they're not into cars and they don't drive.
And I think I've said this before,
like I don't believe that is true.
I feel like car culture is bigger than ever.
And especially on social media
because kids today don't have to drive.
They can Uber and stuff,
but the kids that do like this stuff,
they're much more active.
Like just think about, there's a cars and coffee
every weekend that we can go to.
There's something probably, at least twice during the week
that we could do pop-ups and this, that and the other
and do so I think the car culture is strong.
It's just that it needs to be managed.
Yeah.
I mean, a lot of the discussion has been
around the super car crowd and the hyper car crowd
showing up in Monterey, but what I saw a huge amount of
to your point were 16, 17, 18 year old kids in E46,
E90 BMWs who I think had just come down
from wherever they lived in Santa Clara County
near San Jose, they'd come down for the day
and at night, at midnight, whatever,
they'd head back up in their E90 with the Crackle exhaust.
And to me, they weren't the big offenders.
I think that a lot of people in the cars
you mentioned earlier, Lamborghinis,
Audi's, things like that were the people
that I think were garnering the most attention
and the people that I saw pulled over the most.
Yeah. And I think we talked about this yesterday as well.
It's let's not forget this stuff did people revving
their engines or doing burnouts.
Like that's always been the case.
It's just the differences.
Now you've got a hundred cameras at every,
at least a hundred cameras at every meet
that can capture this and share all this.
Like I remember going to my local,
they call it Church of Holy Donuts here in Burntonsville
as a teenager and guys back then with tubbed out whatever,
they would accelerate, they would rev their engines
but there was nobody there to capture it.
And then it was kind of done quietly, so to speak.
But now there's cameras everywhere.
It's so easy to-
Which you didn't have back then
or I didn't have back then before the internet
was you don't have pop-ups.
You didn't have pop-ups back then.
So there was no way to communicate
unless people were at home and called them up
and to get them out of people now
with a couple strokes on your keyboard or your phone,
you can put a message out to hey,
let's all go to In-N-Out or let's go to this place
and word gets spread around very quickly.
And I think that's what happened
like at the In-N-Out and these other places
that people decide just to go there,
word gets out either, they start posting pictures
and people say where are you at
and already post where they're at
and then suddenly everyone makes a B line there
and that's probably what happened.
But In-N-Out was actually at least two nights that happened.
It wasn't a, what did we go Saturday night
when we ran into it?
It was Saturday night, I ran into them, yeah.
Yeah, it was something that-
You know what word did not get out about
the entire weekend was do not speed through the tunnel
by Fisherman's Wharf where they were shooting radar
basically the entire weekend and writing text.
I saw them writing up people all weekend.
It's like-
Shooting fish in a barrel?
Yeah, it's like that didn't get out,
like do not speed through the tunnel.
I was, anyway, people just couldn't resist.
You know, just keep in mind,
and I know everyone that's listening,
I would guess is pretty law abiding
and understand what we're talking about.
But what we wanted to kind of shed some light on
is what this means to the people
that are hosting these events.
And that's the thing is some of these events,
there's no one even hosting it.
And those are the ones that I think
get out of control quickly and they get canceled
and they will get lumped in with the same sort
of cars and coffee that is managed
and to the property owners,
if they start seeing this stuff,
like I can tell you the neighboring county
to our county, we're Howard County here,
our neighboring county, Rundle Mills,
because of unmanaged events that had chaos,
it was just easier for the county to say,
guess what guys, no more car meets.
And talk about being close to home,
our neighboring county does not allow gatherings of cars.
Even before the government gets involved,
anything happens where an insurance company
suddenly has a claim that someone gets hit by a car
or worse, there's a death
or something insurance company suddenly take note.
For example, this is bouncy houses.
Remember, there was a couple of deaths with bouncy houses,
nothing to do with car events, PCA events, nothing.
But our insurance company suddenly asked,
hey, do you guys do anything with bouncy houses?
We were like, I don't think so, that's good.
But we're gonna make you put on your document
that you don't do anything with bouncy houses.
So then we had to tell the regions,
oh, by the way, if you're thinking
of having a bouncy house at your event,
our insurance company will not cover it.
So you cannot have bouncy houses,
which was kind of funny to hear that,
but that's how things begin.
So it's not too far fetched to say
that insurance companies will refuse to insure a car meet,
which without insurance, the car doesn't exist.
Exactly, exactly.
And it just gives fodder to the property owners
to just say, it's easier to say no, right?
It's just so easy to say no.
And then we run out of the opportunity.
In fact, I think, Manny, you mentioned
there's some sort of task force that Maryland has now.
Yeah, Maryland started in 2024,
a task force for illegal car rallies, they called it.
And this is basically those pop-up ones
that all of a sudden everyone says,
hey, we're gonna meet at this place.
And a lot of it's at those takeovers
where they block the streets.
Other ones are just a bunch of cars suddenly gather.
And once again, this isn't a PCA thing,
we have to get insurance.
It's fairly well organized.
In fact, we usually rarely advertise it to the public.
This is the opposite, but going back to the beginning,
everyone clumps us all together.
And so they had the state of Maryland
every month puts out a report on social media
of all the meets they have broken up
and stopped or ticketed or impounded or arrested.
Anyone remotely involved
with organizing these illegal car meets.
Yeah, and sometimes it's a bigger
than just one particular meet.
I remember in Ocean City, Maryland, H2O,
that was a huge modified car show with lowered cars,
sports cars, and it just got so chaotic,
that Ocean City and-
Well, actually H2O, so they left
in another group form called H2OI.
Oh, right, right, right, right.
It wasn't related to H2O or using their name,
and that went just-
See how I loved it all together?
Like, that's so easy to love it.
That went through to all chaos.
And Ocean City for the longest time said,
we don't wanna do car meets
because of what happened there.
And a lot of times it's just the attitude
that the event brings.
And while it may not be the organized event
where this is happening,
it still brings a certain attitude
that people feel that they have no responsibility
and they can act wild
and there's not gonna be any repercussions.
Yeah, it's, you know, it's that old adage,
you know, a few bad apples ruin it
for the rest of the bunch.
Let's talk about Slammed Enough,
the show in Gatlinburg.
Yeah, so I don't think any-
Well, let's say maybe a lot of poor street people
didn't know what Slammed Enough was, the car show,
but boy, did this car show make a-
National news.
National news.
And I can feel for the organizers
because it wasn't the actual show.
That was in, I think, a convention center
in Gatlinburg.
This whole thing that made the news happened
that I think it had a marathon gas station
or it was at a gas station
and people just went crazy.
They were standing on pumps.
The owner was terrified.
It was, I think they brought,
I read it, they brought the SWAT team in.
It was just total chaos.
It was a takeover, you know,
that was totally unnecessary.
And they shut down the show.
They told the organizers, they put a message that said,
if you have anything at all to do to this show,
you should leave town now.
Yeah.
And so all these people that had paid
to come to the show, two nights at the hotel,
they were left hanging because then the organizers
had to refund a lot of tickets.
So I feel for the organizers,
all the vendors who came in,
because some much jobs decided to behave inappropriately.
What do you think that city now,
let's say they have a beautiful venue
and I'm sure there's good food, good driving roads
that PCA wanted to go there for a treffin or a parade.
Like how would we be treated?
You know, like it's not that far-fetched
that that would just go, no, cars.
It's an uphill battle.
Yeah.
And it's a beautiful part of the world.
Gatlinburg.
And now we're like, ugh.
Yeah, now everybody's persona non grata
because of a couple of people who did some nuts more things.
The one I didn't know about that you have listed here
was cars and copters.
I don't think I heard about that one.
So you probably heard about the helicopter crash
in Huntington Beach.
Yes, their mom lives in Huntington Beach, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, so they're the helicopter crash.
That was the same set of days
where this cars and copters was and-
That just sounds weird.
And it was a little overshadowed
but the police did several arrests
because of people, not anything to do with the crash.
I guess it was the copter people behaving badly.
Because of the cars, you know,
I think they arrested a person.
There was a shooting or stabbing.
It was just once again all plumped in together
as a car show.
So what did they have it again?
Who knows?
Because the police, of course,
they're gonna go to the county council
and say, here's why you shouldn't approve any permits.
This is a problem we had the last time.
Yeah, exactly.
And the public doesn't wanna hear,
well, you know, these are mature people with cars
and they wouldn't do that.
They clump everybody together
and say let's not have any car stuff.
So I've got a couple of examples
of what bad behaviors,
people that are coming that do
and make car enthusiasts look bad.
I'll let you go first though.
What are some things that you observe
when you go to cars and coffee
that doesn't bode well for the event organizers
or the attendees?
Oh, this is the bad things that people do at car meets.
Yeah, yeah.
I think at car meets, cars and coffee,
there's that unwritten rule
that just take one parking space.
Yes. We all have nice cars.
We're all gonna do our hardest not to door ding you.
No one wants to be door dinged
or to door ding another car.
So if there's any place where people are gonna take care
and yes, I know there's stories
that people got the doors dinged
at cars and coffee,
but the best majority of this doesn't happen.
So you just take one spot.
Yes.
Especially in a crowded parking lot.
This past weekend at Mikey and Mel's,
I was shocked to see people taking two spots.
Yeah.
And it was like, there was not one empty parking spot
in this whole gigantic lot.
And I thought, do you think your car is so special
that you can take two?
It's half a million dollar car that just passed
that are by themselves in a single parking spot.
Yeah, you think in your Impala,
you have that special of a car
that you need to take two spots
and that people really, really are inspired
to start so much.
No, no, no, don't make fun.
The Impala was nice.
I guess, I guess, I don't think it was an Impala.
Whatever it was, but it was an American car.
I do know that.
There's just, but there was some Toyota's I heard too.
They were all parked sideways too,
taking up two spots each.
Now, there's one thing that there's a group of VW enthusiasts
that are at Mikey and Miles,
that what they do, which I do think is appropriate,
and they do park sort of at an angle.
Like they come up four or five deep.
They all park at an angle,
but they park within their space.
And there's plenty of room
if all four of them do it, right?
And but they're not taking two spots.
Like, and it looks cool.
By all means, like to me, gold star.
Like that's perfectly fine.
Yeah.
Speeding.
Gosh, like you would think that's like a no-brainer,
but you're in a parking lot full of people,
especially, you know, family friendly shows.
You have kids.
You have dogs.
You have, why on earth would you speed?
Or like, maybe you just don't know how to rev your car.
Or maybe your car is not a manual.
So you, when you think you're revving,
you're going faster.
Like there's no reason to speed.
I want to know when they actually saw people
like just scream for joy because they're speeding.
It's like, I guess they can't see the looks
of the disgust that people have.
When, because anytime I'm in cars and coffee
and people do that, no one's going like,
well, yes, look at that guy.
It's like, what an idiot.
Because they know that we could lose this lot
because you decided to show everybody your shortcomings.
My biggest pet peeve is these people
with either exotic cars or cars
with this popcorn tune and they're going,
okay, thankfully they're not speeding,
but for some reason their gas pedal has to go
on, off, on, off, on, off.
So that we hear all of this as you're going
back and forth and back and forth in the parking lot.
Like for real guy, like, come on.
Like that is so annoying.
And you're not impressing anyone.
Like, like Manny said, I don't think anyone's
turning around in slow motion and going,
my God, that is fantastic.
Who is that handsome fellow with the popcorn tune?
Do you think they care?
I mean, honestly, I don't know if they're doing it for,
I think they're doing it for their own gratification.
I think inside they think that's what people think.
I am the coolest guy here.
I'm the king of the world.
All right.
Because otherwise, I mean, when I had my race car,
I would take it to cars and coffee once in a while
and it was straight pipes on this 911.
And to me it was so embarrassing sometimes
that at red lights I would shut the car off.
And then once it turned green,
turn it on and take off really quick.
And I was short shift all the time.
So you wouldn't hear the revs
because it just had a very loud exhaust.
But the last thing I did was rev the engine
going around the parking lot
because I didn't want to attract more attention
to my leaving.
And the thing is, the volunteers at these events,
we're car people, we know the difference
between a lumpy cam and you having to rev it
a little bit to make sure your car doesn't stall
versus you being an idiot and revving it
for no reason.
Like, we know the difference, right?
Like if you yell at somebody
or you tell someone to stop revving,
well, what about the older dude in the Camaro?
I'm like, yeah, because that dude has a 454 that's cammed
and he has to do that.
So he doesn't stall.
You know what explains everything at least to me
and explains a lot of the stupid stuff
that I did at that age is there's actually been a study
that the judgment center of the cerebral cortex
of the male brain does not fully develop
until 24 to 26 years old.
Oh, I would say later in debt.
I think that's being...
I think I was doing stupid stuff for 24, 26.
Yeah.
I mean, that really is not an explanation.
We've been to enough car shows
that it's not just the younger folks.
It's not just the 20 somethings.
It's not just some of the 30s.
I've seen people that are probably already
on social security doing stupid stuff.
Just as stupid.
And they don't do it as well either.
I mean, that's the basic problem.
Reflexes aren't as good.
And yeah.
The other thing that drives me nuts
is when organizers tell you to park somewhere
and you decide that you are too special
and you need to park elsewhere because,
well, heck, you've got a special car.
The best part was...
You've got PTSD from all the open houses.
Well, this is an example that I was gonna say
is one time this guy, not to poke fun at Lambo's,
but he was in a Lambo,
comes up to the Porsche Club of America open house
where clearly all the cars parked in front of you
are all Porsches and we have separate parking
for non-Porsches.
And he rolls up.
It's the second group.
He rolls up and he's like, yeah, I was told...
Vu told me that I could park up front.
And I looked at him and I go,
you do realize I'm Vu?
And he's like, where do I park?
I'm like, over there, you ding-dong.
Oh my gosh, throw in my name,
but don't even realize that you're talking to me.
Like, that's hilarious.
That's funny.
That was hilarious, yeah.
But it's just that it always killed me,
the people who are like, everyone here is a Porsche.
We're all special.
So just park over here.
If you wanted to get a better spot,
you should have came earlier, like these folks
and we would have been happy to put you
in the better spots, but you didn't.
So now parking a spot that's so good,
but, and if you want to get people's attention,
just jump bumping down and people come over.
And it's almost as bad if they don't do that,
but when they make their own parking spots,
let me just park on this curb,
which is the main thoroughfare for cars coming into,
you know, the event.
Let's do that.
Yeah, well that, I guess brings up the,
I guess maybe, actually, I think you got to do
your auto Atlanta before we go.
Yep, let's do that.
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