Hello from PFC Mag & French Car Show

[frenchcarshow]

Its been a while since I have personally been on the forum and its great to see its still thriving.

I am keen to chat to members direct about

1/ magazine features & spotted submissions for Performance French Cars Mag
2/ how you can get involved with the magazine as its the only one out there for us
3/ how you can support french car show, the only event on the calander aimed 100% at our community.

I started life on forums and clubs and this is still the backbone of FCS & PFC. Yes I have also owned a Saxo!

Some useful links

http://www.performancefrenchcars.co.uk
Links to online image submission / subs / current & back issues / digital availability

I urge people to use the online submission to get your car in the mag. On the text section squeeze in as much info as you can.

http://www.frenchcarshow.co.uk/requests/themed-paddock
If you feel your car truly represents the scene and you want to show case your car, we have the themed paddocks. It is a club / scene show so of course we do encourage parking with the club so you put names (even forum names to faces).

French Car Show 2013, is optionally over two days. saturday 27th July is show / event day and Sunday 28th July is club chill day between 9am-1pm where parade laps are free.

http://www.frenchcarshow.co.uk
The event is jammed as ever with events, attractions & freebies and whats even better is you can chill, enjoy, pitch up with BBQ's and chairs if you wish. Tickets are only £15 and that gives you access show day and free on Sunday chill day.

Please ask questions

Thanks again

Mark Dow
French Car Show Organiser
Performance French Cars Magazine Publisher (not editor).
mark@frenchcarshow.co.uk

[smiith]

You could help people support the French Car show, by making it central, not 6+ hours away from the northerners.

[frenchcarshow]

Smith

FCS has always been in the Midlands.

You may or may not be aware but we are running out of centrally located track venues.

Donington doubled their prices with their new CEO so that made it impossible
we have been advised by many to stop attending Rockingham

Castle Combe is on the same datum as London so still central for many.

Really depends where you are travelling from

I live in Scotland as Rockingham was 395 miles for me and Castle Combe us 415 so only 20 more miles and I am in the North.

Japfest manage 14,000 gate at castle combe

[frenchcarshow]

PS someone in Penzance who has 210 miles to travel North to Castle Combe may not agree thats is down south lol

[smiith]

Rockingham was only 3.5-4 hours drive, which i used to do, set off in the morning, make a day out of it, and then drive home.. 8 hours driving in a day, is an awful lot less than 12..

Rockingham is 176 miles, at 3hr 40 min.. Castle combe is 280 miles, at 5hr 35 mins..

Just seems an awful long way just for a day out..

Suppose it is just a numbers game for you, but its a bit of a shitter going almost 2 hours further away for a lot of people from the north

[holdawayt]

Wherever it's based it'll be inconvenient for some people, that can't be helped.

You're better off asking for mx5 / Evo / bmw features PFC! This forum doesn't have too many Saxos anymore.

Tom.

[smiith]

You can't satisfy everyone, no, but the midlands is pretty central, Bristol, not so central.. That's all I'm getting at.. A lot of my friends from the north east, who would usually drive down just to look around for the day, just aren't even making an effort this year, purely because of the extra 2 hours.. Not to mention the extra £30-40 in fuel for the extra miles

[Yates]

Jap cars are normally owned by older people earning more money

French cars are normally owned by younger people not earning much and first car

Plus there is loads of different Jap cars compared to French.

Agree that it's too far to travel

[blackie_2k5]

Too far for me, wouldnt have been as much of an issue if I didn't have to make a weekender out of it, but with the added fuel and cost it's gonna be too much

I agree you can't please everyone but there are tracks more central to the whole of Britain which gives a better scope for everyone wanting to go, not as much of an issue if everyone has an equal chance

[Yates]

Wherever it's based it'll be inconvenient for some people, that can't be helped.

You're better off asking for mx5 / Evo / bmw features PFC! This forum doesn't have too many Saxos anymore.

Tom.

Not many evos is there?

[smiith]

Not many evos is there?

You, drew, bob, gary, craig, tom, dave..
i made the last 5 people up..

[willsy]

Is there any type of car which you're actively looking to feature at the moment? Still very much modified stuff or anything considered on its own merit?

[Yates]

Drew sold it ain't he

[blackie_2k5]

Submit yours willsy, it's a credit to French car scene and deserves a feature more then some I've scene

[Yates]

Wilsy is fishing

[frenchcarshow]

location is always going to create discussion.

weekend option is just an option and it budgeted you can have BBQ, camp locally and make it cheap.

Its once a year as well.

[frenchcarshow]

Regards features in PFC

There is a mixed bag in the magazine.

The question whether its been modified (styled or engine etc), I suppose there has to be something to read about. A 6-7 pager on a standard car would be a brochure from the dealer.

[frenchcarshow]

Smith

I don;t get the numbers game.

Its a VENUE game mainly but it has to be affordable.

[manta]

I liked it at rockingham

Why have you been advised not to have it there again?

[blackie_2k5]

Not many ppl like rockingham, I personally thought it was shit lol

Was still going to try make fcs this year but with a house move the additional time/costs has pushed me out

[Ross]

Trax = Silverstone. Middle of the country basically, great circuit, good facilities.

Too expensive for FCS maybe?

[nicole_]

its ridiculously far away from the north now. dont know how you can claim it's central for many, if you look at it on a map, FCS is right down in the bottom 1/4 of the UK and right over to the West as well. Castle combe must be ridic cheap if you can have it over a whole weekend but cant afford one day in the midlands!

[Yates]

Rip fcs

[Prickle]

Its a long drive but im still going. Be a first but if its that far again next year i wont bother. There is 1 dude coming all the way from Spain lol.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll70/saxox/castlecombe.jpg

[Yates]

I do apologise after seeing that pic i can see how central it is

[Gumbo]

I'm looking forward to it, in a great place look how busy japfest gets.

[frenchcarshow]

Nicole

It doesn;t work like that. Castle Combe cannot operate circuit on a Sunday other than parade laps so don't command silly prices. The costs are the same as previous years at Donington & Rockingham.

Silverstone is £100,000k so no chance.

Donington is double

Rockingham we were told not to go back there

There isn't many options

RIP FCS - ticket sales are on a par with 2012 so I suspect those in the south who never went before are booking now maybe.

Its a harsh way to look at this when there is very limited options and its once a year.

[Ross]

Rockingham we were told not to go back there
How so?

[Brettles1986]

Unlucky, its about 20 mins from me.

[frenchcarshow]

Rockingham

1 - One I cannot really say too much but credit check a track before you hire
2 - few big clubs said they would boycott the show if we went back there
3 - we had hoped to do donington again with different layout but when the new CEO parachutted in and doubled the price we were priced out the market. Yes I know japfest2 is there again but future have 3 year contract.
4 - Many other tracks cannot accomodate the parking space we need in the show
5 - we were limited with late in the day donington fiasco

Allot have embraced castle combe and some have not. Ticket sales are actually average on where we are at this stage.

We still have massive trade support / 75+ clubs have registered.

Mark

[Prickle]

Unlucky, its about 20 mins from me.

Dont rub it in, lad

[Brettles1986]

Dont rub it in, lad

I drive a Kalos, I have to have something up on someone at some point that I can bragg about.

[Ross]

I drive a Kalos, I have to have something up on someone at some point that I can bragg about.

brag* :)

[Brettles1986]

brag* :)

I changed it to to 'g's as well because it didn't look right .... BASTARD!

[Ryan]

FCS died for me when it left brunters.

Cheap show and a bit of fun.

[Ross]

I changed it to to 'g's as well because it didn't look right .... BASTARD!

lol happy to help ;)

Meanwhile, back on topic...

Speaking personally (not representing the club) I was really 50/50 to go this year Mark tbh. The shows over the last few years have gone downhill in what's there, attendance, and location. We really got stiffed as well as a club last year on the stand location and if that happens again this year I think you'll have some very disappointed people here.

I'd like to see FCS do well - I've been going for about 8 years now so do support it. I'm sure however if you straw polled it, people would pay £5 a ticket more (or whatever was needed within reason) to get on a better track.

Trax always goes down well simply because it's Silverstone!

[frenchcarshow]

Ross

The show itself has been run 100% the same way in 13 years and I know venue counts but looking back it always looks better but I recall the same argument at brunts, go back and there will be mutiny. Same feedback on Monday after the show.

Trax and Ford Fair are 20,000 attendance shows with £100,000 sponsor deals backed by PLC. we'd need to charge about £40+ to go there.

Thats another thing, its a club based show and people compare us against a £400,000 event.

Its the only show aimed at the french market, its not a bolt on at Santapod like most other themed events.

Brunts has less put in than we have for the past 6-7 years.

Castle Combe tbh is more like Brunts with grass, not acres of concrete so hopefully people will enjoy the atmosphere.

[frenchcarshow]

and in 13 years the show has gone up from £10, £12.50 to £15 whereas prices and insurance have quadruplted.

I have also been to several other themed / niche events and FCS has year on year laid on significantly more than others for less money and not in a field but has to work hard for support.

Expectations as well, I see some club based events put nothing on, have zero or almost zero trade and charge almost the same as us but the sun shines out their arse, we are no different, we do the same in our spare time etc etc.

The french scene needs to back shows, magazines etc or there will be zip left.

we had a long drawn out discussion about 6 months ago with people about venue location and attractions and suggestions were usually in someones back yard, suggested things we done already, or go to Silverstone which as niche show can not afford unless the gate was 17,000+

[manta]

To be honest, I'd quite like the idea of it being at bruntingsthorpe

[frenchcarshow]

they don't hire track for track day now due to noise regs.

But when it was there the track was rough as nails, there was little or no facilities on site etc

[frenchcarshow]

Castle Combe is a lovely facility just not as central as everyone would like.

[Ross]

Well I've said I'll give it a chance and I will. Not sure it's exactly suited to my car though :p

[blackie_2k5]

Should try and get croft as its quite central in terms of central Britain

But I'd imagine price and noise regs may be an issue

[frenchcarshow]

http://www.frenchcarshow.co.uk/uploads/map.jpg

[Ross]

you know the next question Mark... Where are we in relation to that?

Thanks!

[frenchcarshow]

I forgot to mention MSV circuits are not viable for car shows and most don;t have sufficient space.

The operate on a hire charge AND 50% gate revenue so gate has to be significant.

[frenchcarshow]

Ross - Philip Solomon and Simo have both registered as stand organisers so they need to speak to Gordon gordon@frenchcarshow.co.uk and discuss and agree (like who ever did last year but on an area you actually want).

They have been advised of this.

Also you guys having a parade lap for those who are staying over until Sunday?

[smiith]

I just mentioned it for the future really.. You asked how to improve, so i advised :)

Can't warrant nearly 12 hours of driving, when it will only take a few hours to look around all the stalls, and most of the decent cars..

[frenchcarshow]

hi mate

feedback appreciated, I live in Scotland so not pushing it further away. Venues that are suitable are hard to come by.

[frenchcarshow]

ps google says 4.5 hours each way

Thats why its a weekend option :-)

[LSOfreak]

i bet we get put in that right corner :sad:

[Cam]

i bet we get put in that right corner :sad:

Going by the comments in this thread, would you be surprised?

[Yates]

9 hours on a weekend not an option

[Prickle]

ps google says 4.5 hours each way

Thats why its a weekend option :-)

Google is never correct on time. Usually takes longer then it says. It cant predict traffic, crashes lol

It will be 5hrs 5.5/6 the most unless you drive like a twat all the way down