Wow, I didn't realize there was this much negativity about this event floating around...
I just want to say a few things. First off, I'm glad Joe is supporting me 100% about moving it to be an all-Nissan event, as opposed to continuing to call it the SR20 convention. And Joe, I'm glad you realize that doing separate hotel, shirts, etc would be very counter-productive in making the convention live on.
Also, I know some of you think the whole reason we want NICO involved is so this can become just another "Nicofest" event or whatever. I don't know how to express it enough, that this is not the case.
Everyone has to understand that I've been involved with SE-R's longer that my affiliation with NICO. I joined the mailing list in 1998, which was before NICO was even a thought. So I just want to make it clear, that I absolutely have the best interest for both organizations in mind.
Like has been mentioned, the SR20, or SERCA, or SE-R convention, or whatever you want to call it, was pretty much dead in Las Vegas. We had like what, 25-30 people total show up? And half of those people didn't even bring their cars. The whole reason I've pushed NICO's involvement, is because I want to revive the conventions of past. I've always had more fun at SE-R conventions than any NICOfest events, until the last couple years. In the last couple years it has started to flip, but that's only because the SE-R conventions have been dying out.
Hats off to Joe for reviving it for 2009, but even though it was one of the biggest SR-20 events we've done, in my eyes, it has still not been fully revived.
And even though next year's convention does not have SE-R or SR20 in the name, I still feel that the majority of the attendance will be SE-R's. That is still the basis of the convention.
One thing that kind of irks me about the negative attitude towards NICO is associating our events with the ricer kids. We've really tried to change our image in the last 4 or 5 years by doing more track events and less car-show stuff. Also, one of the differences between this event and all the other NICOfest events is, that this is the first time that we are not just piggy-backing off another event. In the past, we've piggy-backed off events like NOPI, GTLive, Cars at Carlisle, and Import Alliance. We feel that we've grown enough where we can run our own event now, and this is where we plan on doing it. We can only do it with the full support of the SR20 people.
I don't know, there's just a lot of things that I seem to not be able to convey very well, because I have no intention of killing off the SR20 community, which is what it seems some people think. I only want to keep it going, and I'm using my resources (NICO) to keep it alive.
Anyway, with that being said, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. There is no behind-the-scenes intentions or anything, so I'll answer any questions there are about the event or NICO's involvement.