Thread: The OFFICIAL 2011 Nissan/Infiniti/Datsun National Convention

I believe this will be my first convention! Excited to meet you all

Dave

Something I'd like to request guys is help getting the word out there. I'm a member of the below forums and post somewhat regularly so I'm "known" There are other models (Versa, Altima to name two) that I've registered for and only posted a handful of times so they don't know me from a hole in the wall. I'll be posting but it would help if you are a member on another Nissan/Infiniti/Datsun specific board if you could post it as well and get the word out and generate some interest.

I plan to bring my family to this event, anyone else bringing their kids?

I have posted on 2 other Nissan sites.

FYI
B15U.com
Allsentra.com

can't wait!

Happynole brings his kids, although they are also forum members (who can outdrive me, LOL). But I could swear other folks had younger kids in attendance (?) in Savannah.

Plenty of wives and GF's in attendance in Savannah.

Kieran has specifically stated for the record that this is to be a "family friendly" event and spouses and children are encouraged to come. Which is as it should be. It makes it far easier to "sell" the event to your significant other if the Convention can be (and is) a "family vacation" of sorts.

I am not a family man, but I am very protective of women, children, seniors and animals. I am sure that I am not alone in the stance that I would take a very, very, very dim view of anyone that was behaving inappropriately around or towards anyone elses kids or spouse.

Keiran would undoubtedly ask them to leave promptly. And Keiran would not be alone when and if he ever had to make that request.

Bring your kids sir. I love kids.

100% agree. I would go further to say any inappropriate behavior on the track even away from kids or spouses will be HIGHLY frowned on. SAFE and fun.

Yes, kids, wives, girlfriends, mistresses... just don't bring the wife *AND* mistress or you might have trouble on your hands.

I don't know how I missed the original post by clean_classic but the answer is yes, by all means. I am trying and trying very hard to make the annual convention a family affair. Now wives and younger kids would be bored at the track (most likely) so Friday would probably be a good day to leave them behind to hang at the hotel by the pool or at a nearby mall or something like that. We've left Saturday as our free day and this is your chance to "make it up" to them. Spend the day with the family/kids/wife and go shopping, go to the movies, go to an amusement park (Six Flags Great Adventure isn't TOO far), go to the beach (August so the Jersey Shore (not the stupid show) should be good), go to the casinos, etc. Sunday is a carshow and picnic. While the carshow may not interest them, it's a picnic so bring a frisbee or something. Honestly, the carshow part of the convention bores me personally. To me an engine is an engine is an engine. If something is really wild and radical, I'll check it out but, for the most part, consider me a woman in this respect... I'm there to hang out BS and eat some food.

In order to expand this convention, I see it as essential to be able to market this to the family man who wouldn't otherwise be able to attend unless he could sell it to his wife/significant other/kids.

I'm in agreement with Shawn. Call me old and crabby but I personally will not tolerate stupidity like speeding at the track (in fact, the track is patrolled by NJ State Police at times and they DO ticket!), donuts in the hotel parking lot, burnouts, even excessive revving of engines. Other things I don't want to see (even though I was that immature kid doing this years ago) is drinking in public, drugs in public (I know, I know... but try to keep it to private in a hotel room please!), and just general misbehavior.

I appreciate Shawn's support and will be looking for everyone else's support too. There's a time and place for all types of fun. If it involves burnouts, donuts, etc, you probably should've been doing the track event and/or drag racing to get that aggression out of your system. If you need to do some heavy drinking, don't make a fool of yourself and keep it to bars and clubs and have a designated driver. All of this is really common sense. I'd really like to keep to some sort of a code of ethics. If there are kids or spouses around, you should be on your best behavior... set an example

On the track is kind of subjective and a bit of a gray area. If someone is blatantly out of control on the track, yes, I agree and you'll be spoken to. If you're pushing your car a bit and wind up spinning innocently, that's a different story. Spin a few more times and you'll likely draw some unwanted attention. We will have our eyes and ears open and will be in tune with what is going on ON the track. I'll likely not be instructing or driving that day but you can be sure that I will know what's going on... I'll hear about inappropriate activity.

That being said, if someone of any sort of authority (a convention staff member, ANY instructor, myself, the chief instructor with NASA, the director of NASA Northeast, anyone of any sort of authority) comes and talks to you, you had better listen and take note of what they are telling you. I've been to private country club type tracks and I take safety and fun VERY seriously. I've gone and screamed at Ferrari F430 owners who probably make more money with their year-end bonus than I would make in a 20-year span. I have no problem dealing with unsafe conditions on the track. You will be ejected and you will NOT receive a refund. You're there to learn to drive your car fast in a safe environment. You will not be learning how to drift or how to push your car BEYOND your or the car's abilities. And, even if you don't think by doing this you will, trust me, you WILL have fun

100% agree, spins are part of game. But like you probably have seen, I've seen some blatant stupid moves (like trying to go out without helmet, novice passing in turn or when not flagged by, etc). Usually warn first then see where it goes.