Possible Pittsburgh meet next year.

[Mr. Poopypants]

I have connections at #1 Cochran of Monroeville. (A HUGE dealership) It's where I bought my Vibe. I could probably talk them into sponsoring a meet. Who would be interested? It is about 10 miles east of Pittsbugh??

[NSimkins]

I'm in! Only 1.5 hrs away from me. Keep us updated.

[ragingfish]

Only about 5 hours for me. I'm game!

[Mr. Poopypants]

I will talk to my guy and see what I can do. Any preference on a date. I think August might work. September is out for me, I'm getting married.

[ragingfish]

Try to avoid June and July if possible.June is Michigan.July will be my Jersey Shore rally (likely).August is good, but remember, Ohio is in August, so try to coordinate it with Nick so that you don't plan two rallies the same day.

[Mr. Poopypants]

AHA!!! How about May?

[ragingfish]

End of May works for me -- not sure about others' school schedules. My classes should be over by the last two weeks.

[Mr. Poopypants]

We'll have to see what the dealership says first and then see what dates may work.

[Mr. Poopypants]

I sent some info to #1 Cochran http://www.1cochran.com I will let you know when I hear back from them.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »July will be my Jersey Shore rally (likely).Let me know the details if you find out anything. That would only be about a 4-5 hour drive. I could swing that.

[Stang2Vibe]

I'd be interested too. I also bought my Vibe from #1 Cochran in Monroeville. It's only about 20 minutes from me. To gauge more interest, you might try a duplicate posting in the Events forum, at least to direct people here to respond if interested.As for timing, I think I'm done with school by about the middle of May. My sister is getting married the 3rd weekend in June, so that one's out for me.

[HJBvibe]

Hello,We just bought our '03 Vibe and found this great web site. Were wondering if you have any update you can share regarding a '05 meet at Cochran? We live near Monroeville and would be psyched to attend. If you need some help let us know.HJBvibe

[Mr. Poopypants]

Cochran replied "We don't have the resources"What friggin resources? All we need is a patch of grass or parking lot. They don't even have to spring for food and drinks if they don't want to. So the meet (as far as Cochran) is out.

[russ257]

what they really meant was something like our insurance doesnt cover that and we dislike positive publicity to sell more cars

[Mr. Poopypants]

That's what I was thinking.

[HJBvibe]

Mr. P,Too bad about the negative response from Cochran. I would have thought the largest dealer on the east coast would have been a little more receptive. They sure seemed to use the "resources" when they booked an evening visit by Big Ben this past Monday. How did you approach them? Do you think a personal visit would help them reconsider? Maybe if they were shown how the Michigan and Ohio rallies went, they might get on-board. I would also suspect that Cochran would have some influence at the factory to get a few reps and a promo show car to show up, which could be worth free advertising with an interest story on the 6:00 news. I might be getting carried away--what kind of rally were you hoping for? Do you want Pontiac and accessory dealer involvement, or a more laid back gathering at a state park? Could another Pittsburgh Pontiac dealer be approached...maybe one that doesn't sell 12 other brands, but concentrates more on Pontiacs? If you do decide to personally visit Cochran, and would like some support, let me know and I'll join you.HJBvibe

[Mr. Poopypants]

You would think they would be more receptive wouldn't ya! I emailed them and let them know where they could see pictures of the Ohio Meet and also contact info for Dan Tobin Pontiac in Columbus. I may try a personal visit. It's not like they need to sacrifice a ton of space for the meet! I didn't really have any concrete plans, I wanted to at least see if we could get a firm "yes" or "no" before expanding my plans. I know it would be very successful as far as turnout goes. I was looking into other dealerships, there is one that is 2 miles from my house, but they are A-Holes and I refuse to even step onto their lot. I will not openly spout their name though. I was even thinking about Bowser Pontiac, what do you think about Bowser? Maybe they will sponsor. HMMMMM.

[ragingfish]

P --My opinion -- if Cochran thinks they're too good for us, don't kill yourself trying to get us in there. Frankly, a dealership that isn't interested in doing a good thing is no dealership I want to beg to be at...Know what I mean?Any nice state parks around?

[HJBvibe]

From what I've heard about Bowser, they seem to be a pretty aggressive dealer - and might be more receptive to the idea. They sell multiple brands, but I don't know anything about their location. Definitely worth a try.Another one to consider might be Joe Ball Pontiac on RT 8 in Glenshaw. He recently took over the Ganassi operation and might be interested in the publicity--plus he would be easy to find for people using the PA Turnpike. Again, I don't know what his grounds look like.Another option to consider---and I'm just throwing this out there--how about a dealer further away, say in Somerset County? If you think alot of people might attend...we could make a full weekend out of this rally. Out-of-towners would probably be staying over-night nearby anyway. In that area we could consider providing a number of extra-curricular activities, like offering Vibe road tours to the Flight 93 site, or Quecreek mine, or 7 Springs, or go to a winery, shopping in Ligonier, or a windmill tour, etc. I found three dealers in the book...James Black Pontiac/Cadillac near Somerset, Woy Bros Pontiac/Buick/GMC in Somerset, and Wheeler Cadillac/Pontiac in Johnstown. I don't know anythng about these dealers, and we might not get many, if any, accessory vendors to attend if we are an hour+ away from Pittsburgh. Anyhow, those are my thoughts....HJBvibe

[Stang2Vibe]

Cochran is kinda wierd like this. For many years, they sponsored a large all-Pontiac meet/show once a year. When I had my GP I attended and took part in the show. My stepdad always got his Fiero club involved and several cars from the club would show also. Then about 4 years ago when the show organizers went to meet to discuss planning of the event, Cochran just told them that line about resources and refused to host the event. This past summer they had it again in the Pontiac section's parking lot. They moved all the dealer's cars out of the lot to make room, and there were 2 Vibes sitting outside the showroom. One was ridiculously priced and was loaded with all kinds of dealer add-ons and had a cool looking graphic on the sides that was made to look like the Vibe's gauge pod. The lot was packed with all kinds of Pontiacs, mostly classics and antiques, but they held the event.I'm wondering if it just depends on who you talk to there?Bowser isn't a bad option, either. It's located right on Rt. 51 just down past Century III mall. Several car dealers in that area, the mall, and lots of restaurants. The only problem with it that I can think of is that it sits up on top of a cliff so we wouldn't have much visibility to the public.As for finding a Pontiac-only dealer, this is getting much harder to find. I think it is part of GM's corporate strategy to eliminate the smaller dealers that only carry one car line and move toward the megacenters. I'm assuming that the thinking is that once they've got you on site, they're going to sell you a GM vehicle. If you come in to look at, let's say, a Pontiac but end up not liking it, they can show you 30 other vehicles that they make and have right there on site. Odds are much greater that they will have something conveniently on site that appeals to you and they hope to sell you. I'm surmising that this is the thinking.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Good point about Bowser being on a cliff. I am not giving up hope yet. I'll keep you posted.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »P --My opinion -- if Cochran thinks they're too good for us, don't kill yourself trying to get us in there. Frankly, a dealership that isn't interested in doing a good thing is no dealership I want to beg to be at...Know what I mean?Any nice state parks around?There are a ton of state parks in Westen PA. Maybe it would be nice to gather in a park. Good thinking Mike!

[Jezter]

Somewhere close to West Chester, Parkesburg, Malvern, Exton or Downingtown would be good. LOL