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Welcome Forum Car Shows Automotion 2020

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  • #85096
    moparkid25
    Participant

    Lots of chatter going on about the show(s) this year. Autmotion is now at Mt. Olympus instead of Noah’s Ark. WCEC Wisconsin Modified was denied a permit for there show. WPC/BOTI goes to the Lake Delton Village Board tomorrow night to see if they get a permit granted for their show at Bobbers. Edge O the Dells still has their annual burnout party.

    I despise all things WCEC. The BOTI crew have a nice organized, disciplined show attended and ran by mature adults. Automotion is my show, its all things classic. I’m cool if there was just Automotion and BOTI for shows as one is on the parkway and the other is on the outskirts of town.

    I had a lengthy conversation with my BFF about this last weekend. By eliminating one or two other shows that have appeared the last couple years, will it keep the entitlement crowd away that weekend? Whats to say they dont just start showing up and having parking lot meets all over Lake Delton/Wi Dells? That generation had parents that never told their kids no, so they don’t know how handle not getting there way. Will it help eliminate traffic congestion? Or will the WCEC (Wisconsin Car Entitlement Club) koolaid drinkers make more problems for the state patrol and other agencies? Will all the bedazzled jean wearing urban cowboys show up in there diesel brodozers? Does eliminating car shows stop the spring break atmosphere at many of the motels?

    From reading the news articles, WCEC was offered to get a permit to have there event the weekend before. The casino also is interested in hosting a show there, why not move down there my young vapers? When I was that age, I knew how to party that weekend. But, my friends and I kept it contained and there was ZERO drug use. The culture has changed over the past 15-20 years. Maybe its the skinny jeans cutting off blood circulation to the brain.

    This year will be interesting for sure. I just did my pre-registration, time to reserve my room. Fingers crossed for good weather this year!!

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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  • #85104
    Gunner
    Participant

    I have been a huge fan of the Dells Automotion Car Show for the past 15 years, starting in 2005. Over the years, I showed several different classic cars, and won awards with my cars on three different years. But, in my opinion, the quality of this show started changing when the Dells Visitor Convention group took over the leadership role, and the car clubs were relegated to a behind the scene role. Now that the show has moved away from Noahs Ark, I suspect even bigger changes are in store for this year’s show. These changes may be for the better – only time will tell. I do know that it will takes several years to work out all the glitches and problems and conflicts that will occur, so patience will be required, from all sides.

    I no longer own a classic car, so I am not taking sides in this ongoing dispute about old versus new or them versus us. I do know that over the years, great car shows have come and gone, and new ones have popped up and become better each year. For example, I would point out the ProClip USA Car Show, the Brat Fest Classic Car Show, and others.

    The WCEC (Wisconsin Car Enthusiasts Club) posted a response, in defense of their position, and have posted it to their page on FB. If you are interested, here is their response.

    OFFICIAL AUTOMOTION INFORMATION POST

    As many of you know, Automotion and Wisconsin Modified have been a long standing tradition for WCEC. We have been honored to bring you the Wisconsin Modified show since 2015. Over the last 2-3 years, both the City of Wisconsin Dells and Village of Lake Delton have continued to become more stringent regarding the application and permitting process for shows during the Automotion weekend. Wisconsin Car Enthusiast Club has continued to invest both time and resources into assisting both municipalities with the Automotion Weekend events.
    On Monday, January 27th, 2020 myself and other members of the WCEC staff attended a meeting of the Village of Lake Delton town board regarding the application for a event permit for the Wisconsin Modified event. Our hopeful intention was to facilitate open discussion regarding the events of the weekend and how we could continue to improve the weekend for everyone involved. Unfortunately, the Village board had no room to sway, and ultimately denied the event permit for May 16th, 2020.
    This is not something that is new to us. We have worked with the city for over 5 years to host this show and work through similar decisions like this one. Often times over the last 5 years WCEC has been one of the few to be present during these meetings. For reference, we were one of 4 total groups present for the open discussion in 2019 to discuss how to improve the Automotion weekend. The collaboration between the city and our organization has allowed us to help keep cars off the street, host a fun event, make local charitable donations to both food pantries, school drives, and more. These meetings have also allowed WCEC to be an ambassador for all automotive enthusiasts that don’t fit the criteria of the Automotion Classic Car Show. However, the issues that the city see’s during the weekend has officially surpassed the solutions that WCEC, and other shows have attempted to fix. This decision has been passed to all events at this time, not only ours.
    At this time, this means that Wisconsin Modified is on hold as we explore additional avenues or opportunities for all of you. Whether that be continuing to work with the city and collaborate within the local space or elsewhere. As we move forward, we will continue to keep you up to date on any and all event changes.
    Please note: We will continue to work with both local municipalities and car clubs to find alternative solutions that are mutually beneficial, just as we have in years prior. WCEC has, and will continue to, push the envelope to bridge the gap between local municipalities and organizations like ours that bring shows to the greater Dells area during the Automotion Weekend.
    We would like to formally thank everyone for their support of both WCEC and Wisconsin Modified over the years.
    Simply put, we just want to help bring people together. That’s what this started as, and that is what we will continue to fight for. Not just in the Dells, but all across Wisconsin and for all enthusiasts.

    -The WCEC Event Staff

    • This reply was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by Gunner.
    #85106
    GTO Man
    Moderator

    All in all should be an interesting weekend. Municipalities have to keep things under control, and if that means not everyone gets their way, so be it. I would hope things could be worked out over a number of weekends.

    #85110
    Eclipse_Tuner
    Participant

    My biggest complaint about that weekend isn’t the shows or the people at the shows, its the huge influx of people (mainly younger) that come in and flood the streets. I’ve noticed that most of this crowd don’t really attend any of the shows, so moving or eliminating the shows that do exist probably won’t solve much.

    I’ve shown at the BOTI, WCEC, Mt Olympus shows and while they were enjoyable (except for WCEC), I have no interest in going to the Dells that weekend. To me it is simply not worth the risk to my build.

    #85117
    moparkid25
    Participant

    Nick,

    I think a lot of folks have the same feelings you do regarding risk to their vehicles no matter the genre. That has what has hurt a lot of the attendance for the Automotion show the past couple of years. Everyone’s friends Bruce and Kathy Stewart took their Ford home a couple years ago because the spring break element were tossing there empty beer cans off the balcony into the truck parked next to Bruces car. Not much of an enjoyable weekend when you have to worry. I’m fortunate that where I stay, its the same group of people year after year and none of the monkey business that goes on at other motels (usually the ones owned by Mt Olympus) takes place at ours. That doesn’t mean that I still don’t get up and make the rounds to check the cars in the middle of the night.

    UPDATE:
    BOTI, or Battle of the Imports, was also denied a permit to host their annual show at Bobbers. According to the BOTI/WPC website, the show is on hold while they determine their next steps. I’ve said it before, this is a good group of people and I feel bad for them. Hopefully they can make the most out of it and continue to have their show.

    There’s a lot of chatter on the facebook from WCEC cult members and other entitled twits that they are coming to Automotion with the purpose of jamming up the parkway and making traffic a mess. Some of them also have the idea to take over parking lots of businesses and have pop-up meets. I get that some of them have put non refundable deposits down on there motel rooms, and can’t get it back. Welcome to reality. The law will still have there hands full.

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