Stoneleigh 2008

[nikpro]

I think the car build idea was excellent - it would attract new customers which is what the factory wants.

The upgrade idea is possibly not going to attract new customers so might not be received so well by the factory.

I would like to see a stand with 'Westfield through the ages' showing a very early westfield 7 & 11 (Pre-lit) to a modern day SEI & XTR variant.

Think the stand could have Westfield Motorsport/road video footage/pics playing on a Plasma.

[John Dolan - Wirral & North Wales AO]

Enjoyed the Stoneleigh show, a lot of preparation work had gone in and the effort by factory and club was commendable. Here are some comments on 2007 and ideas for 2008.

There was too much happening on the factory stand and the line between factory and club was blurred. There was not enough happening on the outside club area. The sound of front suspension being assembled in the main hall with a ball pein hammer was not good.

2008 suggestions. Three focal points:- a factory stand, a club stand and the outside club area.

The factory stand. Let the factory do what they do best - show examples of their cars. An X1, a 2000S and a Mazda SDV, a good professional display. Bring back the Westfield girls.

The club stand. Also in the main hall but away from the factory stand. Have the 2007 Speed Series Championship car on display, print extra copies of Westfield World, sell them for £1 and give the money to charity, 10% discounted membership vouchers, club clothing and accessories for sale. Advice on competing, touring, local area groups.

The outside area. Move the marquee to the front of the area and make it a focal point. Have a part built car inside, one half built, the other half bare, members on hand to discuss build techniques, suspension set-up, engine choices etc.

Things to avoid.

Building a car (h&s probs, didn’t look very professional)

Cateringvan style slalom (cost, insurance, we would be second best as the Cateringvans have the high ground, would this be run by the club and/or factory?)

John.    

[flat_four]

Bonnets off and engines running allways draw big crowds, so a mobile dyno would be a great idea, couple this with a weigh in for each car and get a legue table going for BHP/Tonne.

This could be outside near the slalom course you'd be guarentueed crowds all day.

Inside on the factory stand you could maybe have 3 cars at different stages of assembley (mechanicals/body fitting/electrics and trim for example) and have interested members of the public putting bits on whilst under direct supervision of WSCC members.

That way people gould get up close and personal with the product, see how easily it goes together and the WSCC members can help with build questions ect.

Chaz.

^^What he said!!!

[scott beeland]

There was too much happening on the factory stand and the line between factory and club was blurred.

The sound of front suspension being assembled in the main hall with a ball pein hammer was not good.

John....Some good points...But does there have to be a line between factory and club?

One of Julians big aims is to form better relationships with the club and get the factory and club working/partying/playing together at more events.

The only time I witnessed a ball pein hammer being used (and I saw/photo'd most of the build) was in attempts to free a snapped bolt and tap from a rear harness mounting boss

[Fent]

I couldnt make the show on sunday when it was busiest but came along on the monday.

I certianly don't mean to be negative but I think a few constructive points on the WSCC stand may help.

( I do this sort of design for a living)

1) I had a map showing the stand location but the area was not very visible from a distance.

some sort of flashing illuminated or brightly coloured display at high level that can be seen above other stands would help. This could be a leader board for example for on - stand competitions.

2) a range of different activities on the stand, each in clearly defined areas . simple fencing and banners can divide up the space. this avoids the public being confronted with a sea of similar cars lined up on the grass. this gives everyone something that catches the eye once they have found the stand.

Each section would need signage to spell out to the public what you can see here and what this area can give you eg info on rebuilding, vehicle range info, club membership events / benefits

3) Noise, this will pull a crowd even when you cannot see the stand. I made my way directly to the caterham circuit as soon as I heard the tyres screeching. A winner every time.

engine noise, or another good puller is the enthusiastic race commentator

4) "once you have seen one, you have seen 'em all"

to the untrained eye all westfields (an some other 7's are all the same) we need to distinguish the westfield as different and why.  a stripped car showing internal workings?

5) "Only westfields have the WSCC"

people would benefit from knowing exactly what they can get when they join the club, images and videos of club outings and the range of social events.

Thats a few to keep you going anyway

Fent

[Glen H]

Some really Positive idea's popping up here - I like the following ones already mentioned;

* Rolling road shootout

* Set of scales setup to record weights and table against Rolling road results (also list basic specs, engines , mods, etc)

* The Club Marquee does seem to get underused - needs to be more upfront as Bollockybill said and the front (maybe all sides) of it needs to be fully open during the daytime, maybe background music - looks more inviting.

* like the idea of a part built car in the Club stand.

* More emphasis on advertising local WSCC

meetings venues, contact details and future shows where we can be seen.

*What about having a small group of cars and owners sat at / around tables ready to sit down with potential members and answer / advise on any questions. (will need some sort of notices to display the purpose)

* A factory car available (from the Club Stand?) for potential buyers to test drive on the open road (with factory Supervision) - perhaps a variety of cars/engines/specs.

A breakdancing floor for the 118 twins  

[Glen H]

1) I had a map showing the stand location but the area was not very visible from a distance.

some sort of flashing illuminated or brightly coloured display at high level that can be seen above other stands would help. This could be a leader board for example for on - stand competitions.

Could we get one of them big advertising Balloon thingy's made in the shape of a Westy or with the words 'Westfield & WSCC'

[Mark Stanton]

Yep some top ideas      

Keep em comin and fear not before 2008 there'll be some requests for volunteers to organise and "man" various areas of the stands    

The Rolling Road in principle sounds a good idea - however it is fraught with H&S problems           and it would be a real downer if someone's engine went pop whilst being spun up     which can and does happen. Liability insurance    

+ if anyone knows of a good one then please PM details so we can investigate I only know of one and its crap   but would rather not publish its name here  

You wanna see the H&S forms and red tape we have to go through just to site the club marquee      

The club stand. Also in the main hall but away from the factory stand.

John - the club has spent the past 20 years trying to form a mutually beneficial relationship with the factory and overlap on show stands (whilst fully retaining our club independence).

This has now just started in 2008 in a correct professional manner with both parties willing to work together to develop ideas, which, with a little more time and endeavour will be rewarding for all concerned      

[MK11]

Most of what has been said so far is great.  The only problem that I can see so far is the space required for the Westfield show stand.  However, if you split the stand so that standard build information (and possibly another car build) was done in the show hall and upgrades were covered in the club area that would help the space issue.

It also covers what happens to a certain extent now with members showing off their cars to interested parties.  Club members could be on hand at the Westfield stand to answer upgrade questions and direct people to the club area for examples.  A broad spectrum of cars and owners would need to be on hand and willing to talk to members of the public about their pride and joy, obviously not something owners normally want to do but we must all make sacrifices

There may need to be some form of log to match Joe Public to his or her ideal Owner/upgrade combo (young, good looking rich - oh no that's something else entirely!), there must be club members with pretty much any engine/gearbox/state of tune possible and more besides.

[Club Secretary (Reserve)]

QUOTE

+ if anyone knows of a good one then please PM details so we can investigate

All things being equal I can possibly arrange this for next year.

[flat_four]

One way I think the stand could improve another year is to have it more central in the hall. It was one of the only stands you couldn't really walk around as three of the four sides were enclosed. It seemed to be more like a theatre stage where most people stood at the boundary and looked in unlike, for example, the Dax stand where you could just wander all around and inbetween the cars.

I think all those involved did a great job of utilising what space was there, just that the space itself wasn't ideal.

Just my 2p...

[Fent]

1) I had a map showing the stand location but the area was not very visible from a distance.

some sort of flashing illuminated or brightly coloured display at high level that can be seen above other stands would help. This could be a leader board for example for on - stand competitions.

Could we get one of them big advertising Balloon thingy's made in the shape of a Westy or with the words 'Westfield & WSCC'

I feel a competition coming on.

How many helium ballons will it take to lift my pinto ?

That will certainly be visible from a distance, possibly even from space.

[Redcar]

I went Sunday, (been going for almost 20 years)

The club stand appeared quiet this year, not many owners or public around. Nothing special stood out.

It took me quite a while to find the factory stand, eventually finding it tucked up against the wall. This seemed strange when there were large expanses of space around the halls (maybe its cheaper in the corner)

I could not get near the build and there were not that many people watching at the time due to the fact the stand was up against the wall with pillars holding up the roof.

It would be much better if doing a similar thing next year or at other shows to the build in the middle of the stand (on a stand in a better loctaion in the hall) where the public can walk and watch from all sides

just my tupence worth

[Martin Keene]

Building a car (h&s probs, didn’t look very professional)

What makes you say that?

I was not involved in the planning of the idea. But I suspect it was never meant to look *that* professional. If they wanted it to looked truely professional they would have had the factory assembly workers build the car. But, that was not the idea, the idea was to show how easy it was for amatuers, granted they were (mostly) very talented amatuers, but still amatuers.

[Asterix]

shame NAS isn't big enough to hold a stage of the SS...or is it?