2011 Schedule

[wmhjr]

You honestly don't think a sensible route and schedule can be accomplished somewhere in the west? Maybe you haven't thought much about it then. And why should you? You're in the east. You don't think there's money in the west? Sure, maybe not as much as they're used to be, but there are cars and sponsors out here. If you have more empirical data on why the sponsors will only support a midwest/east coast tour, I'd be interested to see it. Hell, if I was one of the midwest/east coasters I'd want to do a different part of the country for once in 10 years. Driving thru the same cities and areas (albeit, great routes) could easily get a little mundane. If they don't get at least close to Calif soon, I will end up driving or shipping to a location and then doing a good portion of the tour. I will get it done either way.

And "lots more money" back in the mid 90s? Uh, no. Calif was still recovering from the early 90s economic and RE meltdown. Not as bad as this past decade, but it was very bad for then.

Dude, RELAX! Why don't you log onto the PowerTour site and you'll see some of the empirical data. I have no dog in this fight. I can simply recognize the simple financials of this. Please note that I did not say that there's "no money in the west". What I said was that sponsorship is far more difficult to achieve when there are fewer likely stops closer together, and where (whether it's all the way in the east or the west) coastal routes result in less potential participants. Please note that the current route is not in the "East". It's in the "South to Midwest".

Yes, there was "lots more money" back in the mid 90s. At that time we were in the height of the dot com bubble, with an artificially inflated economy. Money was flowing EVERYWHERE! Take a look at unemployment, interest rates, etc. Today is nuclear winter compared to then. Or, take a look at advertising revenues then compared to now.

BTW, I'm in the midwest. Pgh is not really the "east". Doesn't matter, though. I don't care where it is. I just understand the economics of it. Money is tight. Advertising and sponsorship money is REAL tight. Major vendors want the best bang for their buck. Cities on the left coast are a bit further apart, and you start getting into far less populated areas - meaning less exposure. Further, just look at the map. The closer a route is to the max number of potential participants, the higher the participation rate will be.



Why are you taking this as a personal affront? I can understand their reasoning (heck, they talk about it openly on the PowerTour site and have for several years - remember, it's really not run by Hot Rod any longer). I get it, just like I get the fact that because of our weather and roads, we'll never have it come through my local area. Do you think that the people planning it just have some sort of attitude where they hate CA? Or is it just possible that they understand the economics, know their potential sponsors, have metrics about participation and long haulers, and make decisions based on that?



BTW, I did not exclude the "west". I responded to "California".