Welcome to Coolumbus to those of you that made it into town tonight.
Those of you getting on the roads tonight and in the morning please be safe driving in and take your time. Columbus is in good shape but a lot of surrounding areas got soaked pretty bad and some even flooded.
Been trying to check in on the threads as much as possible as well as getting final details wrapped up. I have had my share of Friday the 13th issues too, but reading about everyone else's ordeals I don't feel so bad. Sorry to hear about those of you that have had fatal car issues and will not be able to make it.
Bad News: Weather is probably gonna be fairly rainy and bad on Friday.
Good News: It rained much earlier than forecasted and the cell is moving at a good pace which means the forecast has improved a lot for Saturday and Sunday.
If you don't get an immediate response to your PM or e-mail to myself or Chuck its not that we are ignoring you we are probably getting things ready at the HQ Hotel. Looking forward to a good LX weekend, Let's get this d@mn thing rolling already . . . . HELL YEAH IT'S JUNE!!!!
Look forward to seeing everyone!!!
p.s. Those that arrive early we could use help in the reception room setting up the goodies bags, also Chuck will probably have some other items he will need help with.
Twas the night before the LX Nationals, when all thru the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The micro fiber cloths folded neatly with care,
Looking forward to good times we’ll all get to share;
The clay bars and Zaino tucked away in the shed,
While visions of LX’s dance in my head;
I, in the garage and my better half in the bed,
Trying last minute mods on the forums I just read.
When out in the street there arose such a roar,
The exhaust was so loud I fell to the floor;
As the tire smoke cleared I hollered ......more!! more!!
There sat an LX with not two doors but four.
It said HEMI on the fender and Dodge on the back,
The exterior was TorRed, on second thought it was Brilliant Black;
A man hoped out with a smile on his face, Predator in his hand,
I thought for sure he wanted to race.
I’m looking for the LX Nats do you know of the event?
I said yeah, I haven't slept since the first forum thread was sent.
You got nav in that beast? No need to be there before seven,
Nah, I ditched it months ago, gained a tenth, now in elevens.
I gave him directions, and watched his tires spin at the light,
Happy LX & Beyond Nats to all, and to all a good-night!!!
We want to thank each and every one of you for coming to Columbus, Ohio and making the 1ST ANNUAL LX & BEYOND NATIONALS event a success. It was a pleasure to finally get to put so many forum names and cars with the faces of the people behind them. This event was all about the people and Chuck and I want to thank all of YOU for taking a chance, coming out to Columbus and believing in us. Mother nature put some obstacles in our way but the determination and heart of the LX community prevailed. We sincerely hope that everyone has added some good memories and built upon some friendships that will last for many years to come. Thank you for letting us be apart of that.
Please join me in thanking all of the MANY Forums owners and administrators for allowing us to post the event and help us to bring together so many LX owners and enthusiasts from across the country. There are far too many to list, but if you are reading this post then this is one of the many that helped spread the word to all of you. Thank you!!!
Absolutely, without a doubt we would like to thank all of the sponsors for helping the idea of the LX & BEYOND NATIONALS become a reality. Some of them were able to attend in person and some where not, but let us make it known that without them this event would not have been possible. Hopefully, everyone was able to pickup some goodies and meet the vendors in-person that were there and thank them for their support of the event and LX community. If not, please send them a PM, e-mail or letter and thank them for their support. They deserve it and should be recognized for their support. Thank you!!!
Next, we want to thank the CASUAL CRUISERS CAR CLUB that helped to keep everything running smoothly and were our eyes and ears throughout the day. These ladies and gentlemen helped out more than most of you will ever know and were invaluable to making the daily activities go as well as they did. Hats off to Gail (President), Dave (VP), and the rest of the group. It was our privilege and pleasure working with all of you. Thank you!!!
Last, but not least we would like to thank all the forum members and volunteers that stepped up to help out as well: Jim (4DOORZ06), Beth (Mrs. "CHERRY"), Sam (OMSRT8), Alice (Challenger Lover), Tim (GoofyTimL), Hank (B&G Banana), Ron (Rodie), Golden (Grey1), Chris (ChargerChick), Duncan (TTMR), Chris (KRYPTONITE), Nick (wickedchargerrt), Dana (DanaM) and many others. My head is still spinning from the weekend, so if I forgot to mention anyone please don't be mad at me, its not intentional.
Don't forget that there will be a DVD of the entire weekend Friday thru Sunday, that also includes the behind-the-scenes footage of the Makeover. (Details to follow) Thanks to those of you that stepped up and supported the camera crew with the additional footage that was missed on Friday and throughout the weekend. The event was so big that it proved to be a challenge even for a 4-man camera crew to cover!!!
We will be taking a few weeks to relax, evaluate the weekend and gather some thoughts. Anybody that has any suggestions, or critiques (good or bad) please let us know via PM or e-mail.
Congrats again to Brad (4DEATER) and Nick (wickedchargerrt)!!!
Take care and look forward to seeing all of you for the 2ND ANNUAL LX & BEYOND NATIONALS.
Sincerely,
Anthony Carter & Chuck Green
p.s. Race Results, Car Show Results, Door Prizes and Drawings, and details on the Makeover to follow. (Stay Tuned)
There are a lot of questions and assumptions floating around out there about the EXTREME MAKEOVER so I am going to address it just this one time and from there on I will talk directly with the winners only about the makeover. In short, Chuck and I want to see the winners' vehicles completed as planned and they deserve it. Although the winners are very happy with the amount of work that was done to the makeover vehicles, WE are not satisfied and want to see everything completed as planned. Reality of the matter is this is not television or a video game, it is real-life and problems do happen during makeovers that prevent everything from happening as planned. Both winners have families and needed to get back home to their families and work on Monday so the cars had to be returned to them upgraded but not completed.
I know its been awhile since the contest was first posted but I do believe the intentions of the makeover was to do something very special for 2 very deserving people and at the end of the weekend 2 very deserving people received a whole lot of upgrades for nothing more than sharing their story and a little bit of who they are with all of us. How many of you actually read 4DEATER's letter that he submitted for the makeover? How many of you stopped by to congratulate 4DEATER and his family or wickedchargerrt or introduce yourself and get to know these guys? Both of them are class act people and if you didn't then you all missed out on what this was really all about. Cars are cool but this was about the people behind the cars first and foremost. Everyone will add their 2 cents because its human nature, but the only opinions we care about are 4DEATER and wickedchargerrt.
Bodykits were donated by GRIP TUNING for 4DEATER's Charger, and Xenon for wickedchargerrt's Charger. Both kits were FedEx'd to Keen's Body Shop in Columbus, Ohio to be painted on Friday. Upon arrival to pickup the kits, we found out they painted them the wrong colors. The black was not Brilliant Black and the yellow was not Top Banana yellow. They were told to sand and re-paint the kits the correct colors. Not sure how a professional bodyshop paints a kit and does not get the correct color code for the paint? But that is exactly what happened. After sanding and re-painting somehow they managed to over-bake the kits which completely ruined the Xenon kit and ruined the rear bumper of the GRIP TUNING kit. Also, the paint was not properly clear-coated, had runs in the paint, dust, fish-eyes, it was a nightmare. No way they were going on the car for the unveiling on Sunday looking the way they did, and there was no time to give them a 3rd opportunity to mess it up. The botched painting of the kits messed up a very well-planned schedule and put other parts of the build behind schedule. Everyone knew that the cars had to go back to the owners on Sunday afternoon and completed as much as they could.
Don't forget that 4DEATER received the first-ever Challenger-Style hood from TommyZDesign for the Dodge Charger. There is a list of people on the forum waiting for these and 4DEATER got to be the first in the country to get one. Literally, the hood was picked up fresh from the mold on the way from Michigan to Columbus, Ohio and installed on the SRT Charger. Because it is that new the flat black paint actually came out looking a bit glossier than it was suppose to but can be easily fixed. I am certain TommyZ will step up and get that issue resolved.
Honestly, it is very disappointing and disheartening to hear members of the LX community bashing the makeover or the LX & BEYOND NATIONALS for that matter but everyone is fully entitled to their opinion. Who else in the LX community do you know that has even attempted to make something like this happen? Doing one car is a HUGE task, and in hindsight 2 cars was probably too much for the size of the crew working on the cars.
We are not going to address anyone that is bashing the event. Why? Its kinda like professional football (or any pro team sport), its easy to sit on the sideline (or in the bleachers) as a spectator and talk about what should be done, or how you would do things, but until you put on the uniform, lace up the shoes and get in the game at full speed . . . . . . . you have no idea.
I challenge each and every person that has something negative to say, to step up to the challenge and come out here next year and help us make it better for everyone. I also welcome each of you that had a good time to spread the word and return next year with even bigger expectations. I think we have a very good foundation which to build upon and a lot of good and sincere people that want to see this thing become a yearly event that everyone can look forward to.
Anybody that has never setup and run an event of this magnitude in all honesty has absolutely no idea what-so-ever of the amount of coordination, man hours, e-mails, phone calls, letters, lack of sleep, lots of bulls---, lack of sleep or time that it takes to make this happen. Ask guys like Fatchance and Fondy, this takes a whole lot of time out of your life. This is something that we did because we are LX platform enthusiasts like the rest of you and enjoy the people in the LX community. Sure, everything did not run perfect, and Chuck and I never promised anybody that this would be perfect but we did promise you an opportunity to gather together, have some fun, share some stories and meet the people behind the forum names and cars.
The folks at Mike Ward's Racing of Columbus, Ohio should be commended for the work and support they provided for this makeover. They went above and beyond what was expected and requested of them. Also, all of the forum supporting vendors that came out and put their hands on these cars and supported the project should be recognized and commended: Pedders Suspension, Billet Technology, Corsa Exhaust, Roadwire Interior, Southern Hotrod and American Racing Headers just to name a few. There is a lot of stuff that went into and under these cars that were not announced initially and you guys did not see from the pictures. A full breakdown with pictures will be posted as the makeover continues . . . . . .
Man...... that thing will be awesome after the body kit........
Keep us updated my friend
Not sure if the GRIP TUNING bodykit is gonna happen or not now. Even though they donated the kit, now GRIP TUNING is saying they want the kit back since it did not go on the car for the unveiling. We explained the car is in the process of being finished and the paint on the bodykit is bad. I will post more details as this story develops......
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See ya'll Saturday morning!!!
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