October 2017 Self Starter

[Matt Harwood]

I want to pre-emptively apologize to the member who owns the black 1929 Cadillac shown on page 32 of the latest issue of the "Self Starter" in an article with my name in the by-line. Some of you may recall what a terrible time I had at the National when some jerk parked in my space and meet organizers screwed the pooch by telling me to park in someone else's space, starting an unfortunate chain of events that led to me leaving the event early Saturday morning.

Shortly thereafter, Steve Stewart, editor of the Self Starter, contacted me and said that he wanted to do an article on my car at the National. When I protested and suggested he was just doing it to throw me a bone, he explained that he had chosen it as his personal pick, regardless of anything else going on. I declined, as I felt it would be hypocritical of me to allow my car to be presented as if it were at the National, because I didn't really participate in the show due to the parking situation problems.

Steve persisted and said that all that didn't matter, he really liked my car and chose it to be the Editor's Pick, regardless of whether my car was in the show. I reluctantly agreed and sent him details on my car and its history.

Unfortunately, it appears that neither I nor my car were really what Steve wanted for Editor's Pick. He wanted the OTHER 1929 Cadillac sedan at the National, the black one. So if you're the owner of that car, I am very, VERY sorry for stealing your thunder. You should be very unhappy with this situation and I want to assure you that it was not intentional on my part and I feel just awful about it. I can't imagine what a kick in the gut it was for you to see your car in the magazine with someone else's name attached to it. I'm so sorry.

On the upside, though, I'll bet there's an E-mail coming your way shortly with a request for a full feature article on your car in a future issue, which is nice.

Anyway, I'm EXTREMELY sorry about the confusion--your car is worthy and I apologize that you didn't get the recognition that you rightfully deserve. I'm just sick about it and I hope they do something to make it right by you. Please understand that I had nothing to do with it and simply thought they were legitimately interested in my car. I know they will do something to make it right.

In the meantime, if anyone knows the name and contact information of the owner of that car, I would like to get in touch with him to personally apologize and offer to help him get his car recognized.

[veesixteen]

I am confused (as others may be too). You used the words: "some jerk"; did he "gate-crash" the meet or was he a bona fide Cadillac owner and registered participant?

Organizing an international Cadillac meet is no sinecure; I know; my wife and I tried it, in Switzerland, in 1984. During the awards presentation, the owner of an otherwise nice 1959 Coupe de Ville stormed out of the meeting because his car had been ACCIDENTALLY OMITTED from the list of participants and their cars (BTW, the best of show that year went to CLC member, Roger Zimmermann, for his perfectly self-restored 1956 Sedan de Ville).

Congratulations on your own restoration efforts.  Might we have a couple of photos of YOUR '29 Cadillac sedan to help clarify the situation.

Thanks.

[Matt Harwood]

Yann,

You can review the discussion of the problems I had at the National meet here: http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=146263.msg368843#msg368843

Short version: someone who may or may not have been part of the show driving a Cadillac CTS parked in my designated spot at the show (does it even matter? He was in the wrong spot all week and refused to move). Show runners told me to park in the spot next to mine. Owner of that spot showed up and got angry. Multiple bad words were exchanged, threats were made ("I'm going to just push your car out of the way,"), and nobody who was in charge of the show did anything about it. I left in disgust. I do not know whether the owner of the CTS was part of the show or not, but nobody did anything to solve the problem other than to let me take the rap for being the bad guy. I only did what organizers told me to do. Thinking back, I deeply regret not putting a tire iron through the CTS's windshield. He ruined several members' weekend. Show organizers get a runner-up prize for doing exactly nothing to help, despite several people knowing about the situation.

Two weeks later, Steve Stewart E-mailed me and asked me to put my car in the magazine. It felt like they were trying to make up for the problems I had at the show, so I declined because I didn't want to be a hypocrite. I didn't stay at the show, I was unhappy with the whole thing, I wanted nothing to do with it. Steve persisted, I relented. When I received my copy of the magazine, I was dismayed to learn that my car was not even the car Steve had chosen for Editor's Choice. It was someone else's car. A photo of my car is below. It is green, not black. It even has my name on the front. Both cars are 1929 341B 5-passenger sedans, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. I never saw the photo they were using, so I had no way of knowing that they had contacted the wrong person.

This is twice that CLC management has made me look like a jerk and wronged other members in my name. The rightful owner of that black 1929 Cadillac has his car featured in the national magazine, but someone else got credit for owning it and telling a story about it that doesn't apply. That's not right and it is why I was apologizing to the owner of that car since no apology seems forthcoming from CLC management or editorial staff.

I know running shows is hard--my wife and I organize a 450 car show each Father's Day here in Ohio. It's the longest-running car show in the country, by the way. If someone had this problem at that show where we were in charge, we would have solved it, not pretended that it wasn't happening or told the participants to solve it themselves. We have a tow truck on standby to remove cars that aren't where they belong. Period. So no, I don't have any sympathy for show runners who have a hard job. I know the job, and I do it better than they do. They failed me.

This isn't me storming out of a banquet having a temper tantrum because I didn't get what I wanted. This is someone else (the owner of the black 1929 sedan) getting the short end of the stick and it looks like I'm the cause. This magazine thing was only salt in the wound, but as my initial post suggests, I am much more concerned about the guy who really DID win Editor's Choice not getting his opportunity to shine. I don't care about any of this nonsense with awards and magazines, but I certainly understand that stealing someone else's prize is downright lousy. I will not be that guy. Don't try to cast me as a troublemaker--I only did what I was told at the show and the result was that I got screwed not once but now twice, along with several other innocent members caught in the crossfire of incompetence.

I honestly didn't think my National experience could get worse.

I was wrong.

[Jim Miller]

Matt
Can you post information on your Fathers Day event for those of us in Ohio who may wish to see or participate?
Jim Miller

[Matt Harwood]

Matt
Can you post information on your Fathers Day event for those of us in Ohio who may wish to see or participate?
Jim Miller

http://orccca.com/stan-hywet/

http://orccca.com/fathers-day-car-show-2014/#prettyPhoto

[veesixteen]

Matt, I was one of the many who admired your (green) car in that location. I was not aware of any problem relating to place assignments for the cars. I'm sure someone on the organisation team will have an explanation for the snafu that occurred and will offer an apology to those who were miffed. I sure hope so.

[druby]

Truth be told, this incident should've never reached the level it did. Planning and putting on a Grand National event is no easy task, there will always be some issue that will arise. Quite frankly this entire situation got out of hand by 3 individuals ! I truly don't believe the owner of the CTS purposely parked his vehicle in a spot to obstruct another individual, I believe they thought the show field was on the back & upper portion lots. It was me that suggested Matt to take the space next to the CTS until the owner was located, unfortunately we never saw the owner of the car. The gentleman that "threatened" Matt took the wrong approach to the matter. When you deal with individuals with different personalities and attitudes, this is what happens. I myself had somebody in my space for the most part of the day on Thursday, I saw the owner and my situation was settled. As for the Self Starter issue, misprints and misinformation happen in all publications, NOBODY is perfect and I'm sure that was and honest mistake as well. In the October 1998 issue of the Self Starter a picture of my fathers 1958 Eldorado was published as Best of Show Postwar when in fact that award was given to Jay Brown for his 1957 Eldorado, luckily my father and Jay were best of friends and understood it was a mistake with no intentions of shaming anyone. If you want to belong to a club that is run perfect with no mistakes feel free to join it, then send me an application! Better yet volunteer your own time and effort at the next Grand National and see just how much is put into it to make it successful. The great compliments we got far out number the few complaints mentioned.

[Matt Harwood]

Well, I suppose that's about as close to an apology as I've gotten from anyone, although once again everyone is totally missing the point. It isn't that I'm unhappy that it wasn't MY car in the magazine, it's that the guy who actually owns the car got screwed. I spoke with Steve Stewart yesterday and he, too, missed the point because he offered me a cover shot and article on my car. NO! I DON'T WANT ANY OF IT. I DIDN'T EARN IT. I declined and told him to do the story on the black '29 instead. I didn't ask for any of this. THIS IS NOT MY FAULT.

And since you brought it up, you guys had THREE DAYS to fix the parking problem at the show. The solution was probably something as easy as leaving a note on the offending car and telling them not to park there anymore. The CTS was there EVERY SINGLE DAY and you guys knew about it starting Wednesday morning when I first pointed it out to one of your staff. Not hard.

And if you'll read up above, I do, in fact, run a show like this. Every year. I put my money where my mouth is. I AM involved. I am the director of the Ohio Region CCCA, so the buck stops with me when problems arise. I am the editor and publisher of the regional magazine (and it's not some stapled-together newsletter I run on my printer), so I understand how that works, too. I know that mistakes happen, although I don't make a mistake like this when the owners' names are printed on cards stuck to windshields. We run a show that hosts 450 cars every June, and it includes judging, two banquets, and an awards ceremony, not to mention managing 7000+ spectators. It's not some little parking lot cruise-in at the local church. We know this kind of nonsense happens and we plan for it and we handle it. Mistakes happen. Preventable mistakes shouldn't. And when people inevitably do have a problem, those in charge should fix it or at least offer an apology when things come off the tracks. Our shows are great successes each year, too, but I inevitably make apologies to one or two people who had a lousy day because of something we overlooked or someone who screwed up. At least the people coming to our show didn't take time off work and waste thousands of dollars to do so.

To date, druby's post is as close as anyone has come to an apology for what happened at the show, and it's more of an excuse than an apology (not that it matters now). Honestly, if someone had just manned up and owned the problem and simply said they were sorry, I'd be much cooler about all of this. Nobody did anything except make excuses, tell me that running a show is hard work, and imply that I was part of the problem. I have to ask--would any of you feel differently? What if you ordered a cheeseburger and got a plate of squid instead, and when you complained, the manager of the restaurant told you that if you didn't like it, maybe you ordered it wrong and you should go back and cook your own meal because most customers were happy with their food?

All I really wanted is for the guy who owns the black car to get the recognition he deserves. I didn't intend to bring any of this back up, it was in the past, but Yann wanted details. All I care about at this point is the owner of the black car who got kicked in the nuts through no fault of his own. Read my first post--I didn't whine about my situation, I didn't complain about the parking--I apologized profusely to the owner of the black car and wanted to find him so I could apologize personally and help him with the situation. THAT IS ALL I WANTED. Rehashing this parking BS at the national meet wasn't my plan. You guys brought it up, I didn't. And now the guy who screwed up wants to make it sound like I'm the troublemaker and if I don't like it, I should do it myself. Nice.

I didn't mean for any of this to get out of hand like this and it sure seems like everyone wants to make me the bad guy. I won't bring it up it again. All I wanted was for the owner of the black car to get what he rightfully earned. Go ahead and decide that I'm the @sshole. I can take it.

There have been multiple screw-ups here. The right decision would have been for is for someone in charge to pick up the phone (or write a simple E-mail) and say they're sorry. That's not a lot to ask. And they couldn't even get that right.

Whatever.

[druby]

Matt,
I will on behalf of our Region that sponsored the Grand National offer a sincere apology for the way things were handled as far as your parking space was concerned, as you stated, the CTS remained parked in that space for several days. I believe we were hoping to catch the owner when he returned to his vehicle but we didn't. If my memory serves me correctly there were two empty spots on the same row the entire weekend, I don't know if you had planned to leave your vehicle on the show field the entire 4 days or return to the Westin each day with your vehicle, if the latter was your choice, you could've parked in at the wash station  with your contact information attached to the windshield. The CTS had no contact information on it, so we couldn't locate the owner. I even went up to the front desk with his tag number and that didn't do any good either. If I'd known this was going to get this much out of hand, I would've giving you my flea market space directly across from your assigned space. Nobody that I know has referred to you as an "ass-ole" on the forum, my apologies go out to you if that's how you feel. My reference about the work put into the show weren't made to discredit you in any way shape or form. I hope your next experience at a GN turns out better for you. I've been associated with the CLC for well over 30 yrs and will continue for many more.

[Vince Taliano #13852]

Matt,

I would like to also apologize on behalf of the Potomac Region and Valley Forge Region.  The CTS-V was gone from the space prior to Saturday show day (as you see in the attached photo) but by then the damage was already done.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused to everyone involved.

Vince

[druby]

Matt,
Please also understand every vehicle that is registered for the show has a spot assigned to their vehicle, that spot is only assigned for Saturday the day of the show only.

[Carl Fielding]

You know : it is a very good thing that at the end of the day , we really do love one another around here. Peace be upon all of you , my dear brothers and sisters.  - Carl 

[P W Allen CLC# 20193]

Moderators: Lets delete or lock this thread ASAP. This is going to get out of hand real quick. Enough already!