Summary: THE STATE OF THE HOBBY FROM MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES<br> <br> <br> The Gearheads hosted a roundtable of a different sort, discussing the state of the hobby at the 71st Grand National Roadster Show. We arranged a cast of builders, owner/clients and builder/owners to talk about where the hobby is at, where it’s going, and what the stakes are with regard to quality and chasing perfection. This episode is an amazing look into competing at AMBR/Slonaker/Ridler levels from nearly every perspective. We invited Erik Hansen, who has owned high-profile cars (including “Sedeuced,” the 1932 Ford which was featured on the TV show Rides, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rides-Road-Ridler-Season-Episode/dp/B0006N2EC8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">season one, episode ten</a>) to provide his perspective as a client. We also invited builder and prior guest <a href="https://roundsixpod.com/2018/07/13/the-strange-thing-is/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tim Strange</a>, and builder/sometimes self-client <a href="https://roundsixpod.com/2018/08/17/making-old-men-polish-bolts-the-spirit-of-hot-rodding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">JF Launier</a> to provide the builder perspective on the state of the hobby, and what goes into putting a car together at the upper level.<br> It is an interesting and entertaining look inside of the relationship between client, designer and builder, and a fascinating peek behind the curtain of competing for the top awards.<br> THINGS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:<br> <br> * <br> Some VERY coincidental events and overlaps<br> <br> * Speaking Canadian fluently<br> * The client/builder relationship<br> – The builder/client relationship<br> * An insider’s look at the time investment from a client’s perspective<br> * The client/designer/builder dynamic<br> – Mention of “the wife dynamic”<br> * Perception of quality<br> – Private sale VS auction sale<br> – Passion from all parties involved as opposed to screen time on TV<br> * The builder’s “whole life investment” in a build<br> – Re-mortgaging multiple family properties to complete a build<br> * Selling a concept to a client<br> * Hinting at a project<br> * The amassed knowledge of a career VS billable hours<br> – Building a car in the real world as compared to a television budget<br> * The reality of automotive reality television<br> – 3800 man hours in 30 hours of TV<br> – A team of skilled industry professionals working nonstop versus three buddies eating pizza and watching NASCAR<br> – The push at the end/building the right team<br> * Logistics of a high-end client build<br> * Hot rod flashcards<br> – Ben Franklin’s non-Presidency that should have been<br> * The Al Slonaker Memorial Award (best non-roadster) revamp<br> – The Detroit VS Pomona thing<br> – The lessening of the importance of the big award in Detroit<br> * Competing at the highest level<br> – Best car in the world compared to the best car to show up that day<br> * Originality in builds versus simply refining a trend<br> * BUILD THE CAR YOU WANT<br> * Building for pleasure meets finances<br> – Private sale or auction<br> * “Well-bought” weighed against “$3M invested” and the public perception<br> * “You don’t build these cars to make money”<br> – The challenge of building AFTER winning the top award<br> – Narrowing your reach to clients due to perception of higher prices/longer build times<br> * Plans to have the first 200MPH Ridler winner<br> <br> THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING AN INDUSTRY AMBASSADOR<br> <br> * How the Ridler Award slit the throat of the hobby<br> – Visually imperfect and onward to the auction for a payday<br> – Altering the state of the hobby in a negative way<br> * On being an ambassador of the hobby versus winning a trophy<br>
