AROC 2007 Detroit Convention

It looks to be a good one. Dates August 1-5.

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/showthread.php?t=34413

http://www.motorcityalfa2007.org/

Looks like some people already registering.

More info:
Motor City Alfa
Detroit, Michigan
August 1-5, 2007

Getting Started in Reverse?
After the December issue of Alfa Owner went to print, the convention web site went up and is: motorcityalfa2007.org (not the .com suffix published). Uh-oh. To make a long story short, we posted and wrote about the .com site for five months, then it finally came up as (you guessed it) .org. To make matters worse, someone bought the .com domain name within hours of our site going up, and filled it with spyware. Sorry about that. Please pass this notice on to all your AROC friends so that they will visit the correct web site and not stumble into something nasty.

Meanwhile, motorcityalfa2007.org is filled with photos, descriptions plus a convention overview in PDF format for download.

This is the first of a bi-weekly series of convention information letters. The next one will have a registration form attached. If you do not wish to receive this info, drop a line to the e-mail address listed at the end of the letter.

Revving to Red Line
Detroit is throwing a party disguised the AROC National Meet.
There will be a grand concours at an even grander estate with long rows of 1930s Alfas.
The race course and its 14 turns will be tested by a number of historic Alfa race cars.
An Alfa Parts Market will include truckloads of rare 750, 101. 105 and 102-series restoration parts from major collections.
Tour a building where dozens of classics are being restored for Pebble Beach and Amelia Island, then over to a place where mangled GTAs are resurrected and given life anew.
The hotel specializes in hosting car club national meets.
Woodward Avenue of cruising and muscle car fame is but a few blocks away, the beer will be chilled and the convention logo features some crazy naked chick.
AROC, get ready to party in the Motor City.

AROC Concours
The AROC concours will be Saturday at Meadow Brook. The elegant manor is 88,000 square-feet with 110 rooms for hosting parties of 850 friends–just the right size for our Alfa group to tour. The featured model of the AROC concours is the 1966-1969 Duetto and 1750 long-tail spider, celebrating the 40th Anniversary of The Graduate (1967). So of course on the field will be the Alfa Romeo Duetto driven by Dustin Hoffman in the movie.
Even if your car is not perfect, enter it in the Street Class at the concours because you will want to have photos of your Alfa the day it was at Meadow Brook.

Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance featuring Alfa Romeo
The 29th annual Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance takes place on Sunday, August 5, 2007. Begin with a large circle of Alfas: The 8C Reunion. These most famous and celebrated of Alfa Romeos will gathered from around the globe, along with other historic Alfas among Meadow Brook’s typical display of over 200 classic automobiles.
The really cool part is that we obtained 500 special AROC passes available to the first 500 convention attendees to register for this event. The complete “Sunday at the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance/Alfa 8C2900 Reunion/AROC Alfa Corral” package is ten dollars. Yes, only ten bucks. Show your AROC convention ID and receive VIP treatment.

Rally and Driving Tour
Choose the gimmick rally or ask for a ‘touring’ version and enjoy the scenery along with pages of commentary. Either way, the rally/tour wraps around blue lakes and winding lanes dotted with 40,000 square-foot homes. Anything less and that could be the gate house or gardener’s quarters you are looking at. Who knows, you might spot Aretha Franklin out mowing her lawn or Elmore Leonard writing the next novel on his front porch (but don’t bet your Meadow Brook ticket on it).

Autocross
AROC autocrosses in Detroit are professional grade, the crew accustomed to handling 100 cars on any weekend. We run them for other car clubs as well as AROC chapters at their national conventions. An overall champion will be chosen after runs in matching spiders to reveal the best AROC slalom driver. Jim Steck will select a few drivers to test his latest turbocharged Alfa/high-tech lightning bolt. If you ever consider trying your hand at autocrossing, this will be the day to strap on a helmet and just do it.

Shop ’til You Drop
If hotel testosterone levels reach danger level, grab five friends and head to the designer, fashion house and boutique strip on Old Woodward Avenue in Birmingham. Not in the mood for dropping $4,000 for a dress for the banquet? Shift over to Somerset Collection in Troy with Neiman-Marcus and dozens of good friends from Saks and Coach to Nordstrom. More casual but with over a 100 stores to choose from? Great Lakes Crossing is on the way to Waterford Hills Race Course up I-75. All that is needed is a precisely timed exit ramp maneuver. The credit cards are already smoking in anticipation! And the Avis car/gift-hauler barge rental shop is just across the street from the hotel. Vroom!

Is there more? Much more! Tap the keys to visit motorcityalfa2007.org. The site is still growing and PayPal with online registration will soon appear. The hotel link on the web site has the AROC discount rate code already embedded. It would be a good idea to register now, before all 500 Meadow Brook Concours tickets are long gone. And in a few days, the full-color “crazy naked chick” convention logo shirt will be available so you will be dressed to party!

Pass this on to all your AROC friends. Questions or comments can be sent to motorcityalfa@aol.com

See you at Motor City Alfa!

Dave & Andy

Steve