Ok, i'm not sure if this annoys anyone else, but it does me, and Devinchy.........

Shows like Autosalon, are sponsored by and presented by Autosalon Magazine.....Yet when they have the "Full" coverage in the magazine, there is never anything mentioned about the dB Drags, photos, standings, scores, winners, NOTHING!!!

Ignition DVD have just done the same thing, with Compak Attak coverage, and again, as with Autosalon, no dB Drag coverage. They show, the pretty cars, the Babe and Bikini comp, drags, and interviews of people at the show.......not even sweeping video footage of the cars at the dB Drags.

Street Machine aren't too bad, this year they at least printed Names and Scores of 1st and 2nd place, but that was as far as they went.

Nothing against the SQ people,(i love yas all, really i do! ) but there was more coverage on SQ than SPL. A few sentences or a photo or 2 would've been better.

In my opinion, if a promoter chooses to have dB Drag Racing at their event, then they should endevour to cover it and publish the results with the rest of the show results, not just leave them out like the whole thing never happened.

Anyone else feel the same way?

P.S I feel better now!

nahhhh cause i never seen a autosalon magazine ever.........zion

I used to read autosalon, then I moved onto Hot4's but CAA forum is so much more informative

We need more exposure to all the people who read and buy mags but do not know about CAA.
I talk to people who would love to do it even just once to see what there cars does DB wise.
I did DB once to see what my car did and 6years later and a heap of dollars and i am still doing and enjoying.
So i 2nd that tara and i will help you make it happen somehow.

yeah it sh*ts me. but hey. get on here n get everything. but it would be nice of autosalon to put something in their mag. even 1page out of the X amount that they have.

hey hey, its my first post in SPL and it was a forced issue ..............zion

The point of matter is that if promoters are going to have dB events at their shows and then cover the event in their publications, they should include all activities at the event not exclude one section just because some of the cars are not that pretty.

But in some ways this is a type of discimination and we are treated like second class competitors and often treated badly especially by security at events.

We spend the money on our systems and do the work. In some cases we spend as much as the HOTTED up cars and sometimes more. But to see in a mag that a car cranked all show and then you see those guys enter the dB comp and the looks we get off those competitors is that we are below them. The only satifaction we get is whooping their asses in dB level.

But still, no recognition.

On my final note, I leave you with this. You ask the average joe who goes to these shows, who is the loudest car in Australia is and they would probably point to some sick ass show car that cranked all day. Ask them if they have heard about Australian Finals and they answer "what Autosalon Final Battle?". I think its time we eductate this nation with what we are all about, get the support from the public that we deserve and inform them that we are not the doof doof guys with the bling bling

P.S I am not trying split us from the SQ side because i'm sure they feel the same if anything i think we should band and educate the nation together!!!

Sure Sure Devinchy!!!! LOL jks

I agree that people need to be educated with DB Drag, i know it wasnt what i expected at first.
We have had people actually enter SQ comps thinking its DB Drag even after having it explained to them what happens.
People do think they will be there to hear the loudest stereo, so yeah it would be great for it to get out there more so people know what its about and actually understand what happens.

I know with CAASQ we promote the crap out of it and also have all the information possible to hand to the magazines in hope that they will put something in there about it.

Well my impression is.. for both SPL & SQ comps..

Q. Whats the biggest problem with audio competitions ?
A. Lack of competitors. Sure there's a lot of competitors, a turn out of 20 is good.. but wouldnt 40 be better ? Filled brackets, tight competition. more fun for all.

Q. Why is there a lack of competitors ?
A. Lack of reward for putting the time/effort into it. Right now, the only way to get anything is take 1st or 2nd and take a trophey. Points for dB Drag is good and all, but do they REALLY mean anything ?

Now lets say you have a chance of getting a photo of your car in a magazine like Hot 4's or whatever.. if I was just starting out and had spent the time and money on a system and had the chance to get my ride in a magazine I'd be all for it. Win or lose, the chance for the bragging rights of my car in a magazine would be worth more to me than the trophey. Just IMO anyway..

What I dont understand is why such a large part of modified car culture is being ignored by the large magazines. Where's the Dupriez & Burchers with a camera at these events ? Would it kill ASM, Hot4's or Fast Fours to invest 2 pages an issue to SQ & SPL competition ? This is something that makes the sport grow, and increases their consummer base.

Hot Tip to their editors, not all of us are into ugly mal-fitted body kits, gaudy air brushing and retarded large wheels with ride heights in the weeds that ruin the cars drivability.

how's that festiva going


just kidding i agree with all you said!

I agree with the above. I also believe that something should be issued as a reward for holding the Australian record for each class, but that of tack a bit.

I agree what you have to look at though is the publicity.

Autosaloon and things like this come to your state what once or twice a year dependant on what state your in. dB drags are every couple of months with a bit of luck.

How ever look at the publicity of dB drags. a little bit of internet advertising, maybe some instore promotion by the store holding the event...
Now Look at AutoSaloon - newspaper adds, Radio (& sometimes TV), Magazine promotion, word of mouth, car clubs, internet etc etc etc.

Now look at where these events are held - dB Drags a carpark outside of a store. not much to look at, not much to keep people entertained. We are entertained by it cause we have an interest in the sport - much like some people have an interest in sychronised swimming.
now autosaloon theres riced up cars theres girls theres competitions theres hand outs and give aways theres music and dynos theres loude noises and bright lights theres the opportunity to buy things and its held in an exhibition centre!

Yes sure the event promotors if they ask to hold the dB drag probably should promote them better. they probably should have onstage presentations rather that back corner presentations.

BUT "we" (the competitors) have just as much to answer for as well. realistically most of us have invest thousands if not 10's of thousands of $ in car audio getting ourselves loud, yet a large percentage of us are running around in sh!tboxes that wont pull the chicks.

Quite oten mismatched panels rust etc etc. how about we start looking after our cars giving our SPL boxes a lick of paint, cleaning our cars before events adding some stickers to the back windscreen playing our systems at a low level between runs. how can you expect the public to take an interest when they dont get the opportunity to embrace it.

One of the best things for SPL ever in this country IMHO was (is) the CAA mini it looked good every one loves minis it was loud and fun. BlackIce also has a car that makes you look twice. These cars entice people to come have a look see what the hell it going on what all the fuss is about.

I cant really talk cause I enter SPL in an 85 mazda 626 coupe with some front end damage - so in reality im not promoting the sport in a positive way to a degree. But I have been to autosaloon with a group of freinds and basically stopped for a few minutes then walked on from the SPL comps because the other people in the group were like "WTF is that hunk of crap doing in here".

I dont know what whe can do about it all i know is that too many of us are willing to drop 2k on amps and 500 bucks on cables and a few hundred on MDF and spend hours tuning and building boxes yet were too tight bum to speend $500 in a tart up paint job on our crap box to make it atleast presentable...

Just my oppinion...

The way i see it....

For major competitions like AutoSalon....

Entry fee for Show Cars = $100+
Entry fee for SPL at same event..... THE SAME COST

We pay the same fee, by rights we get the same recognition, anything less is Discrimination.

Ok, spend $4000 on a paint job that makes heads turn...

Spend $4000 on an SQ or SPL system and watch heads turn from 200m away.

I also feel that its a lot easier to compete as a showcar... pay for your paint, engine work etc, then leave your car sat there all day.

Pay for your Stereo, actually having to use it, getting involved more and ACTIVELY participating in your event....

I enjoy the fact that i actaully have to do something to win a place, not just leave my car sitting there collecting dust in a hall full of people.

i guess thats the reason why i enjoy Bass Race - you have to pay attention and concentrate on what your doing.

** End Rant**

It doesn't cost $100 to enter dB Drags at Autosalon.

As competitors, we actually get free entry into the show...not that its that good, same crap, different location really.

I'll have my rant later when I get home from work.

DODGY GCAS MOFOS...

I was told if i was competing in SPL, i would have to pay the same entry fee as someone competing in AutoSalon....

"Because your still competing at the event, you are still required to pay the same entry fee as a Show Competitor"

no it $40 for meb and $45 for non meb

*shrug*

Dunno about anyone else, but i'd certainly buy / support a newsletter / mag with stuff outlined above.

Plus maybe some of Richards famous essays, short reviews from your average Joe, up and coming competitors in SQ and SPL (not just the seasoned pro's) etc. etc.
Most of the good stuff can simply be accessed here, but i'm sure it would help exposure if there was small monthly (or quarterly or something) newsletter for beginners to have a look at so they know the sort of stuff that's on here before they get here.

Or something....

I work in a college so most people I deal with are just getting cars and looking into phat audio systems. A couple are members here, but the vast majority are just going out and buying whatever they can get their hands on and are at the mercy of sales people in chain stores.
I could say, "check out CAA" and explain it a bit, but they're not really going to get anything out of the conversation and probably forget all about it within 5 mins.
But if there was a nice, easy to read and informative periodical floating around, it would probably get some conversations happening and bring some more members into the arena.

I hope the point is kinda coming across

I'm sure other people could think of some other things to go into it that aren't typically seen in normal mags like CSA, Hot 4's, Street Commodores, etc.

yeah thats right.....im sure CAA could publish a mag, with shiny as a major contributor

but in all seriousness it would cost an assload of money, but personally i think it would be worth it....not so much reviews, but alot of tech sheets and articles, tutes and FAQs etc etc

a few members cars as features or something....

The whole point of this is that the mags out there who sponsor shows and claim to do full coverage inside their mag "DONT COVER US AT ALL".
Instead of creating a mag or anything like that how about this for an idea!!!!!!!
Why dont we all email the mags and voice our disapointment to them, both tarja and i have done this, 2 months have passed and no reply and Tarja has been waiting 1 month with no reply, If we all email them then they will have to either answer us or do something to rectify this problem.
I am sick of sitting back and hoping for things to change we sould be pro-active not re-active and we should do something to change the way we are all seen

yeah, that would be a good idea ay....

Ok, so now what we need to do is collate a list of what magazines have been contacted, how they were contacted (letter, email, phone, etc), the name of the person contacted (was it just a customer feedback line/email, or direct to a person) and finally, who has contact them.

eg

Person making "enquiry": Cleutin
Magazine contacted: CAA Mag
How: email
Date of contact: 21/7/06
Person Contacted: Joey Joe Joe
In regards to:No SPL/SQ coverage at XXXXX Event after "full coverage" of XXXXX event was claimed
Any replies recieved: nil

then we can en mass contact them and voice our concerns and displeasure...

any further expansion to my 6 points would be great

just my ideas so far...

I don't think this is a bad idea, but we need enough people to get behind this for it to work.

I have already been doing this for the last few months, and i have never had a reply to my emails.

So i think that if we don't get enough people to do it, like has happened to me already, we may be continually ignored.

Anyone got any contacts on the inside?

While i think a car audio orientated magazine would be a good idea, it may just get lost in the heap of car magazines already on the market that get overlooked.

While as having something appear in Autosalon, Fast Fours, Street Machine etc, would be better as these magazines are already established publications.

Food for thought peoples......

Funny you mention it, its not. Its been sitting in the garage for the last few days leaking coolant and looking very sad and sorry.

I wasn't talking about the creation of a full blown magazine, at least not straight off the mark, more like a free small-ish newsletter to see if there is any interest generated and go from there.

I agree, if it were distributed the same as the other magazines it probably would get pushed aside and ignored. I mean there'd be no 'fulli sic' WRX's and half naked women on the front cover, that'd doom it from the start.

What about waiting rooms at mechanics / tyre centres / etc. ?
High schools and colleges?
All sorts of places that sell car audio gear?
Etc. etc.

I'm sure you all could think of more.

I think getting something out to the senior secondary students is a great idea, isn't this the age group that should be focused on the most?
I can guarantee, if I dumped a few of these things onto the table in the students common room here, they would be gone in a flash.

Of course, it would have to be constructed and promoted in a way that promotes safe and respectful use of audio gear.
I wouldn't like to see the backlash from a heap of 17 year olds taking their SPL weapons out on the street and wreaking havoc.
The vast majority do now, but this would give people something specific to lay blame on

If some people want to put something together, and money is a big issue (as it always is) I may be able to do some printing (depending on the amount and how big the thing is, maybe 2 reams A4 in total?, not much but it's a start) and mail them out to a few of you across each state.

Just some random(ish) thoughts.

I too am supprised and dissapointed with the lack of coverage for Audio events both SPL and SQ.
I would have thought that not only would event magazines such as Autosalon and Street Machine cover these features of there event (they are happy to promote them as features) but also the only magazine dedicated to car audio in the country INCAR

Why is INCAR not providing detailed coverage and pictures of each db and SQ event?
I know I had to chase them hard to get my car featured after winning the National SQ Championship in 2004.



I agree i would like to see and be able to read all about the db drag racing record holders in each class and it also provides something for both SPL and SQ people to aspire to.

As Blackice said at most events there is little other reward the chance to get your car featured might be whats needed to inspire a few others to come out and compete and mayve see there car in a magazine or if they perform well have it as a feature.

I thought I better add in Incar Entertainment's defence, that as of the coming issue, every issue will cover a QLD and a VIC competitors car in detail in the form of a competitor profile.

This is an addition to them already covering the results from each event where possible (timing of print vs date of event is often a problem).

Our public relations guy Brian Mc is responsible for making this happen so we can all thank him.

Further to the conversation ... I agree with all being said here. As many of the longer term members around this place know, we once built up a en Extreme dB Drag Racing Mini to set an Australian record, which it did on more than one occassion. This car was built with ZERO budget. It was all of us chipping in, members supplying materials, sponsors with gear etc.

It still cost a hell of a lot to transport the thing around and improve on its capability. The only reason we discontinued the mini was the cost vs. exposure. There was NO exposure. As the Australian Record Holder we could not get any magazine interested in writing a story on it. Why should we keep building and transporting it around the country - for zero return. I mean yeah fair enough it was fun and some great friendships were formed in the process, but it didn't even gain members or spread the word for CAA - so I found it hard to justify spending money on it while trying to save for a first house.

Incar Entertainment is the main one who needs to cover the competition scene in Australia - which they have just committed to doing so for CAASQ - I guess on the SPL side of things dB Drag Racing Australia needs to get on their back and push?

My biggest concern is the National Finals in Wagga Wagga 2006. This is the biggest car audio event in Australia - so I would expect photographers there getting photos and taking notes for a story.

In regards to the "other" magazines. Well at the end of the day they're definately not car audio magazines. They cover a little bit but typically they leave dB Drag Racing and certainly CAASQ out of any coverage. I've often suspected on the CAA front simply because to a degree we're seen as a competitor in some remote way.

There has been many nights thought go into a CAA magazine - and even a mock layout / design and content has been done previously. We nearly got it off the ground once, but honestly I am the only person in a position to put the money up - and I'm not sure I am prepared to take that risk for what is in reality a very small market.

If we had enough volunteers / contributors from around Australia then inhouse we could produce an electronic version (Adobe Acrobat) each month or bi-monthly. But again, we'd get the old "yes - we'd help if it happened" but then they would be nowhere to be seen when it comes time to do something.

I think that this is the way it is - I don't see it changing any time soon so compete with that in mind.

Lastly - I would be happy to add a section to the website of "Featured Competitors" from both the dB Drag Racing and CAASQ arenas, but I would need assistance compiling this information (HTML, Photoshop Knowledge) from the member base to make it happen. We could have a new competitor profile each fortnight or month, and the rest get archived.

Great glad to hear they have come on board, i look forward to enjoying coverage of the events, especially the interstate ones i obviously cannot attend.

We could use this type of idea and possibly post the "newsletter" on some of the other forums, some of us could print out a few copies each and leave them at uni/work

I'd definitely be in that, and be willing to talk to local car and car audio related clubs and businesses to see if I can put on their counter or whatever for people to peruse at their leisure.
As I said, the scene is pretty much dead in Tassie (N/W/E at least, dunno about South) except for the few bits and pieces TASASCA does at the start of the year.

I kinda feel lonely

I know there are potential victims out there in the community, i'm surrounded by them, but am struggling to find a way to reel them in.



I can understand where you're coming from, i've been a member and admin of a number of different online communities, many of which have failed because nobody else wanted to do anything when it came to the crunch.

Now I can't say that i'd like to be chief contributer and publisher of the whole thing, because in reality I don't think I have the skills, knowledge or experience to do so.
All I can do is pledge my time and effort in any area that someone might think i'm useful.
Maybe fixing up spelling and grammatical errors, general proofreading, layout suggestions and probably one very important aspect, collection of ideas and feedback from the general local community.

Can we have another thread with a show of 'serious' hands to see if it's possible to go anywhere with this, or do you think this is going to go nowhere?

What about the mag called Car Stereo Australia
I remember it was advertised on here for about 3 to 4 weeks on the main home page as you enter CAA back in may last year.

This is the link to the forum form it.
Car stereo Australia
Should this mag help us out i think so then advertised on CAA for them to sell more mags why not put stuff in there mags about what we do.

I agree with everything that has been said within this thread. But in regards to making our cars pretty so we can get coverage is wrong in my opinion. I mean if you go to the drag races and see some piece of sh*t blow away some car that looks like it does a bazillion miles an hour you think to yourself "respect" and everyone cheers. I see it the same as when i am competing myself. I pull up in the lanes with my P.O.S 83 daihatsu charade next to some hotted up car and i feel like the guy is laughing at me on the inside thinking to himself that it should be a piece of cake until i hand him his ass and everyone thinks "HOLY SH*T Did he just do that". I mean 9 times out of 10 a majority of the people who own the shmick looking cars inside have PAID for this to be done to there cars. I get personal satisfaction within myself thinking that i have done the hard yards and it's paying off.

So why do they get the attention and the coverage for simply paying someone to do there car. Why can't we get some attention and coverage and everyone look and think "Wow some average joe did that to his car, Why can't i do it myself" And then before you know it people are giving it a go and not thinking that you have to be a tech head to be able to compete and get some decent scores. Fair enough there is ALOT more to it when you want to start getting reords and whatnot.

There is also the fact that when we compte at autosalon we are actually OUTSIDE of the actuall venue. How can we possibly get coverage of any form when we are away from the general public. We are stuck behind a barrier the whole day and the people who stand and watch generally walk away after a few cars simply because they can't go and have a look at setups and whatnot. How can you keep people around an area without them looking into a car and saying "HOLY SH*T Look at the setup in this thing it's huge we have to wait to see what numbers it pulls" And they hang around waiting for car after car just to see what they do simply because they have had the chance to look at the setups. The whole point is that with more interest in our sport there would be more coverage and obviously more coverage means more interest.

But we simply can't do this in the eyes of some just because we don't look good

sonnys right
we spend as much money as others we should get the same coverage at shows n in mags
its not bout what car u have
its about what uve done to ur car

Last time I checked paint jobs were not a requirement of SPL competiton, don't get me wrong we intend to eventually get the Civic resprayed professionally, but its not a major concern as its not going to get us louder is it?

paint the inside with extra thick paint, might act as sound deadener

the only thing i noticed that autosalon did was on their site, they mention the DB-drags and that their mite be some record breaking cars on show. but when it came to autosalon like everyone has said we were stuck outside in the stinking hot whether where our systems start to get hot as hell, fighting for every bit of shade to keep everything nice and cool. then they have the barrier. then ya go into the lanes and its sectioned off.
and what got me even more was went inside to get a drink and that come back to goto my car and security says sorry ya cant go out there. had to explain to the guy i was entered into the DBdrags (only to have him say how do i know that) ya have to go out the front door (then to finally get angello to say nah i was entered in the event. but yeah got into an arguement with someone that knew nothing really about the dbdrags.

but yeah as was saying they announce that the SPL comp is gonna be on yet we get put off to the side and no body can see the cars really.


as sonny said ya have a big flash car pull up beside ya in the lanes then when ya beat them their like dam must be something wrong with my system. when i went for a walk around and looked at the big systems on display all i could think was that wouldn't do much opn a meter. (NOT PUTTING THEIR 'SYSTEMS DOWN)
but as sonny said its the average guy that will look at the SPL set-ups and think dam i can do that and then ya get more interest.
where as they look at $50,000 in custom install and think wish i could do that.

but yeah i think emailing the mags like tarja said is a good idea bombard them with emails asking for more SPL and SQ coverage at the events. atleast post standings and a few pics from events would be half decent.

thats my rant on it anyway

???? I've had four feature articles on my SPL cars in magazines.

More coverage of shows would be nice, it would as simple as sending them the info/pics/results to publish, most mags probably don't even realise when the events are on...........

You've got to work it!!!!!

Phil

And you as a distributor have a heavy involvement with a particular person at that magazine Phil. That obviously helps get cars you have interest in get featured.

These privateer guys however have far more difficulty getting an SPL car featured.

This will be addressed anyway though because as a result of this thread it looks like we will get a CAA Newsletter (monthly or bi-monthly) off the ground. We'll feature a competitors car from both SPL and SQ each issue.

It seems that this thread may make a difference!!

As a regular competitor in nearly, if not all NSW SPL events, i would be more then happy to help out if needed with this newsletter.

I think this is great and a big thanks to all who will be involved.

Once again, if any help is needed i am more then willing(to the best of my abilities that is! ) to help out.

has anyone talked to the guys from car stereo australia? wazzab mentioned it.

It's the same guys as Hot 4s (Car Stereo Australia)/

Actually I had my 155.5dB Swift featured in 1999 and Micky Ds 159.7dB Excel in 2000, both long before I was importing.

Magazines are always looking for feature cars, if it presentable and holds a record, send them a few pics and see what happens.

Phil

Both of which were show cars also, which explains why magazines had no problem featuring htem? I know AJ's civic was, not sure about the other one.

I don't think that anyone thus far has talked about producing an insert for the relevent magazines - and this is something that is financially more viable and will leech into the current readerships.

Should CAA or someone on behalf of DB Drag or CAASQ simply produce a quality insert (1 back to back sheet) then this could simply be included in the publications of choice (Hot4's etc etc). Of course this would require some liasing with the magazine/s in question.

But from my experience in the publications area this is far more liekly to succeed financially, and provided that the insert is in good taste and produced with some quality about it, there are usually little objections to its inclusion. The only issue may revovle around the magazine in question applying an advertising fee to the flier, but I am sure with the contacts that Db Drags and CAASQ have this should not be too much of a problem!

Just a thought

Unfotunatly neither CAA or dB Drag Racing Australia would be in a position to pay for an insert into any mag. (its not cheap)

There are other way's around it, it just takes imagination and persistance

CAA has some secret squirel stuff going on that may get the ball rolling

If you're providing them with content they should be paying you, as it gives them greater ability to sell advertising space (as a mag with no content is not a magazine at all).