<VV> <CORSA Chapters> "Improved" Concours class

[AeroNed at aol.com]

I have to admit, Mark has a very good point. As he said, concours folks are 
 extremely sensitive on things like classes. The debacle is no  longer 
pending, it's here now. Good luck!
 
Ned 
 
 
In a message dated 5/3/2010 8:10:38 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
airvair at earthlink.net writes:

All,

I am submitting this in response to Bill Hubbell's  letter and Harry 
Jensen's response as printed in the May CC. It is for  publication in the CC, with 
the full realization that Harry always gets the  last word in.

First let me inform/remind everyone of my credentials  concerning concours. 
I first entered concours at the first CORSA convention in  1971, and have 
been active in concours, either showing, displaying, judging,  or 
administering concours and concours rules ever since. I was CORSA National  Concours 
Committee Chairman for five years, on the committee for more years  than that, 
and even wrote the original CORSA concours rules and its first  revision, 
rules that are (in modified form) still in use today. I am a  Certified 
Master CORSA Concours judge, and Master Specialist, to name a few  recognitions. 
Thus my credentials speak for themselves.

In the early  days of CORSA Concours, Woody Schwartz (another long-term 
CORSA Concours  Committee Chairman) and I talked in length about naming one of 
the classes  "Improved". For very good reasons, and based on considerable 
experience, he  advised against using that term. He had observed firsthand how 
touchy concours  people (and especially stock class owners) are with 
details, such as the names  of classes. My experience concurs with his.

To put it precisely, the  Corvair needs no "improvement" from its 
factory-issued condition. It is, from  the viewpoint of a stock vehicle owner, 
perfect as is. That doesn't mean that  it can't be further "improved", depending 
on how one views changes. But stock  vehicle owners will rightfully be 
offended by the usage of that term. And,  trust me, there is nobody more 
high-strung than concours people. After all,  with the money and "labor of love" 
efforts they put forth with their vehicles,  they have every right to be.

Neither anyone in the CORSA management  office, the present members of the 
Concours committee, nor for that matter  anyone on the CORSA board can't 
even get within spitting distance of someone  with my, or Woody's, credentials. 
So when I say that Harry and the committee  are flat out WRONG, wrong, 
wrong on this matter, I am speaking from my  considerable experience and 
knowledge of concours. It is not a frivolous  opinion from the peanut gallery.

Concours rules, even so "small" a  change as this, deserve long, 
well-thought-out deliberations before such  changes are made. Concours rules MUST be 
guided by and follow a  well-though-out philosophy in order to be successful. 
The success of the  judgements I made in the writing of the initial rules 
is born out in their  continued longevity. Simply put, Concours rules changes 
are nothing to be  taken lightly, and this change has all the earmarks of 
being ill-conceived,  rushed, and frivolously made. Bill Hubbell is 
absolutely right, and just the  tip of the iceberg.

In view of this impending debacle, I would  therefore offer up a practical 
solution. Simply eliminate all class  designations, except those required by 
the Preservation Award. Our present  "gold-silver-bronze" award system had 
made such classes obsolete anyway. So  why compound the situation by using a 
classing term that is so offensive? Cars  could then simply be refered to 
as being either factory stock or  non-stock.

-Mark Corbin
Treasurer, Stock Corvair Group
President,  Air 'Vair Group
perenial Concours  judge
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