StingerFest 2019 - Where shall it be held?

[Paihan Lee]

Personally, I'm all for anywhere near the Kia headquarters in Irvine, CA. Like someone said earlier in this thread, a last minute scheduled meet-up in Irvine a couple of weeks ago garnered close to 20 Stingers. Irvine is 15-20 mins from scenic Pacific Coast Highway, 15 mins to Disneyland, 45 mins to LA, and 1.5 hrs to the mountains, deserts, and San Diego. One of the few places in the U.S. where you can hike the desert in the morning, snowboard at noon, and surf in the afternoon while catching a beautiful sunset across the Pacific Ocean...all in one day.

Las Vegas would also be a great place to meet, but it shouldn't be during the summer. High temperatures in Vegas during the summer months are 100+ and hits 110 degrees regularly.

 

[DaBears4Lyfe]

Im down with Cali! Lets just do it at Kia Headquarters and force them to be involved.

 

[Kamauxx]

Im down with Cali! Lets just do it at Kia Headquarters and force them to be involved.

By "involved" you mean make them call security to shoo us all away?

Looks like a big parking lot and NO GATE.

 

[DaBears4Lyfe]

By "involved" you mean make them call security to shoo us all away?

Looks like a big parking lot and NO GATE.

View attachment 19041

Thats part of the fun. Security TRYING to chase us!

 

[Luminary]

Looks like a big parking lot and NO GATE.

I wonder how many of those cars in that parking lot for KMA are actually KIA's.

 

[Kamauxx]

I wonder how many of those cars in that parking lot for KMA (Kia Motors America) are actually KIA's.

I looked at the street view and there were definitely some non-Kia cars parked in front.

 

[DrGCS3]

I’m down with the idea of central US, St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis. Makes sense to split the driving difference for everyone.
I also thought about Deals Gap and the Tail of the Dragon? It’s an open road, don’t need special permissions for people to drive it and it has a bit of thrill.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Tail of the Dragon is on the bucket list that I keep saying I don't keep.

 

[eflyguy]

I'm usually there a few times a year, mostly on 2 wheels, but occasionally on 4 and am looking forward to my first visit in the Stinger.

That said, a single run in one direction (and who does that??) is more demanding than an afternoon at a race track, unless you plan to be a rolling road block. A lot of fun for enthusiastic drivers, for sure.

Nearby is hell on earth/Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, which will keep most other-halves happy..

 

[DaBears4Lyfe]

I'm usually there a few times a year, mostly on 2 wheels, but occasionally on 4 and am looking forward to my first visit in the Stinger.

That said, a single run in one direction (and who does that??) is more demanding than an afternoon at a race track, unless you plan to be a rolling road block. A lot of fun for enthusiastic drivers, for sure.

Nearby is hell on earth/Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, which will keep most other-halves happy..

Thats awesome! I have never been there, but that would be an epic morning drive to and continue on to the Event!

 

[eflyguy]

The whole Blue Ridge/Smokey Mountain region is full of fantastic roads and scenery for "spirited" enjoyment. That said, so are many other parts of the country. I'm just fortunate to have a playground so near to home.

 

[Kazz]

Doesn't Kia have an HQ in California and another in Georgia? I would think a StingerFest (or KiaFest?) could be held in both spots, organized by Kia themselves. It's the same thing Mitsubishi did for many years - and still does (although not in Normal, IL as they sold that plant) AFAIK.

 

[eflyguy]

No idea what the GA facility is for, but it's very similar in appearance to a bulk retail distribution facility, with little "office" space and no vehicle processing capability. There's also a Hyundai building near me (not near the Kia place), but it's just a small office in a shared business complex.

 

[Kamauxx]

The one in Georgia is a factory where they build the Optimas and Sorrentos.

 

[Jimmer]

You know where it would be great? The Black Hills in S Dakota. And Deadwood (gambling) is very close. The Black Hills is a beautiful drive.

 

[eflyguy]

The one in Georgia is a factory where they build the Optimas and Sorrentos.

Oh! There's a "corporate" facility up in Duluth, near Atlanta - that's what I was referring to.

Yeah - that plant in La Grange is out in the middle of nowhere. Can't get near it, either.

 

[dgreen045]

We should be thinking more long term as well as for 2019. To be successful year after year, the meet will need to change locations to allow Stinger owners from each region to make it. Try having it on the east coast one year, in the south the next, followed by the west coast, and then up north.

This type of long term planning may yield less last minute drop-outs as owners would be able to more realistically plan their trip to a meet which is closer to their home in the following year rather than something farther away this year.

 

[StingerNick]

Anywhere on the East coast sounds good to me

 

[Oryan]

This is biased as all hell but yeah, I'm down with the East coast. The Dragon isn't bad either, lots of car communities make yearly trips up there.

 

[Ucinn]

Has this been finalized when and where?