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Auto Detailing and AppearanceShare tips and tricks on how to make your Third Gen shine! Get opinions on products or how something tasteful looks on your Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird.
Thank you all for the showing of appreciation, but I actually had a purpose behind posting this thread, other than fishing for praise. I just didn't have the time to make that purpose known earlier. I thought that the format would be a concise way of responding to the sort of heated discussion over COTM voting (as it illustrates my point).
As an aside, like many of you, I do not care for this new format with the less intuitive thread jumping, and with the thread you're on just sort of bleeding into a "related thread". Definitely makes it confusing and somewhat aggravating trying to post. On the other hand though, I was glad to see the contentious debate [inadvertently] revive a months old thread rather than for it to have hijacked the most current **Voting Thread**.
Anyway, my point is that, yes, occasionally, popularity and other biases have played a role in the COTM voting, but it is not an issue of Stock vs Modified having an unfair advantage in COTM contests - and I've heard it both ways. The proof is in the list of winners for this year. I count 5 highly modified cars, 4 highly stock cars, and 3 cars that fall somewhere in between, (one of which, being "highly stock" in performance). Pretty even-handed overall, I think. If anything, I'd say maybe not a great year for Firebirds, but not necessarily unrepresentative of the community.
I am not saying "never" to categorized months for COTM. What I am saying though, is that if your concern is over-or-under-representation, specifically, of "highly stock" or "highly modified" cars, then categorized nominations requirements is a solution for a non-existent problem.
Reminder: With "Open Season" nominations, any car that meets finish and quality requirements can be nominated, regardless of pedigree or purpose. And, certain categories have proven to be problematic in the past, as far as having an entire month dedicated to them. For example, Iron Dukes, Sports Coupes, and the like...we'd be lucky to get two nominees together to even have a contest. Dedicated performance/Track cars...some finish/quality issues, but mostly lack of interest in participating by owners. That said, those cars don't tend to fair poorly when in the mix during "Open Season" contests.
In summary:
The 68 or so people who regularly put forth nominations and vote in COTM do a fantastic job. Again, the proof is in the above pictures.
I'm sure there are good, fun, and interesting ideas to make our COTM contests good, fun, and interesting. I'm always open to new ideas. Hit me up. Here in this thread even.
To me, part of what's cool about Third Gens is that it is sort of a niche collective. The fact is, while we have thousands TGO Members, many of those members just happen to own a Third Gen...and maybe have an occasional technical question, and that's why they're here. But the (68 or so) people who make COTM a possibility are among the few that are genuinely passionate about Third Gen cars, and not just their own. In the past, I've always advocated expanding COTM to all the unwashed masses in order to keep "hometown heroes and sentimental favorites" from becoming overly representative of "the best we have to show" a world that often sees our obsession as a mere set up to a cultural punchline. But, as I look at this years winners, and last years winnners...I dunno...I might be content to just entrust this to those who are genuinely passionate.
You should run for president my friend! Thank you again for all you do with this and a big thanks for you seeing that this format does work. When I first joined this site I did not get involved in COTM. I don't want to say it was the specific category but yeah I think it was. If it was a type of car I did not care for I did not give it the time of day. I now look forward to each month to see who and what gets the nomination from me or the others here.There are alot of different types of cars here along with different types of owners. We all have our opinion on what type of thirdgen we prefer. I am the guy you describe, a guy that joined for the technical help and to learn a few things about these cars. somewhere along the way I think I have become one of those 68 you talk about,
"our obsession as a mere setup to a cultural punchline"....Can I use this quote in my sig?.... Love It!!
You must manage people outside of TGO because your dispute resolution skills are second to none and always beyond fair. It’s not easy to come off that way in text on the internet either..
The whole year of “Open Season” works out nice. I don’t think people vote for the same type of car every month even those that have preferences. It seems to work out pretty good.
When I first started coming to TGO for info as a lurker it was because I’d Google something about a thirdgen and it always brought me here. I’d see the COTM winners on the homepage and I was impressed with the cars here. I never thought I’d be in that group. After my first post on my car someone nominated me the first time and it was just nice to get recognized. COTM is pretty inclusive and valuable.
The other good thing about Open Season is that you don’t have to wait for your category to come up again to be nominated. You could be nominated again any time by someone who thinks your car deserves another go. People are pretty good at spacing out the nominations and usually won’t nominate someone 2-3-months in a row. It seems somewhat self-police-ing..
