We got blown off on the factory tour,Lemans weekend but...

[dogdoc97]

As you recall I was trying to get us a tour of the factory and some corral space at the Petite Le Mans this past fall but it seemed to fall on deaf ears up there.

When I had my BMW Z8(what a collector car) the owners had several excursions up the California coast since of course most owners live in cali. Some guys spent the big $$$ and trucked their cars to California and joined along.

There are not many of us but would anyone be interested in doing something similar but perhaps up the east coast along US 1 which runs from the Keys to Maine I believe; obviously we would not do all of it.

I have to say I have also always wanted to do the old "route 66" from Chicago to Cali,although some has changed I hear its still fun!

Was just thinking about this as I turned 55 this year and out of the blue had heart surgery in November, and no I am not a fat old guy,lol I actually bike over 100 miles a week! I am just lucky I went in; anyway this kind of stuff is on my "bucket list" after being told I was about to "Drop dead"........Dogdoc, Atlanta

[PanozGTLM]

So what do you actually want to do?

Just asking cause I also am turning 55 this year

[shoreorthopod]

i'm in

I could do something around the philly to ny run; 01 car no.7 off the line

aron

[dogdoc97]

Hey ther Jersey GTLM...

Congrats on the birthday; well as you read I was just wondering about some kind of run along a coastal area during warmer but not necessarily Hot months. Build a little "esprit de corps" I guess amongst us few owners. families welcome but of course as a 2 seater my son is not going to be happy if mom gets the shotgun seat and he has to stay home with a sitter; he's 9! and loves his Panoz,lol.

Anyway, it was just a thought! Doc

[2006GTLM]

Interesting owner dynamic, I turn 55 this year as well.

[dogdoc97]

ok, 3 of us, that's weird....

very strange, still would lke to do something, even if it is just a few of us, Doc

[ishigakisensei]

Is there a reason given as to why Panoz thinks its ok to crap all over its customers/fans? Even the Ayn Rand fetish of Don does not explain this type of dismissive attitude. Stunning really.

[dogdoc97]

Well I would hate to use the word crap...

but I did not get the feeling there was a whole lot of effort to assist us in any form or fashion. John did say that the track could not accomodate our cars in a corral I think he said but still I was surprised that the factory did not do anything, in light of the fact that this was the last Petite ever, hey a $100 bucks worth of pizza would have been cool,lol .....

Recall I could not get them to commit to a factory tour either....seems odd to me since ALL of us I would say are VERY passionate about the brand; that should be perceived as a good thing, yes? I mean if your asking $189K for the new car debut then I would think we as owners would be a good source for "referral conversations" for those ready to plunk sown so much money, even if our cars are older models.

We can still talk about the factory support over the years even though no cars were being made; how JRD tuning is fantastic, how accessible John L the engineer is, etc. If I was paying $189K I would want to hear this stuff for sure! Doc

[99panoz]

Recall I could not get them to commit to a factory tour either....seems odd to me since ALL of us I would say are VERY passionate about the brand; that should be perceived as a good thing, yes? I mean if your asking $189K for the new car debut then I would think we as owners would be a good source for "referral conversations" for those ready to plunk sown so much money, even if our cars are older models.

We can still talk about the factory support over the years even though no cars were being made; how JRD tuning is fantastic, how accessible John L the engineer is, etc. If I was paying $189K I would want to hear this stuff for sure! Doc

I agree. As I've said so many times before, I LOVE my Panoz but was most enthused by not just the car itself but how I was sold on (by a then Panoz dealer) being a member of the "Panoz Family" and all the perks that entailed.
Unfortunately thus far, I've received no such love from the factory and feel quite shunned as an owner let alone a Panoz enthusiast.
Indeed, if I were spending $100K - $200K on a car I'd damn sure be doing my homework on the brand and their history. That history would be certain to include the factory relationships with its customer base and overall customer sentiment.
No doubt that a savvy prospect in the market for such a car with a Panoz badge on its nose won't find his way to this forum and its quite unfortunate that when he does he'll see first hand how the courtship ends once the sale is complete.

[dogdoc97]

99 I think that is a fair callout at this point...

And I am NOT an original owner, so I did not plunk down the amount of cash you did. I have to agree in that if I feel slighted by the whole team up there then I can only imagine how you as an original buyer/supporter feels.

By the way, I have spent about $6K on my car with JRD tuning, so it's not like they never see me up there.

I was told they will have a new "service area"...I will report what kind of greeting I get next time I go for some routine maintenance, etc.

SO, back to the original post, anyone want to try and do some "min" Panoz run from city to city, along the coast, etc? I am NOT the guru of ideas so I am open to any that you guys have in mind. Doc

[ishigakisensei]

Without a change in culture (akin to what Porsche, Ferrari, even the Ford Mustang have done) realizing that although Panoz makes cars, they sell an experience that one should not be able to get elsewhere, this rebirth is doomed to failure.

[don fryer]

I have always found John L (both of them; more interactions so far with John A), Brandon, etc to be responsive, professional, accessible, etc. I last communicated with John A back in Nov re their big announcement about building new Esperantes, etc. He was pleased to get an update from me re my '04 Esperante GT (1st GT built) and a recent local car show; and, further, he was supportive of the car show itself vis a vis the availability of their "new" cars in the future.

[John Anthony]

PANOZ NEWS !
Celebrating 25 years in business !
We officially re-open the doors to our newly renovated location:
Monday, April 7, 2014 at 9:00am
We have new phone numbers & a new address at the same location.
All your old friends at Panoz have new contact information:
New Phone #: 678-425-1539
New Address: 1089 Hwy 124, Braselton, Ga. 30548
(Yes, it’s the same location with a new postal address & a new phone number)
Great tech support from John M. Leverett @ 678-425-1539 ext. 231.
Great parts and service support from Brandon Carver @ 678-425-1539 ext. 230.
Great sales information and owner support from John A. Leverett @ 678-425-1539 ext. 222.
Great customer service from Lisa White @ 678-425-1539 ext. 223
The same great PANOZ team at the same location…
Give us a call or stop by and let’s catch up 678-425-1539.