Hey, I got an encouraging reply from Jon Apogee at Sport Truck Connection:
>From: "Jon and Mike" <jonandmike@stconnection.com>
>Subject: RE: Sport Truck Connection premise
>
>Hi Jon,
>
>Thanks for the heads up and your opinion!
>
>Perhaps "useless" is the wrong term. It was selected for those who don't
>care, or should I say can't relate to such info! ;-)
>
>I think you and others on the list have a valid point and Mike and I will
>address the "show" write-up in the next few days!
>
>If you read my bio, you'll find that I was the former motorsports manager
>for Mitsubishi and took them to a Class 7 (then, in '84 - '85, was modified
>mini pick-ups i.e. D-50) win in both the HDRA and SCORE Championships. I am
>also raced formula cars and Pro Rally cars and headed up one of Firestone's
>teams that reintroduced performance tires back into Firestone and helped get
>the Firehawk race series off the ground. I only mention this to give you the
>proper insight when I tell you that "0-60" times and in particularly "g's"
>have been a big part of my life and I don't take them lightly.
>
>It is with this in mind that I will not use unsubstantiated or factory
>stated performance numbers as some automobile magazines do. Either I can
>test it and back it up or I won't state it. There are plenty of books
>(magazines) that give performance numbers, but don't really tell you
>anything about the vehicle. This is usually because the writer hasn't driven
>the vehicle (if he even knows how to drive). I could tell you stories of my
>days around Motor Trend in the late '70's early '80's and some of the so
>called "pundits" and their inability to shift a car properly. One of their
>technical editors that was probably the biggest idiot I have ever met (and
>he lived at my house for a while so I can state this with some authority)
>and the beginning of my disillusionment with the motoring press in general.
>
>I have been producing and writing "truck" oriented shows for about 4 years
>now. (GEAR and Outdoorsman Trucking News) Mostly for other people who don't
>have a clue how to communicate via television. Sport Truck Connection is a
>show that Mike Vieira and I own and control the format. As for the name, eh!
>The time we got done with trademark searches and attorneys your lucky it
>wasn't called "we give up". However we didn't call it Race Truck Connection,
>that wasn't who we are going after, that's another show as they say! Sport
>refers to Sport Utility and Truck to truck, nothing more insightful than
>that.
>
>Even before your post there was some discussion of content and performance
>and mileage and etc. being handled differently on the show.
>
>It is feedback like yours and the list that help us decide who the audience
>is and what they want.
>
>Thanks for the post and listening to me,
>
>Jon Apogee
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Marketing Matters
>d.b.a. French Valley Productions
>
>Producers of the "SPORT TRUCK CONNECTION" for Television
>
>http://www.stconnection.com
>
>Jon@mmatters.com
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Jon Steiger [mailto:stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu]
>Sent: Monday, March 08, 1999 4:57 PM
>To: jonandmike@stconnection.com
>Cc: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
>Subject: Sport Truck Connection premise
>
>
> Hi,
>
> Your show (and website) were brought to my attention via a post on
>the Dakota Mailing List (www.dakota-truck.net), where you're taking a
>bit of heat over the info posted on the "The Show" portion of your
>website where it says:
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>---
>|Sport Truck Connection is the first National Television show devoted solely
>to
>|new Light Trucks and SUV's. Each week, Mike and Jon, bring real world
>|information about these vehicles directly into your living room. They test
>the
>|vehicles in the way that you would use them, NOT on a racetrack with
>|useless information about "g's" or "0-60" times, but rather how they would
>|be to live with, day after day, month after month. Items like, "Are the
>seats
>|comfortable?", "Does the vehicle do what it was designed to do, and more
>|important, does it do what YOU want it to do?", "Do the sun visors really
>|block the sun?", "Do drinks in the cup-holders spill on corners?", "Are the
>|back seats just for looks?", "How does it ride, both on and off road?", and
>|many of the other pieces of the puzzle you don't always get to put together
>|when on one of those "all to short" test drives when buying or leasing a
>|vehicle.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>---
>
>
> I believe the main problem comes from your assertion that performance
>numbers ("g's", "0-60 times", etc.) are "useless". There are over 600
>members on the Dakota list, and a great number of us DO race our trucks.
>Obviously, the membership runs the gamut from die hard racers to grocery
>getters,
>but many of us race at the dragstrip, several others autocross, and there is
>a huge "offroading" contingent. For some of us, sun visors, cupholders,
>etc.
>ARE the "useless information", what we want to know are the perfomance
>numbers,
>and how can we get faster?
>
> I believe that the day to day operation of the truck AND the performance
>numbers are important; by eliminating either one, you neglect a big part
>of the overall personality of a truck.
>
> Anyway, I just wanted to bring this to your attention. I found it
>especially strange given the fact that the title of your show is
>"SPORT Truck Connection". If you're going to ignore performnance numbers,
>why not change the name to "Truck Connection"?
>
> Thanks for listening.
>
> -Jon-
>
> .--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ----------------------------------------.
> | Jon Steiger * AOPA, DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA * RP-SEL |
> | '96 Dodge Dakota V8 SLT CC (14.58@93.55), '96 Kolb FireFly 447 |
> `--------------------------- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---'
>
>
-Jon-
.--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ------------------------------------.
| Affiliations: DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA. RP-SEL |
| '96 Dodge Dakota v8 SLT CC (14.58@93.55), '96 Kolb FireFly 447 |
`----------------------- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---'
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