12 December 2007

Summernats 2008

| Jazz
Join the conversation
52

Come early January every year hordes of motoring enthusiasts decend on Canberra much to the dismay of the usually sedate floriade and gallery set. Without exception January is yet again set to see some incredible, and some incredibly loud street machines cruising the bitumen of Northbourne Ave and Lonsdale st in Braddon as the 21st Street Machine Summernats is once again hosted at EPIC from 3 – 6 January.

Almost as if reading to a well reheased script, Promoter Chic Henry has rolled out the “We’re not expecting any trouble this time” according to this article on ABC Online.

He goes on to say that “All of our security personnel are briefed to look out for anybody, female or otherwise, who may be in somewhat of a distressed state.” Which does make me slightly wonder what the security personnel have been on the look out for in previous years.

No doubt it will be heaps of fun for some, and something that others will avoid like the plague.

Join the conversation

52
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Outstanding sepi – outstanding! Brilliantly put and I couldn’t agree more.

I hate Dummernats, but it is only 4 days and nights a year, so I don’t bother complaining about it much.

It is incredibly demeaning to women though, and you are out of your tree if you think it’s demeaning to men.

Imagine hordes of drunk women in circles around nerdy little 16 year old boys, with the women screaming ‘Show us your D*cks’.

Would that be demeaning to women – I don’t think so.

And as I’ve said before, I find this site tends towards being demeaning to women too, and many women join up to comment on an issue and then get a comment like ‘get a fat one up ya’ and never come back.

Your loss.

Despite everything you may think, Ant, it’ ain’t just Chic Henry getting rich – there’s craploads of local publicans, hotel providers, car repairers, petrol stations, porn retailers, ladies of negotiable affection, and merchants of pretty much any and all products, who get quite a boost out of summernats.

good one ant

Why do people have to ‘suffer’ in their own homes? so that chic henry can get rich? Why?

Summernats is an interesting one. I’ve been twice, once about 6 years ago and again a year ago. I reckon it was heaps better the first time I went, for several reasons:
1) The cars were way better quality. These days any tosser with shiny wheels seems to enter, and plenty of the cars don’t seem to be much more than body-kitted Hyundais and Lancers (if you drive such a car, please kill yourself).
2) Crowd control was terrible last time I was there – fights, people running in front of cars, burnouts in the middle of crowds, and of course young girls stoned out of their tiny brains wearing just about nothing. My previous visit had security guards keeping people off the road, so the cars could pass freely, and the inevitable ‘show us ya tits’ was directed at women standing in the back of utes, who giggles and gave a quick flash, but then moved on.
3) Maybe this is just me, but the driving events didn’t seem as good last time (perhaps related to the quality of the cars?)

Now I have no real problem with a boganish car show, but with no real control over crowd behaviour, and the standard of cars dropping, I don’t think I’ll bother with it this year.

All that being said, I have to agree with Gord0 a bit, in that in Canberra we often get uptight over nothing, and storms in teacups are regular occurrences. Personally I think we all need to harden up a bit, and stop being such sooks. If you live in one of the suburbs near EPIC, then occasionally you’ll have to suffer event traffic and hassles. You knew that when you moved in – it’s not automatically ‘someone else’s fault’.

hingo_VRCalaisV66:30 pm 15 Dec 07

If ACT Government wanted a proper car event, they should have kept the Canberra 400 V8 race which was actually a good family event. Instead the dumbfucks cancelled it even though it was bringing in lots of tourists and filling hotels. Summernats fucking blows.

I love Summernats, but they seriously need to look at alcohol consumption during the event.

Think I’ll be leaving town that weekend. Too many knobheads. It’s the same bloody cars every year anyway. Very unoriginal and as boring as bat shit.

I don’t care about SummerNats as long as the ACT Government does not line Chic Henrys pocket.

Wow i have never herd any of these arguments b4……………
ITs the same every year who cares!

All of us know whats its like so y dont you all grab a pack of kleenexe and argue the same points everyone has beeen for the last 21 years!

It will never get axed cos of the cash flow it brings hotels, petrol, tow-trucks, mechanics, tyre shops, sexshops, nightspots, eateries, Cracker shops- The list is endless especially bcos of the wide range of ppl it brings it (mostly the bogans who wanna buy some porn and crackers) so i dont see it going away very soon.

I herd one year that the whore house’s could not supply enough girls and they had to bring some in from syd!!

End.rant

Ps- THE BEST PART OF SUMMERNATS is when they try to get into the ‘nice’ nightspots bcos they hear its “where all the Chicks are at!” and the bouncer looks down at their wrists to see their bright yellow weekend summernats band and Says “nha mate no summernats entrants in here tonight” Ohhhh Its a Kodak moment!

I don’t object to the Summernats. I think it’s good that the stupid can have fun too.

Ban it? No way! Let them bring their fat wheels, phat stereos, fat guts & fat wallets.

Yeah ban it
like the drag strip
like the speedway
like the trailbike tracks

Build more capecod-infected grey-box stalag-inspired real estate, $50 latte cafes and quilting fanciers group meeting places.

Let us rejoice and celebrate our souless ACT existence with NO public events unless they pass the 5 star political correctness and A grade Chardonnay-swilling wankers tests.

Now we’ve canned ANYTHING that doesn’t fit the private school educated closed-minded politics-loving mold what next…hmmm…

Let’s go pick on those busloads of evil catfood gorging grannies at Floriade !

As a hayfever sufferer I find the celebration of these disgusting pollen-laden flowers an ABERRATION !! How DARE they, I say.

In the words of some very wise men (TISM)

“What are ya…Yob or Wanker ?!?!”

I’ll be a Yob any day…

The summernats crowd are nothing compared to those nasty Folk festival mob. Hooning about in their combi vans, playing loud instrumental music at all hours and drinking mead & apple cider.

touche jb…

they’re all losers.

Why is there only mention of this event degrading women? Fairly degrading to men too in my eyes…shows us as nothing more than beer swilling, petrol wasting, rubber burning, “show as ‘ya tits!” yelling bogan f***wits.

Yep… never going to happen. Why? Because I’m not a filthy, dirty, bogan whore. Go and ask your sister – she might oblige.

Growling Ferret11:30 am 13 Dec 07

I went to Nats for the first time in 10 years last year, and had a great day.

If you are out of EPIC before 5pm, then you miss the dickhead element. It is a car show during daylight hours, but something a lot less friendly after hours.

Unfortunately, the majority of whingers have never actually attended the event and only see the dickhead hangers on element that are not welcome in EPIC and make asses of themselves around Dickson and the City.

Is it a sock puppet? 🙂

Holden Caulfield9:29 am 13 Dec 07

At least the Summernats doesn’t interrupt my commute to and from work by putting pedestrian lights on Comm Ave bridge! I went to Floriade this year for the first time in a long time, and I reckon it’s a con that the ACT Gov can attract people here for that. It’s a serious non-event.

I love cars, but I haven’t been to the Nats for 15 years or more either.

Leave people be, Nats-goers or Floriade-goers, it’s not that hard.

Summernats is a disgrace. I can’t believe it is supported by the ACT Government. I’m all for a car event and think it sucks that such an even is ruined (for me anyway) by the digusting objectification of women and girls and women. It goes to show what our government will do for a few $$. If it didn’t bring so much money to canberra it would be condemned by government. But as usuall…all about the dollars.
I’ll be getting the hell outta Canberra for this event too.
I know small bogan children (under 5) through my profession, who last year were taken to this even and learnt to say “Show us your tits”
Things like that make me really consider the validity of mass sterilization….
I feel sorry for the poor girls who think they are totally ‘cool’ for flashing their boobs around, but I guess in the “pussy cat doll” society we are living in now its perfectly acceptable to reduce women and girls to just sexual objects that need to get approval from men. (Mind you I think its a lot of women who objectify themselves and other women).We’ve even got the littlies in training (bring on the “BRATZ” dolls – marketed for children under 10, dressed in fishnets and hot pants and a tank tops….” hmm what’s wrong with this picture.

Funny how some people in Canberra think the bogans are only out and about during Summernats and the rest of the year the city is a haven of civility and culture.

The cars are great, it’s such a shame the Nats are such a disgusting drunken yob-fest. Drunken shennanigans can be fun, but the way this one is done, it’s definitely “for the boys” and the girls are for decoration and entertainment. Very unattractive scene.

It’s a shame they can’t rent a paddock out whoop-whoop somewhere and do it there. I don’t think “Canberra” benefits from it, just Chick bloody Henry and a few hot dog sellers.

aww c’mon schmerica, show us ya tits… ya know there’s no escaping bogans, on or off the planet.

el ......VNBerlinaV88:17 pm 12 Dec 07

The mouse buttons? 🙂

Dont you just hate an unfamiliar key board and you keep on pressing the wrong buttons?

To answer my questions:

1/ Australian Capital Tourism

2/ http://www.summernats.com.au/highlights.htm#fever
11.00pm – 11.30pm Adult Entertainment: – Wet T-shirt Competition
11.30pm – 1.00am – Fever Eye Candy Exotic Dance Revue on Grandstand stage

Vic Bitterman7:26 pm 12 Dec 07

Pandy, the answer to your questions is :

42/

Vic Bitterman7:25 pm 12 Dec 07

Love the Nats! I thought for a moment that the bloke in that photo linked was me…. but then I realised mine isn’t quite that pink… or small… 🙂

As sad as it is, I agree with the captain… too many drunks spoiling it for car enthusiasts like myself.

To answer my questions:

1/

To answer my questions:

1/

captainwhorebags6:36 pm 12 Dec 07

I’m all for a car show here in Canberra, but I think the past record of Summernats shows that it needs to be alcohol free. Go for the cars, not the booze.

Question:

1/ Did Summernats get any ACT Government funding this year?

2/ Will Summernats be promoting sexual degredation of women by encouraging wet T-Shirt contests and “show yar tits” comps?

Question:

1/

Yep, that photo makes me proud to be Australian – not!

I wish the RAAF would drop a few bombs on EPIC during the Nats.

If you consider cheering on underage girls fun… I guess I’m boring!

And will the CT run any real articles on the Nats for once, or will they just do their usual promotional stuff, depicting a few shiny cars, and describing it a wonderful family day out?

“I also love the “There are a lot more females coming to the event having an absolutely sensational time,” he said. Those are the 16 year olds who pull up their tops and make out with their friends. Classy stuff eh? I wonder how old the next girl will be when she claims she was sexually assulted on the Saturday night (without provoking it of course) 16? 17? Might even get lucky and she’ll be 18. All I can say is thank god I won’t be here.”

Oh Schmerica, you are so old fashioned: don’t you know how to enjoy yourself in the 21st Century? 😉

I think the parents of the underage girls that attend Scummerbrats need a good kick up the arse.

Well, the bogans seem to be reasonably well contained at EPIC…but the flow of human traffic through nearby suburbs 24/7 over four days sucks majorly. At least the organisers have the decency to clean the streets afterwards.
What I’d really like ot know is if the ACT Govt. is still keeping Summernats afloat? Why 15 million bogans in a small space where there is alcohol for sale can’t generate a profit is beyond me.

I agree with just about everything you’ve said there Serendipity, aside from your racist remarks regarding a “certain Sydney resident ethnic group”. In my experience, Summernats boganity extends to ALL ethnic groups that attend.

“we are not expecting trouble this time”…..oh come on Chic, when you have a large selection of a certain Sydney resident ethnic group, hell bent on trouble and peddling their mind affecting substances here, with their loud and modified “doof doof” cars and lots of alcohol, there WILL be strife, as there is every year. Sure, the show cars are the intended attraction and each to their own there, but its not generally the genuine enthusiasts who cause the problems, but the numerous “hangers on”. Some of these are here to create as much havoc as they can both at Epic and later in Civic. The effect then flows our to the suburbs where impressionables attempt to imitate the horsepower fuelled antics of their “heroes” at the main event. I concede there are financial benefits for the territory (and Chic Henry) but I ask…. at what real cost?. For the record, I am not anti the actual event, just very cautious and mindful of the negatives for the ACT of some of the types/drugs/dangerous driving (on the street)that seem to be accepted as the norm for this event.

something that others will avoid like the plague

I’m actually leaving the country. I HATE Bogannats.

I also love the “There are a lot more females coming to the event having an absolutely sensational time,” he said. Those are the 16 year olds who pull up their tops and make out with their friends. Classy stuff eh? I wonder how old the next girl will be when she claims she was sexually assulted on the Saturday night (without provoking it of course) 16? 17? Might even get lucky and she’ll be 18. All I can say is thank god I won’t be here.

I have to say that as a new visitor to summernats last year, I was very disappointed by that lack of variety available with regard to alcoholic beverages. Perhaps if there were more (better) options people wouldn’t be so disruptive? Also perhaps if the event was entertaining in some way…

Beer is one of the few things in life which is acceptable for males to cry over; but whether it allows Security to intervene on your behalf at Dummernuts is another thing all together.

If I am distressed at the length of the line up to buy beer, will the security guards push in for me?

“Female or otherwise”

Gender fluid types?

Absent Diane1:56 pm 12 Dec 07

does that mean if I go to bogan-nats in a distressed state that some will look out for me.. well that isn’t going to do much – i demand counselling.

““Female or otherwise”

Are there many other options?”

Some of those “feral bemulleted” types can be a bit hard to define sometimes!

“Female or otherwise”

Are there many other options?

HOw can he say “We’re not expecting any trouble this time”

Does he vet all participants and entrants ?
Also security will not stop any incidents happening – they will just make the incedents not last as long as they would if security was not there.

I am a big boy and like to think I can hold my own – but ther ehave been times after hours at summernats when finishing my shift that I have had to have my boss (Turkish Body Builder) walk me through entrants camp area to get to my car…

Family event.. .I think not – unless your breeding feral bemulleted kids.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.