This past Wednesday was the Atlanta stop for the Gold Rush Rally. Because I was a virgin to automotive rallies, I didn't know what to expect, so I went in positive AND with an open mind. And you know what? I'm glad I did.
I got there a little too early. Despite media registration being open from 10-5, I got there at 2, knowing I should have gotten there by 5. The Gold Rush Rally participants have partied way too hard in Vegas (well, who could blame 'em) and they got to Atlanta uber late. Which meant, when I got there, there were only 6 cars. But those 6 cars carried a bit of weight to them.
To park within the area and to partake in the actual rally aspect, you had to get decaled. Gold Rush Rally was smart, and they brought with them Vinyl Styles, a automotive graphic company out of San Francisco to decal every single car at every tour stop. Let me repeat that. Every single car at every single stop. I asked them, how many decals do you put on each vehicle. Their answer... 25. And they decaled every vehicle- from the stock Chevy Surburban that confused me to the matte black Bugatti, and all those in between.
There were 19 cars that showed up- not counting the Subaru that belonged to one of the media and the factory Chevy Surburban and GMC Yukon. There were Lambos, Ferraris, A Rolls Royce Phantom, An SLS or two, an Audi R8 that had a questionable front license plate (the Georgia Flag), a Mercedes S550 that had the AMG accessories, a Mercedes Benz CL63 that was actually the AMG level, and the car that stole the show- the Bugatti Veyron that stole the show. But everyone knows that a racing event can't be considered a racing event without the two vehicles that are considered God of the import world- the Nissan GTR and BMW M Series, and they were both there as well.
We're all friends here, so we both know that when it comes to shows, I'm a critical person. I like cars to be at shows. However, even though there were 19 vehicles there that totalled to over 5 million dollars (if they were brand new), the Gold Rush Rally stop was the most productive show I've been to since SEMA. I met some great people- The Vinyl Styles guys, The Vossen Wheel guys came (the same Vossen Wheels that I feature on my site often), Jason from ATL Autorsports, Sunny from Speed Mischief, and I did meet more but I'm horrible with names. Basically the people who showed up are those who truely had a love for cars, not guys who customize cars to get girls.
I really hope that Gold Rush Rally comes back to Atlanta. Rallies don't come here, those are mostly a West Coast thing. That's why I made sure I attended. If they do come back, I hope they listen to the Gold Rush Rally volunteer who suggested for the Rally to be in Buckhead as opposed to Midtown. Midtown Atlanta is okay, but it was a business area- everything closes early in a business area.
P.S. I wish Gold Rush Rally would have given me a gift bag. Certain media members got one and I didn't. For more photos, well not much more (I mean, there were only 19 cars), click here to check out my Gold Rush Rally gallery
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