The routes of classic car tours generally fall into one of two patterns, point-to-point or hub-and spoke.
The grandfather of classic car tours is the Mille Miglia. Originally a race first held in 1927, it was point-to-point, starting and ending in Brescia, Italy. The event was reborn as a “timed rally style” tour in 1977, but still point-to-point, with each night spent in a different city.
Other significant events, including the Colorado Grand, the Copperstate 1000 and the California Mille, all follow this same format. Generally, this style route necessitates a luggage truck to carry the stuff that won’t fit in your classic car.
The SCM 1000 adopted a different format. We designed our tour routes to be “hub-and-spoke,” with the participants returning to the same central lodge or hotel each evening.
There are plusses and minuses to each. Point-to-point allows the route setter to be extremely creative, knowing that there’s no need to return to the same point every night. You can often cover greater distances with this design.
Hub-and-spoke creates a challenge for the route setter, at the first 30 to 40 miles of each day will be leaving from and returning to the same location.
As we “mature” in age, hub-and-spoke has its appeal. First, you only check in once to your hotel. My least favorite parts of classic car events are standing in line to check into a different hotel each night. Second, you only unpack once.
Third, should your car develop a problem, you can simply return to the hub town to have it attended to. On a point-to-point event, it is very difficult to make up a lost day.
As we continue considering holding an “SCM 40” to celebrate our fourth decade of publishing, among the most crucial decisions we’ll have to make is what sort of route configuration to use. Please share your preference in the comments below and let us know why you prefer point-to-point or hub-and-spoke. Thank you.
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Keith. As a long time TSD rallyist, ( since 1971) I much prefer point to point due to the challenge of packing light, and the excitement of staying in different hotels
( hopefully historic !) , combined with a different exit road each morning ! P2P is more exciting and challenges the Driver/Navvie to be prepared better, and
The car better prepared. It’s just more exciting, period !
Keith,
Great idea , love to go
Keith, In the 55 years of participating in the car hobby my wife and I had occasion to take part in many variations of tours. Probably the first and most important consideration is to evaluate the type of people and or cars you hope to attract. Could young people or young families be attracted to the event.
Back in about 1980 my wife and I attended a Glidden Tour in a borrowed R-R Silver Ghost. This was a hub tour and on the day we were to go to Disney World we took our 10 year old daughter. She never forgot parading the cars through the park and Snow White ridding in our car.
For many years we would travel to national meets with a group of club members, some with children. These tours would be in the format of a point to point tour sometimes 2,000 miles round trip. I think it’s important to include young people and children wherever possible. Also, some of the women on the tour might like to visit and enjoy something that is NOT related to automobiles.
Sorry I didn’t even come close to answering your question.
Cheers, Truman
As you mentioned, both formats have their advantages and disadvantages. Personally, “packing light” is my standard practice; I drive a Miata. However, the Hub-and-Spoke model appeals to me the most because it allows me to unpack once and work from the same location, essentially creating a centralized base of operations. There’s some value in knowing what to expect in accommodations after a long day of freewheeling fun. Plus, there is the benefit of not lugging all of one’s gear around on the excursions. The weight savings in a lightweight sports car make a big difference during spirited drives, maybe not so much in a grand tourer.
What Rand Wintermute says is solid input. It’s reflective of 50’s and 60’s sports car heritage. My most memorable classic car event was this style.
As I’ve aged, I can see why SCM readers might enjoy hub and spoke more. My current fav, is a hub and spoke, roll chart navigation, event for small bore vintage motorcycles. It’s the Southern Oregon TT, and spun off a point to point, rigorous TSD event, MotoGiro California.
The Pacific NW has plenty of venues for beautiful hub and spoke tours. Enjoy the planning process.
What’s behind me doesn’t matter… so I prefer point to point. Or at least I think I would, because I have never been on more than a one-day driving tour, unless you count the Blue Strada Miata tour in Italy my husband and I went on last year (highly recommend). They did a mix, we stayed one night most places, but a couple places we stayed two nights. I do hear your point about only unpacking once, that’s a nice-to-have.
Point to Point is much more interesting to me as you get to see more scenery than an out and back one. Packing for a tour should be minimal anyway so a change of hotels is not a big deal and as you say the older established tours have a luggage truck.
Keith,
I like both types. If you are in a nice hotel it’s easier, you mentioned this. A point to point is also nice because you see more and can explore different cities or types of terrain. Rallies for me provide three things, location I would like to visit, enjoyment of my car and other cars and the people associated. You meet people from all walks of life but have a common interest/ hobby.
If the location is diverse enough to drive without repeat then a cloverleaf style works. Otherwise staying in different hotels and cities is preferred. I have been lucky to experience TSD rallies on both coasts of the US, throughout the UK, Europe and Northern Africa. I also usually never repeat a rally in a similar location.
At my age hub-and-spoke is the way to go.