I find this very interesting for the club though ...
As do I.
I started with SCCA in the mid-80s with Improved Touring, then moved to running Nationals in Showroom Stock in the late-80s. And this is back when SS was four classes (SSGT, A, B, and C) and the cars were truly "showroom stock" (stock pads, exhausts, seats, suspension, bolt-in cages; all you could really change was tires.) There was no American Sedan, no Spec Miata (oh no!), no Touring. Back then - IT aside - the progression of modifications was SS, Prod, GT. That's it.
Soon after the GT cars were getting too fast so American Sedan was created to allow better safety equipment and more mods. Touring was then created to allow more mods over Showroom Stock. SSA went away to move the cars to T2(?), leaving T1/2/3 and SSB/C. "Trunk kits" were allowed to SS cars to even the competition. Spec Miata was created and it siphoned off a lot of cars.
There was a move afoot a few years ago to eliminate SSB/C and replace them with T3/4. It was an interesting compromise of mostly-stock-looking cars with limited modifications. It was soundly trounced by SS participants and apparently by manufacturers. And now given that interested competitors are being fragmented between three Touring classes and the two remaining Showroom Stock classes - not to mention Spec Miata, American Sedan, Limited Prod, and now Super Touring Over, Under, and Light - SCCA's "vision" of production-based tin-top racing is all over the map.
It's time for some leadership from the Club. It's time for someone to take 28 steps back, look over the playing field from a 30,000-foot view, and takes some hard stances on where the limited resources and limited competitors should be shuffled.
From my perspective, sadly Showroom Stock is dead. First, the whole idea of being able to buy a new car, slap in a rollcage, and go racing competitively is quaint, but long in the tooth. I perceive the level of modification between SS and Touring as minimal (I admit I have not read the rules in detail lately), so I'd suggest that they be combined, maybe into something that's a compromise in mods. And as far as the manufacturer interest goes, is it really a large logical step for the manufacturer to promote a stock (?) car with a loud exhaust versus a lightly-modified one that looks the same but has a loud exhaust? Migrate all these cars together, set a reasonable mod level, and break the category into 4 classes based on speed potential. Use installed equipment to adjust competition to a reasonable level.
If someone is interested in going a bit "faster", maybe wants flexibility to do a bit more mods, then Super Touring seems the next level. Cars are classified on a straight-up weight-to-displacement curve with limited comp adjustments. Pick a spendy level from 1 to 3, go have fun.
If someone wants to get into even more mods (especially engine internals), significant body changes, wants active comp adjustments, and wants to run slick tires, Production beckons.
Finally, for the cat with the big bucks and a desire to build a ship-in-a-bottle with "sky's the limit" mechanical mods, Grand Touring is your baby. Pick your speed level from GT1 to GTL, and have at it.
In between all that are the "specialty" categories of American Sedan and Spec Miata. Self explanatory.
In the end, the existence of both Touring and Showroom Stock have proven to be their own worst enemies. Time to bring those together in marriage for the ongoing health of both.
GA
We need a thinning of the herd.
