Discussions: Classic Cars: Online vs local car club ? Classic Motorsports Magazine

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Online vs local car club ?

July 28, 2008 4:00 p.m. Karl La Follette New Reader

Hey was just wondering about all the positive and negatives of a local car club versus an online car club ?

The go it alone mentality of hey if I need the info I can get it online and still hit the car shows .

vs club dues and meetings , politics and what not .

Are you a pay your dues and not participate and get the newsletter vs I will go it alone and restore with online car club

vs the I am in a car club and participate fully ? I am in a couple of clubs and dues are becoming a topic .
July 28, 2008 4:26 p.m. Gary Reader

There are pros and cons with every club. It just depends on the membership. I belong to one that is a friendly group of folks and has a core group of oldtimers with a lot of LBC experience and technical knowledge. In the colder months there are occasional tech sessions at members' garages to cover different topics. So the tech support is available. But in my opinion the club is too social. The average age is getting up there and there is little interest in competitive events except for a couple loose knit rallies (absolutely no autocrosses). It seems like most of the so-called "events" are designed to please the wives (cookouts, holiday parties, ice cream socials, etc.). But despite that, I continue to pay the dues and hit a few weekly cruise-ins each season. I wonder if the age factor is an issue with other clubs?
July 28, 2008 6:05 p.m. wlkelley3 Reader

Does this site count as an online club? I do frequent forums like this site and marquee specific of what I own. I do understand the "dues" thing though as I figured out you can get dues-poor quickly. Especially if you join national clubs which is needed for the smaller local clubs to get insurance from. I'm in the local Brit club and they are like Gary stated, mainly older crowd with not much interest except occasional tech sessions, monthly meeting and shows. I'm also in the local racing club for autocrossing and my daughter tells me she paid my dues in her car club (tuner types into autocrossing, shows & drifting). Lately I'm starting to get a bit frustrated with the Brit club as there are only 5 or so of us that does all the organizing and work at club events and still recieve complaints and lately the other members are getting a bit snobbish on types of cars, mainly from the core group of old-timers that don't participate much anymore. I don't think I'll take the VP position again next year. (rant over) The local racing club don't go for shows much but do appreciate a nice classic. And the younger set from my daughters club come over and help me sometimes on my classic. They like both shows and racing.
July 29, 2008 10:11 a.m. Jack SuperDork

While I used to be president and webmaster of a local Triumph club NJTA New Jersey Triumph Association I've pretty much given up on local clubs since I've moved. I have yet to find one that is more a car club than a social club.

The sole exception was an autocrossing club ACE Autocrossing and Convertible Enthusiasts, but with kids, I could not participate enough and dropped out.

OTOH - Between a few email lists I subscribe to and CM/GRM I can get almost all the technical and entertainment information I need.

Jack
July 29, 2008 10:53 a.m. KaptKaos Reader

You can't have an effective club without an online community. Some of the best communities also organize local, regional and national events (USA) fairly regularly.

So the question is, do you also have a local club? I believe that depends on the car(s).

In my experience, I had a fairly rare car (Mercury Capri), and there were not a lot of other owners near me. My 914 however has tons of local owners and regular get-togethers, AXs and other events.

YMMV
July 29, 2008 4:41 p.m. ddavidv SuperDork

Depends on what you drive, and what you want out of a club.

I started a sort-of Mini club for the area, but most of the folks are unreliable to attend anything. We have no dues, no officers, no newsletter. Just a mailing list advising when shows come up we can all get together at. That's as much organization as I want to put into it. If nothing else, it keeps us all connected.

I've toyed with joining BMWCCA a few times but really don't think I'd get my money's worth out of it other than the Roundel, which is brilliant, but I have enough stuff to read. The local chapter is truly a wine and cheese group which doesn't interest me.

I can only tolerate so many car shows before I've had enough. Get me on a tour or something and I'm there. Too many sports car clubs don't do anything involving motion. When they do, I'm always there to participate.

For racing, NASA is a necessity and I get my money's worth out of it. SCCA is just expensive, but if I want to hill climb next year I'll have to pay the price. Dues do factor into my annual car budget. If I'm not getting a good amount of fun out of it I'm not going to bother.

The internet is fast becoming very effective at providing the basics of clubs: friendship, tech support, parts locating and so on. Events have even blossomed from online contact. I think the traditional club with dues, officers and newsletters is something whose time may have truly passed.
July 30, 2008 4:51 p.m. David S. Wallens Editorial Director

On a semi-related note, Andy's next column is about clubs. I think the big thing is the camaraderie. Lately, I've been autocrossing more to see buddies than actually compete. (And my times probably reflect that fact.)
July 30, 2008 5:17 p.m. Karl La Follette New Reader

I have just picked up a tip from the samba of removing old paint I was scouring the new threads after only hitting the cover page threads basically then went a little deeper and found this paint remover thread .

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=167756&start=180&postdays...

it basically was just what the doctor ordered online , web surfing gem . Here is my black garbage bag piks i will be pressure washing tomorrow but i did a test fender and was pretty happy with it . Could I have heard a tip like this at the breakfast or cruise night I don't think so .
July 30, 2008 8:58 p.m. ddavidv SuperDork

Another example of online communities being da bomb...we just bought a used Forester. The clocks are notorious for not working. One quick search and I found a thread with detailed instructions, with photos, on what fails and how to fix them. Took 5 minutes and saved a $40 or more replacement. A club newsletter filed away in a drawer simply isn't as handy.
July 31, 2008 11:14 a.m. Ian F Reader

We belong to a fair collection of both. For the old cars, we have North American Spitfire Squadron (NASS) and VSA/VCOA for the 1800ES. NASS corresponds mostly via a Yahoo list as well as a newsletter. VCOA puts out a bi-monthly (I think) magazine and VSA puts out a "whenever they feel like it" magazine.

For online, we have a local VSA website as well as our regional (new) MINI site, http://NEMINI.org, as well as North American Motoring (NAM) and British Car Forum (BFC).

We organize drives and runs through the NEMINI site. Mostly for the MINI but for the classic cars as well. For the past few years, we've organized a "Classic Car Run" in NE PA that ends in Jim Thorpe. It's a fun drive the follows most of a MINI run route, so there are some fun driving sections and minimal traffic. For lunch, we host a BBQ at the family farm en route. We've been amazed at the incredible lack of enthusiasm for it, despite the fact that veryone who does attend seems to enjoy themselves. We'll psot the run on NASS and the response is crickets...

The comment about racing and camaraderie is interesting to me. I used to race DH mtn bikes a couple of times a month and we had quite a crew that would hang out together. But when some of my friends stopped going, the whole experience became less fun for me and I stopped going as well.
July 31, 2008 4:51 p.m. Karl La Follette New Reader

What i really like about a local club is the "we can get a bunch of guys over to your house and give you a boost and jumpstart/ finish a project etc .. " that right there is very important . It doesn't have to be the most importent guy in the clique but the guy that is older or has had a rough patch . I think this is every bit as importent , a COG in the system that needs to be greased and addressed . Or it will become extinct or it allready has . Knowledge is great on the internet but typing without action is limiting some of the reluctant enthusiasts along with the $$ money deal <<< i hear that . I sure do like an engine pull or brake job party .
July 31, 2008 4:53 p.m. Karl La Follette New Reader

http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f246/racetearoffs/?action=view&current=008-4... my new 65 after the dawn degreaser and bag to remove paint .