Excellent points and very well said, Rick. Bravo.
John
>Jack Emery wrote:
>> Rick, I know what you are saying and you say it well. I agree with some of
>> your thoughts. If more people showed a fraction of your enthusiasm for
>> clubs then we would never have discussed the slow death of British car
>> clubs. They're not dead yet, just tired.
>
> When it comes to clubs dying and the lack of youth involved in the
>cars, I'd
>have to differ with most people's idea of why old Brit cars don't fly with
>'us kids.'
> The biggest barricade is education, not money. A old bondoville with
>chrome rims, a
>sound system, and a souped up engine costs about as much as a decent MGB.
>So, why do
>kids opt for the bondoville over an MGB? Nobody ever told us kids about
>the joys of
>LBC's. At car shows, I feel like I have to have grey hair to talk about a
>MGB 10
>years older than me. Nobody wants to tell me about the car in detail
>unless I tell
>them about my own MGB habit. Without somebody telling them about what
>makes an MG
>good, most kids see a little car with a little engine. For the same
>money, they can
>have a rough American V8 that'll smoke Mom's minivan. When they talk to
>garage
>owners, most of whom lack LBC knowledge, the mechanics preach American
>iron and speak
>of their limited knowledge of LBC's. Of course, the LBC knowledge always
>involves an
>Uncle's neighbor who knew a guy that had an MG once...The worst part is
>the mechanics
>are only telling the kid what he knows, and he knows American V8's.
> I'm not directly blaming anyone of ignoring the youth at car
>shows. I'm also
>not an expert about car clubs and the demographics of LBC ownership. I'm only
>speaking from personal experience. All of my friends love my MGB after
>they hear a
>little bit about the car and what it has. You oughta see the looks on
>people's faces
>when you tell 'em about wire wheels. So, if it happens that you're at
>Burger World in
>your MGA and a few kids are ogling your car when you come out, don't shoo
>'em away.
>Talk with 'em a little bit and wow 'em with something that every other car
>doesn't
>have. In other words, don't complain about the problem without planning
>on doing
>something about it. Talking to kids who are interested in your car is one
>way to
>start...
> Don't get me wrong, I'm not preaching (or at least not trying to!)
>I'm just
>suggesting what could be done when seen from a young'uns perspective.
>Criticism is
>accepted, flames are too, but with less friendliness...
> Along the lines of educating young kids about LBC's, this is the same
>philosophy I used when writing my children's book. I tried to put some
>information
>for each car that would set the car apart from other cars that kids would
>see every
>day. Whether it worked or not is up for debate...I'm still not finished
>with the
>book, but I am working on it...I'll let everybody know when it's finally
>done and
>ready for shipping to publishers...
>
>Happy Holidays!
>--
>Michael S. Lishego
>St. Andrews Presbyterian College
>Elementary Education Major,
>English Minor, Class of 1999
>R.A. of Winston-Salem Hall
|