Bill Sohl wrote:
The club scene is really for those people that look at the car as more than
just a piece
of interesting transportation or the occasional Sunday drive. WE (the club
joiners in the
USA) take great pleasure in the friendships built, the knowledge learned, the
gatherings,
etc. The car is a conduit to something intangible that not everyone that owns
one has
interest in.
In my limited experience, Bill - the intangible bit is so fogbound it's
difficult to
determine what it might be. Visitors to Gaydon often ask us where and how they
can buy the
car of their preference - and there are some very oddball preferences from time
to time!
Our reply is usually to become a club member and we cite all the benefits club
memberships
can bring - especially if prospective buyer is short on technical skill or
knowledge.
I don't know if this is a peculiarly British thing but quite often these
suggestions evoke
the response "Join a Club?!! Are you mad?"
Depending on the individual, we usually follow through and ask why they are so
anti-club.
More often than not, the reply is along the lines "I'm sure the club is helpful
but I have
no wish to meet the people who populate them. Enthusiasts fine - but 'nerds'
NO!" There is
a general perception by the non-club member in the UK that those who do take an
active
part in the UK club scene are one of the lowest forms of life. This may be a
"class" thing
at which *skill* we, as a nation, have honed to some perfection. Certainly,
there are
'nerds' out there - but this is not restricted to car clubs. Gardeners, model
railway
enthusiasts and others of many ilks can get so passionate about their hobby
that they can
bore the pants off most 'average' enthusiasts. When that manifests itself, I
usually walk
away - I guess most people do, unless I'm trapped? It's my guess, the majority
of club
members join for one thing - and that's the magazine or newsletter. At a
finger-in-air
guesstimate, I'd say no more than 20% of any club's total membership takes an
active part
in events, rallies, national weekends or WHY. This is sad because it means so
many cars -
in all states of repair - are so rarely seen except when the owner goes out -
ALONE and by
him or herself.
Jonmac
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