Gerald Van Vlack wrote:
>
> I may be about to open a debate that could go on for some time to come but
> since the driving season is about to come to a close for the great majority of
> the North American enthusiasts this will give those of us in NA something to
> "Triumph" about.
>
> Recently it was announced that the VTR meet for next year would be combined
> with The Roadster Club's Summer Party and that other national Triumph
> organizations would be invited to participate and encouraged to hold their
> national meets at the same time and near by TRF. At least that's how I
> understood the announcement. Think of it, that would be one heck of a large
> gathering of Triumphs by any measure. We can debate the merits of a "National"
> being sponsored by a commercial interest rather by than a local club and we
> all have sides to take on that issue but that's not why I bring up this topic.
> It's my sincere hope that a dialog on that subject is reserved for another
> time.
As you say, the decision to meld a VTR national with a commercial
concern is another issue. When you want to bring that up, I'll be happy
to express my reservations.
As to your primary question, local clubs aren't the problem. Geography
is a big problem, as Randall Young has mentioned. But, the greatest
problem is the failure of the VTR to attract new owners. Its membership
has vacillated somewhere in the 2800-3100 neighborhood for years, and
most of those members are middle-aged and settled.
Local clubs enable the participation of the "ordinary" owners who can't
afford national event participation. The VTR hasn't embraced new owners,
or owners of limited economic means. Those people of limited means,
driving their cars daily, aren't depending upon the VTR to solve their
immediate problems with their cars. They are on this list and similar
ones for that. Yes, there are long-time VTR members on this list who do
help those owners, diligently and faithfully and patiently (and some of
those people are former or current officers of the VTR). But, there's
little to nothing in the VTR to attract the ordinary owner/daily driver.
That's a problem for the VTR management to sort out and solve, but I
don't think the wealthy collectors will ever be able to do so. They are
far removed from the problems encountered by the average owner, as
typified here on this list and similar ones. That's the real problem
with the VTR today, and the reason why it does not have the membership
in this country that it might otherwise have.
It's not a matter of local clubs taking membership from the VTR. It's
more a matter of local clubs meeting the average owner's immediate needs
for advice and help when the VTR cannot or does not. Local clubs are
practical and immediate in effect. The VTR is more remote and geared to
a single yearly event attracting collectors, rather than inviting all
owners for regular participation, something local clubs do well.
Unfortunately, the majority of the VTR membership want to know if the
brake differential switch wire goes under or over the clutch hydraulic
tube, when the largest number of Triumph owners in this country just
want to know how to turn the damned brake light out without breaking
something and making the problem worse. This list, and local club
members, are better able to solve that sort of problem than the VTR. In
that sense, the VTR has marginalized itself, because of its emphasis on
collection and preservation, rather than on matters related to daily
operation. Those functions embraced by the VTR have their place, but
they don't necessarily meet the needs of the broadest number of Triumph
owners in this country--that much is readily apparent by VTR
membership--there are many more Triumph owners than VTR members.
Cheers.
--
Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM (yes, _that_ Roswell)
[mailto:mporter@zianet.com]
The gulf between content and substance continues to widen....
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