Hey Guys and Gals! How is your car club working for you?? Does everyone participate? Is there friction between members? Does everyone drive a car or do they just tag a long? Question...What makes a Car Club one that everyone wants to join? Lets see your ideas..feedback!!
Friends who like cars. I haven't belonged to a car club since high school. But for any club to work and rweally work the members have to be friends, not just members.
A buddy of mine just left a car club here to start our own because they could not get along with each other.
Not talking about politics & religion or other off-topic subject is key! Sticking to car talk all the time makes for the best experiences. Once 'realities of life' discussions start taking over, a club will quickly break up.
Getting along is important, but having someone who can lead can be more important. If there is tension or issues, a good leader can resolve or reduce the issues pretty easily. Now if everyone gets along, then you just need a good leadership to define the what/where/when (since decision making can be an issue when it comes to a group).
Keep it small. I'm not a club type, but of the ones that work, that want to put on events or whatnot, work because it's a team, everyone communicates and works hard. If you want a club with anyone and everyone, it tends to get pretty cliquey, from what I've seen.
Very good question. My membership motivation is because I want to LEARN from others' mistakes and share my own experience with younger car-guys. I don't know if I agree that you must be friends with everyone, but if you can make a couple of friends, it's a win-win. Bickering combined with religious and/or political differences is that all an otherwise enjoyable club needs to FAIL. For about 10 years I was a member of what is probably the last club of its kind that owned its own building, had tools to use and lifts. For the first 5 years or so, it was fun to hang out at the club house, lend a hand, have a lotta laughs and even get a little done on my own junkpiles. Then, membership started getting fragmented into factions (based on the factors I cite above, plus selfishness and laziness (the club requires members to lend a hand in its continued cleanliness, maintainence, etc.)) and it was no longer fun (for me, anyway) so I quit. Being acquainted with members of a few clubs, as a non-member/outsider, I perceive that a couple of the clubs do it SMART (and traditional): Membership is LIMITED, candidates are INVITED and only after ALL existing members agree on it.
for me, it comes down to time and choices. I joined when my kids were toddlers, and it was fine, great guys and a good club. Now my kids are older and I find myself not having enough time for a club, or not being able to put inot a club what I want to. Kids do hockey ( I help coach for both) and my youngest does football and again I help coach....only so many years that I can be there for them like that before they are off to bigger and better things in life. I got into cars via my Dad but he did the same for me, and having lost him at 58 and I was 35 made me take notice and try to be there as much as I can. When that changes I hope to be able to put more back into the club Like life there are always going to be assholes and good people, clicks etc, but if you focus on the positve it can be alot of fun.
My dad is in a couple clubs. The one he runs has like 80 people in it. It's a real pay your dues and show up to meetings type club that if you want to get involved you can. They raise a bunch of money to send young men to trade schools. Seems to me like thats a good club. Do your events, raise some cash, give it away. Leave the drama out.
ha ha ha ha....bwha ha ha! one with no people in it would be nice. it's been my experiance that just like everything else, you have 5 people doing all the work and 50 people bitching about you not doing it right.
Our club Tri-City Rod & Custom celebrated a 40 year milestone this year,being friends has a lot to do with longevity. Our club members respect each other and try to keep active and we include family where possible,,a lot of our children are now members with their own children in tow. Communication has been key. HRP
Seen a few clubs get torn apart because of chicks...so you're probably better off with a bunch of "established" guys then young, dumb and single... Just sayin!
I can't imagine that you would be a problem. Its only dumb chicks like dumb men that screw things up. Unless of course you are not of the gentler persuasion in which case disregard the first half of this statement.
We have seen a few clubs locally like this fall apart because females couldn't get along with each other,,,nothing against females,but old farts can tell each other to go to hell and they are still friends at the end of the day. Bck when our club was started there were only about 5 of us that actually had a old car and probably only 2 of them ran. HRP
Engin ear, One of the largest most successful clubs in the world, albiet not a car club, suggests that if you want a club charter you must first have a group of friends that you hang with that you can trust with your life. It is an invitation only club and after a time if everyone does not like you you are not accepted in. Friends like you no matter what.
If you aren't ALL really good friends with each and every other member before you get into or form a club, you definitely won't be friends when you quit it.
I tried one on the steering wheel once. Got cut and the car stolen. Next, I'll try the one that ties the steering column and brake pedal together.
This too will pass. As I recall there were always ladies around when I was younger, only the empty headed ones didn't have enough sense to not leave with whom they came with. Same with the men, if they were not real smart they would without fail decide that what someone else had was fair game. Those same guys were the ones that you couldn't let around your house or shop (which in my case was one in the same more often than not). Ignorance is not gender specific I am afraid.
Members that actually get involved! Sadly most clubs seem to always end up with the same half dozen or less members doing everything while everyone else sits on their ass and/or bitch about how things don't get done right.
I belonged to a very large car club in the 80's. My wife and I went to one of the parties they sponsered. The host asked all the women (about 15 ) to sit on chairs in a circle. The men who brought the women to the party were blindfolded and put in the center of the circle. We were then told we all had to find our wife/girlfriend by feeling all the seated women's legs while we were blindfolded. First person to find their mates leg's got a booby prize? Anyways, my wife never went to another car club meeting after that.
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