I did it 22 years ago out of necessity..If you didn't ride a horse in Vernon, you did not have anything to do..I did a car show by myself (what was I thinking)to see if there was any interest. Had 60 cars show up and a pretty good bunch of spectators..One Trophy. Talked to some really good CAR guys about helping the next year, and a club was born. We had the show for several years, it was hard work. That club disbanded several years back.. Another younger group started a club, did a cruise and had 6 cars show up...Now that 20 years old cruise draws 1200 cars and 8-10 thousand spectators...in a town of 10 thousand. They work their asses off, in the August heat for 3 days. Brings in a million plus $$ for the weekend... So be sure what your goal is..it can and will get out of hand if you are not careful..sometimes for the good, sometimes not..
I belong to two car clubs. One is internet, specific car (Sunbeam Alpine) based. We get together once a year and have a hell of a good time, standing around in the hotel parking lot, telling car related lies and drinking brew. Have a couple of drives and a banquet. Works fine for that group. The other club (only been a member for a couple months) seems to be an invitation only type of thing. I think the only real criteria is to have a car at least 25 years old. They do mostly one day rides, stopping frequently and doing impromptu parking lot shows that last maybe an hour, then on to the next stop and lunch. No real shows, no judging, no trophies. Once a year do a 5 day, multi state run. They do have a couple of annual dinners. The cars run the gamut from a GMC powered 32 Buick Coupe and stock Model A Tudor to some early 80's performance cars. The club has been existence for about 40 years, so I'd have to say it works for them. I also know a guy that has what you might call a club. He calls a bunch of friends, tells them he will be leaving such and such place at such and such time. Does one afternoon trips with impromptu parking lot shows. Usually has 15 or so cars in the caravan. He hates organized shows, says they are boring. Seeing that he has no trouble getting together a sizeable group of cars, I'd say that is a common feeling. Anyway, it works great for him. Anybody complains, he tells them to organize a ride and he'll be a part of the caravan. Oh, try to get wives involved. Some are more into cars than the guys and they love to do the things most guys hate, doing write ups and keeping records. They also are good at planning runs. I have to admit the impromptu shows are a blast. The look on peoples faces and general excitement as old, interesting cars pull into a lot are priceless. Bill
Some want to start a car club just so they can hang together and have a cool logo. Every car club I've been involved in is full of people who just joined because they can get cheaper car insurance by paying a few bucks to join a club. Many of the collector car companies ask if you are a member of a club. They never even ask the name, it's a simple yes or no question. In any event, if you start a club, first thing you need are dues to pay for your club's insurance. All it takes is for someone to do something stupid while leaving a club meeting then all the officers are on the line for a lawsuit. If you start a club, there will be a handfull who do the work, while the majority feel they are entitled to the world because they paid their dues. I've been there. I know a few clubs now where membership has to be approved by the board, annually, based on what a member has done for the club. Attendance can be mandatory for certain events, like running a car show.
Our "club" is a little over 10 years old now, much like this idea, we are more of a social club with a car and bike problem
Perhaps he always liked rods/customs and is looking to learn more and get a project. That was my case until I got my truck. Maybe direct him to the HAMB?
For us/mine....its a bit old skool....Just named it got some stuff: IE Stickers, Plates, Jackets....Then we have a night we all get together and work on eachothers cars. Then we go to swaps and shows and just have a good time...its easy for us becuase we are small! LUTINS CAR CLUB
Touche! My point was more so, if you have a traditional car club and the person (hopefully, if they want to join they would have done some research on the club) is aware of this, there really shouldn't be any hard feelings if they get turned away.
As far as club names, is there any concern about using the same name as another club? We have a name in mind that I'm sure nobody else has, but I don't want to have friction of somebody else has the name. It seems like a majority on here also favor getting not-for-profit status, is that a fair statement?
I founded the Driven Dead with a few friends in 2004ish.... It was four of us back then, and was easy to manage. Our club is still pretty awesome, but we have had to work pretty hard to keep it pure. My thoughts... use the K.I.S.S. Method..... Keep It Simple Stupid
Keep it as simple as possible....Being organized is one thing, having too many rules and regs can sometimes put a damper on the whole club experience.
DON'T DO IT! Just come up with a name, get some sweet coats made and hang out together. Stop at that! Meetings, rules, duties, group projects, dues........ sucks the fun right out of it. Just my thoughts.
I am a founding member of the East Valley Demons here in the Phoenix area. We are brand new and there are 4 members right now. We are just getting started, we'll be a fairly in-formal club (at least for the fore-seeable future) and are into what the typical car clubs are into. Cruising, hanging out, attending shows, Rocakbilly-Hot Rod type people, etc.........Anyone in the Phoenix area who would like to hang out w/us, drop me a line. Always looking for new people to hang with and have a good time. That is what the club is about to us. We also have a killer pinstriper as well as an excellant tattoo artist in the club.
I don't need any structured club to control my activity. The 'club' I meet with every Wednesday morning for breakfast has no rules. The pompous, the meek, and everybody in between is welcome. Our only common thread is cars. But even there, one of our group don't have one and don't plan on getting one. There are Hot/Street/Custom/Track, cars, all kinds. Two of the group are 'chainers. Three or four are active NSRA members with sweet street rods. Another builds drag cars. There are a couple of circle track racers, one is into nostalgia racing. You know mine from my albums. In our group, a person with 'control issues' would be lost, the narrow minded would be uncomfortable.................. The local restuaraunt, SOLID GROUND, knows we are coming. Five tables stacked end to end will usually seat us. It must be amusing, even unsettling, for someone to witness our group, sitting around that big table, sometimes simultaneously engaged in four or five different discussions. There are no rules, except 'try to arrive sometime before 0730. All subjects are open for discussion, there is no 'old' or 'new' business. Absolutely no 'rules' to ponder. There is no figurehead pounding a gavel, "order, order"! A few of us are always there by 0645. Our regular waitress brings whatever our drink of choice is, and knows not to take any food orders until the 0800 hour approaches. The subject of the discussions are mainly car oriented, but if there is an upcoming recall election, or somebody lost the last one, that's fun to comment on. The upcoming local car shows; When/where/who/what are discussed. Will anybody be going? If it's fifty miles down the road, shall we meet and convoy? Who's sponsoring it? If there is a conflict on the calendar, what's the pro/con of which to attend? etc. Those that aren't inclined to do their own work, or of limited skills, are welcome to glean from the experience/skill of the rest. After breakfast, in the parking lot, we gather to check out who brung what, who needs help today, etc. There will be three or four small groups, homing in on a specific ride or subject. If somebody needs extra muscle to lift a body or flip a frame over, or to show off a recent accomplishment on a build, then there's a convoy to his place. Needless to say, for me, Wednesday morning is always booked.
Started our club in 2002. We have 5 members right now with 2 possible prospects. Pre 1960 cars only, no billet crap. No club dues, meetings or any of that BS. The only requirement we have is that new members must purchase a club jacket. We have t-shirts and thats optional. We use one of our shops as a club house. Get together every now and then and toss a few back! No other rules!
Find bunch of guys you have something in common with, hang out, drink beer, fix cars and go for drives hell even print up some cool shirts. Once you get money involved with dues, rules and attitudes of who thinks they are in charge things go south quickly. People you think were your friends end up not being friends at all. Clubs as idea are cool but putting it into action usually ends badly for most. Clubs like most organizations have leaders and followers and the people have minds of their own usually end up leaving ones that like being told what to do by someone else stay for life.
I'd stay away from one too. I'm going to be 50 this year and the clubs I've looked into make me feel awful young. Even tho' the people are decent and all it still feels real "click-ish" and boring. Hard to connect with people who are so set in their ways. And then you get into all the politics of the thing and the "event planning" yadda, yadda... whose got time! I'd rather be working on my ride. I'd be cool to meet occasionally with a couple/few like minded guys my age/mentality (could be scary), guys I can connect with on some level.. but a club is too confining, boring, pointless to me.. Just my 2 cents worth.
Car Clubs are only as good as its members...A lot of times the one or so bad apples can destroy the club and its objectives. Our club, The Redliners, is a new one and we were very selective as to who was asked to join. If your'e a butthead you won't be invited. Check us out at http://redlinerscarclub.webs.com/.
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