If they were smart they would authorize creation of a Vintage MBCA for enthusiasts who want to do their own hands on maintenance and repairs. Limit membership to owners of 1980s and older models. I would definitely qualify. No racing stories, no frou frou bullcrap, no fancy socials, no rallyes to charming overpriced country inns. Just hands on work so we can drive forever without ever having to purchase a new MB, while saving money. Tech sessions could be held at dealerships every other month to keep them happy, and at indy shops for specialized repair demos from time to time. Great promotional value to Daimler Benz so maybe they would repay us with the occasional charter flight to Stuttgart to visit the Klassic Museum.
On Sat, Dec 6, 2014 at 12:32 PM, Karl Wittnebel via Mercedes < mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > I feel like the club has been dragged along with the brand into a sphere > where the cars are too complicated to understand and fix for mere mortals. > It is a specialization thing. Either you believe in figuring out your own > stuff, or you don't. Fundamentally a philosophical question centered in > this case around manufactured objects whose increasing complexity over time > has shifted the norm. > > On Sat, Dec 6, 2014 at 8:26 AM, Dan Penoff via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > > In going through his Facebook page he appears to be heavily vested in the > > W124 and earlier stuff. That’s great, especially if there are enough > > owners out there for him to make a living doing it. As I mentioned > > previously, it also looks like he does a fair amount of NOS and used part > > buying, too. He had a couple of posts where he had purchased large > numbers > > of parts and was selling them. > > > > Sounds like Jaime experienced a lot of what I did some years back when I > > got together with Scott Suits and tried to get at least an occasional car > > enthusiast event in the calendar with the local section. Scott was all > for > > it, but the locals wanted nothing to do with it. All they were > interested > > in was social events, really little to do with the cars themselves. > > > > What really sucked here, and I don’t know what Jaime’s situation is like, > > is that the local section really covers a large area, pretty much all of > > west central Florida from Sarasota up to maybe Crystal River and east to > > Lakeland. There are two dealers in the immediate area, Crown in > Clearwater > > and MB of Tampa in Tampa. A dealer in Lakeland and Sarasota are on the > > fringes, but technically in the area, I believe. > > > > When I talked to the folks at Crown they knew about the section but had > > little interaction with them. For that matter, it was tough just to find > > someone at Crown who was even interested in talking about the club. I > > wasn’t that interested in Crown myself, as they are about an hour away. > > > > I went to MB of Tampa, where I do business, and quickly found the person > > who did their promotions and advertising. Within 10 minutes we were in > his > > office talking with both the parts and service managers about possible > tech > > events. They were very interested and seemed a little confused as to why > > they never heard anything from the local section. > > > > I spoke to the advertising person at the dealer in Lakeland over the > > phone, and they were interested too. > > > > I already described the response I got when I brought up the possibility > > of having an occasional meeting and/or tech event in Tampa. They pretty > > much told me that was a nice idea and moved along to something else. I > > knew at the point I was wasting my time. > > > > What’s really sad is that the local section (and this is historical, as I > > don’t know what’s going on now) seemed to be a social club for the elder > > and elite. All they seemed to be interested in was getting together at a > > restaurant, maybe after a drive, and having lunch or dinner. No shows, > no > > tech events, no autocrosses, nada. I know that Scott was successful in > > getting a few things going in the past couple of years, as that was when > he > > contacted me about rejoining. I think he got something set up at a local > > airport used for closed track events a while back, maybe an autocross, I > > don’t recall. > > > > Worse yet, there is a huge area for the section to draw from, and lots of > > potential members. By limiting the meetings and events to Pinellas > County, > > where most of them live, they effectively cut off a large segment of > > potential members, even possible casual ones. > > > > I’ve devoted too much time to this already, but it brings up a lot of > > memories of trying to find some locals to get involved with over a common > > interest. It was pretty frustrating at the time, and still is to some > > extent, knowing the potential that’s out there for some fun with other MB > > owners. > > > > It would be nice to have a really active section like GWS or some of the > > sections out west. > > > > Dan > > > > > > > On Dec 6, 2014, at 10:25 AM, Jaime Kopchinski <jaime...@gmail.com> > > wrote: > > > > > > I agree about Pierre, I've met him several times and was impressed by > > his knowledge and enthusiasm for old cars. I think he actually tracked me > > down the first time we met, knowing I was the guy with that 240D website > so > > many years ago. The MBCA needs more guys like him. > > > > > > I made a strong effort this spring to get involved with the local MBCA > > section, specifically during the June Jamboree. I spoke to the section > > president and national president, and former national president about > ideas > > to get more younger people in the club and bring the car back into the > > picture. Some were very enthusiastic about the ideas... I was asked to > > join the local section as a board member. I followed up with an email > with > > several ideas, and I volunteered to take over social media for the > section, > > which is sorely lacking. Nothing became of it. I received a reply that > > they were already working on my ideas. Meanwhile, the entire 2014 car > > season has disappeared and I don't see any changes. > > > > > > I have a garage full of old Mercedes I'm constantly working on and > > improving. I work for Mercedes Benz in research and development of new > > products, and have an intimate knowledge of their products for the last > 60 > > or so years. Its safe to say these cars define much of my life > > professionally and personally. It would seem logical that I should find > a > > group of people with similar interests to share this passion, which why > it > > seems like a logical that I get involved with the club. > > > > > > I'd still love to do it... maybe in 2015. There is potential there. I > > know many people involved in these cars in this area who are not involved > > in the club because they'd rather goto a car show and kick tires than > visit > > a museum and go out to eat. > > > > > > Jaime > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________ > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those > > individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner > > has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those > individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner > has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
