Future Classics Car Club - it's future is in your hands PLEASE READ AND RESPOND.

Firstly let me say that this email IS NOT a dig at anyone, I am very, very thankful for the support of ALL of you for this club, however, yesterday's events (see below) at Two Counties Motorshow have brought to a head matters that have been troubling me for a few months now.

So yesterday...... When I was approached by Mike (who I have known via this show for years) the organiser at Two Counties, I took the plunge and booked us a 10 car slot. In previous years his show had clashed with Cars on the Green so I thought it would make a nice 'new' event for us. It quickly became apparent that I wasn't going to get 10 cars so I dropped it back to 6, all fine. In the week running up to yesterday's show 2 more drop out, down to 4. At this stage I seriously did consider pulling the plug but have not attended for a few years, and knowing Mike, I let it roll. So yesterday morning I set off at 6.45am in bright sunshine to head to the RV point. There I met up with Peter who was returning the club banner after CotG, shortly followed by Colin. Whilst sat there waiting I get an email on my phone from Steve who was having to bail out, so that left 3 I thought. Waited till 9.00 before giving up. So from 6 on the list down to myself and Colin 'actually' turning up ! As I say, I am not 'having a go' at people but I am not going to put either myself or the reputation of the club in this position again.

As it happens the show wasn't great, infact it's fair to say it's about half the size it once was. Added to that the weather that turned nasty late morning and rained continually till we left about 2pm. This though, is not really the point.

Last night I was almost at the point of emailing you all to cancel all future events and close the club down, but I thought better of it and needed to sleep on it. In the cold light of a new day I have realized that I have put too much time and effort, as well as a bit of money, into the club to just give up on it. However, it is very clear to me that changes need to be made, especially to the events we attend as it is clear by the lack of numbers that certain events are not inspiring you the members. I therefore ask you all to look at the events calendar on the forum ( https://fccc.forumotion.net/ ) and let me know which events you like and which you want replaced for next year. Also, as I always ask, let me know if there is ANYTHING you would like the club to do, and I do mean anything not just shows. In the past I have put forward a few suggestions but the silence in response is usually deafening, so if you don't like something now is your chance to change it.

I fully understand that many of you have to work shifts / weekends so can't get to a lot of events. As I,ve said many times, don't worry I don't expect everyone to attend every event. We all have other things in our lives that we have / need to do. All I ask is just keep in touch.

With regard to the remaining upcoming events this year, I am now going to be very strict on numbers. If I can't get a minimum of 5 cars who will 'definately' turn up on the day I will be cancelling our attendance.

So next show

Sunday 13th July - Kimbolton County Fayre.

I currently only have myself and one other on this list with 2 weeks to go. I have 12 spaces booked. If I can't get to 5 by Sat 5th I will cancel it ! I have NEVER missed this show in maybe 10 years, but if that's how it has to be, so be it.

Sunday 3rd August - Helmingham Hall.

I will most likely sit this one out as it's 2.5 hours each way for me. Again I currently have ONE person on this list for a club stand of 10. I would like to know where this one is heading sooner than later, but again I will give a cut off date of Sat 19th July. If not 5 cars by then, it's gone !

Sunday 24th August - Little Gransden Airshow.

This event is safe. I have 9 cars booked but still have 6 spaces available.

Sunday 31st August - Cars by the lake.

Following a request, I have now made a club stand booking for this for 10 spaces. Cut off date for this one will be Sat 20th August. Again 5 cars or it's gone.

If I do end up cancelling some of these shows at short notice I can see the organisers not being very happy, and should next year we wish to go back it will become more difficult, but as I say, I will not put the club and myself it yesterday's position again.

I'm sorry if this comes across as a bit 'bully boy', it really isn't meant to. I really enjoy our days out as a club and so want to do everything I can to get things right before having to bin it altogether. So all I can ask is please, please take the time to let me know your thoughts and suggestions, after all it's your club as well as mine.

Cheers

Ian V

Hi Ian,

It sounds like you had a dreadful day on Sunday. Along with the great days,
they happen. I'm sorry I couldn't make it, but having not got home until
nearly 2am after an unplanned call-out, there was no way I could physically
make it.

Ian V wrote:

Sunday 3rd August - Helmingham Hall.

I will most likely sit this one out as it's 2.5 hours each way for me.

Is it really 2.5hrs Ian? I'd have thought it was closer to you than Duxford is.

Again, I can be a "floating voter" and drift across from the PH list, which is
quite often over-subscribed.

Ian V wrote:

Sunday 24th August - Little Gransden Airshow.

This event is safe. I have 9 cars booked but still have 6 spaces available.

Sunday 31st August - Cars by the lake.

Following a request, I have now made a club stand booking for this for 10 spaces. Cut off date for this one will be Sat 20th August. Again 5 cars or it's gone.

Can't make either of these. The Bank Holiday weekend sees me at Stamford,
which has been a standing commitment for me for several years now.

I really hope that the club doesn't fold, where will the outlet be for Paul's
banter?

Regards,
Steve

We do try to get to as many events as possible ! Some events put loads of rules in and it kind of takes the appeal of them away ! Cars on the green was a bit poor this year the getting in was a nightmare there was a lot of crap cars there was some nice rare stuff ! Think I will give it a miss next year may be te to find some different venues ! I would liked to have done kimbolton but I have to be else where ! Sorry you had a poor turn out Sunday I did say I wouldn't be there before the day ! Let's hope everyone can come up with suggestions of new venues or things they would like to do ! I am sorting out for le-mans for next year !

pk 500 wrote:

Let's hope everyone can come up with suggestions of new venues or things they would like to do !  I am sorting out for le-mans for next year  !  

Let's hope so Paul, although on response (or lack of) to the email so far I won't hold my breath.

Le Mans again then. You going to sweet talk John or slumming it at the track ?   

Got a hotel sorted ! Won't ever go to the bounty again still pissed about what happened and the way we were treated ! And lack of proper apology

I try to go to as many events as I can, I was never going to Newmarket, I went last year & it was not that good, too many new car/dealers.

Ive booked in for Kimbolton, I was proberly the first !  But do I wait to see if there 3 others book in or do I cancel and go with Darren/pistonheads  while hes still got spaces.

I booked in for Stamford car show  Aug bank holiday as its only 10 miles away, but I will go to Cars on the green in September, if not enough numbers I will book in individually.


Phil 

The Stig wrote:

Ive booked in for Kimbolton, I was proberly the first !  But do I wait to see if there 3 others book in or do I cancel and go with Darren/pistonheads  while hes still got spaces.

If you can wait till Sat I will know if I'm cancelling or not. If your worried then by all means book with Darren.

Ian V wrote:

The Stig wrote:

Ive booked in for Kimbolton, I was proberly the first !  But do I wait to see if there 3 others book in or do I cancel and go with Darren/pistonheads  while hes still got spaces.

If you can wait till Sat I will know if I'm cancelling or not. If your worried then by all means book with Darren.

I see Darren has 6 spaces already filled?
Phil 

He should be so lucky !  

Hi all, probably a bit guilty of not attending many events over past couple of years, but as we tend to also look at more specific marque events (plasticky shouty things ) there always seems to be a lot of clashes, plus have not done that many shows of late as got a bit same same, not fccc, but shows in general.  Have done a lot more race events instead, DTec, Future classics, GT cup etc.
Not at Kimbolton this year, as the Tuscan Challenge is at Snetterton. Not doing Lt Gransden, as at Blemheim Palace with tvr cc for the weekend, and so lots of clashes especially during the summer months.
Try to get to the winter monthly meets at pub etc and done Duxford this year, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
It is always going to be difficult to please everyone, and always thoroughly enjoy the events that we do attend with fccc. Don't know what he answer is really, but hope it dosen't fold.

Ian V wrote:

He should be so lucky !  

I've already said that I'd hop over from PH, just as long as there's going to
be sufficient cars on the FCCC stand *looks for fingers Xd icon*

As there's some time left, we could probably mop up some of the PH
overspill - numbers have taken off there this year...

Regards,
Steve

LowiePete wrote:

Ian V wrote:

He should be so lucky !  

I've already said that I'd hop over from PH, just as long as there's going to
be sufficient cars on the FCCC stand *looks for fingers Xd icon*

As there's some time left, we could probably mop up some of the PH
overspill - numbers have taken off there this year...

Regards,
Steve

Sorry Steve but I'm not into souped up Saxo's and Subaru's. Afraid that tends to be PH fair nowdays. Don't want to go there.

It's bad enough some old bloke in a Laguna turns up pmsl

pk 500 wrote:

It's bad enough some old bloke in a Laguna  turns up pmsl

So, you've heard that I'm sore at being accused of parking in the
wrong place at Duxford last year...

...I'll pick my moment for revenge  

Regards,
Steve

I think that's possibly about it for me on the shows this year mate - but I'll have a look at cars on the lake as a possibility..

What do you think about Nigels' suggestion on actually going to a few more race days rather than shows next year? I guess the same still applies though..people have got to want to go to them and I guess it takes a little more organisation.

I also have the disadvantage of having to drive to Ely in the rush hour every weekday so it sort of does me in for the meals at the weekend :-(

Anyway - hope we can keep it all together :-)

Still cannot confirm Kimbolton Ian but can confirm Helmingham, Lt. Gransden and Cars by the Lake. Have emailed you.

The 88 and 9 rule.

Hello Folks,

Ian V wrote:

So all I can ask is please, please take the time to let me know your thoughts and suggestions, after all it's your club as well as mine.

This missive is the result of some thought over Ian's OP. As there is very little
debate that's leading to a constructive outcome, I'll be bold and start the ball
rolling.

As a relatively new member here, I've been reticent up to this point, but I'm also
pretty concerned that the club doesn't fold, but more importantly, we restore
Ian's faith in it.  So that's my starting point.

I'm assuming that the 40+ members of the FCCC are the entire club. To gather
a dozen people regularly from that small pool is quite an ask, even at the best
of  times! So, perhaps we need a membership drive. Before I joined, one of the
things I looked for was a definition of what you guys call a "future classic".
Presently, that definition does not exist!

So, a clear statement of the club's purpose and intent may help prospective
recruitment. There's nothing like inducing a "me too" feeling into a potential
new member, especially as it's free to join the FCCC. How many people do
we know who own FC cars, but aren't members here? If we can reach 120
members in a fairly short while, it means we call upon 10%, rather than 25%,
at any one event. It also helps broaden the scope of events we can attend.

We really do need to see much more activity on this Forum. Posting up pictures
and stories about your car will help show that we all rub along and are not
too serious about our hobby. Or perhaps we are; so prove it by posting!

If the worst was to come to the worst and Ian decided to throw in the towel,
then the consequences would be dire. However, would it not be sensible to
discuss some sort of succession planning? Does everything have to fall upon
one person's shoulders? I'm a bit reticent in exploring this further because I'm
too new, but at least I've sown seeds which I hope will help us grow...

Regards,
Steve

Thank you Steve for moving this debate along again. Please don't feel reticent about posting up your thoughts and suggestions, I only wish more would !   

Again I must stress that I have no desire to have to close the club down, however it's very clear from the apathy both on here, in regard to the emails and events that currently the club is not doing what you all want. The only way this will change is if people tell me what they do and don't like currently and what they do want to do. I'm not a mind reader.   The email may have stirred things up a bit but has not produced the answers to the questions asked. I'm now considering trying to get those interested together at some point soon to try and thrash this out. May be a lot easier face to face, who knows ?

With regard to membership, there are currently 42 'members' on my email list (half of which have never attended anything) on top of this there are around 10+ others signed up on this forum most of whom have never even posted.   Ever since I started the club in 2009 I always carry some 'club cards' with me. If I see a car I think would fit in with us I leave a card in the windscreen. A couple of years ago I blitzed the car park at Snetterton at one of the major meetings. I must have left 50+ cards that day. Not one enquiry. I very often hand out cards to people I get talking too at shows, again nothing. As well as this forum I maintain the main website at cost to me ( www.futureclassicscarclub.co.uk ) and also a facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Future-Classics-Car-Club/125256947485093 ). The facebook page only have 110 'likes' despite pushing it whenever I can. I'm all out of ideas regarding getting more members, again any suggestions very welcome.

Regarding the club having a clear statement, I believe I have done this on the main website. It states :

The aim of 'FCCC' is to get together an informal group of car enthusiasts within the Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire region. There will be no fees and definitely no 'badge snobbery'. From a Ford to a Ferrari, all are welcome. Anyone who has an interest in cars of the recent past to present who feel that their cars are,or could well become, a 'future classic' will be made most welcome.

I think I may well alter this to include Norfolk and Suffolk in it's catchment area.

Now numbers at shows. On our very first club stand in 2009 we had 13 cars. Looking back over the events listed in the forum the average attendance seems to have been around 8 with Duxford this year breaking the record with 16 cars ! This is why I usually book for 10 passes at current shows. Why we are now only seeing 2 or 3 is totally beyond me.   

LowiePete wrote:

We really do need to see much more activity on this Forum. Posting up pictures
and stories about your car will help show that we all rub along and are not
too serious about our hobby. Or perhaps we are; so prove it by posting!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this. I didn't set this up to sit dormant, it needs traffic to be of any use.

LowiePete wrote:

If the worst was to come to the worst and Ian decided to throw in the towel,
then the consequences would be dire. However, would it not be sensible to
discuss some sort of succession planning? Does everything have to fall upon
one person's shoulders? I'm a bit reticent in exploring this further because I'm
too new, but at least I've sown seeds which I hope will help us grow...

Please don't worry about me in posting this Steve. I too hope it doesn't push me that far that I can see no other option, however, as I have said this is not MY club, this is OUR club. If someone feels they would like to muck in arranging events (as indeed has happened), they are very welcome I will not be offended at all. Just speak to me and I'll give you all the support needed in achieving it. As many of you know before setting up this club I was previously doing the 'job' that Darren now does over on PH along with a person who 'shall not be named'. I've done this role for many years now but you never, ever know it all and input / help from anyone is always encouraged and welcomed.

Again, thank you Steve for you input into the club.

Ian V wrote:

Regarding the club having a clear statement, I believe I have done this on the main website. It states :

The aim of 'FCCC' is to get together an informal group of car enthusiasts within the Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire region. There will be no fees and definitely no 'badge snobbery'. From a Ford to a Ferrari, all are welcome. Anyone who has an interest in cars of the recent past to present who feel that their cars are,or could well become, a 'future classic' will be made most welcome.

Oooer, in all honesty, that is the first time I've seen that. Coming from the most
Easterly town in the country and definitely not in either Lincs or Cambs, I am an
interloper    I do stray into Lincs, the Stamford Show is one of the
best in the country!

Can I suggest that mission statement appears on the home page Ian. (BTW, did
you tell Paul about the no "badge snobbery?   ) It might also be worthwhile
copying the content of that whole page as a sticky into the "Welcome" section of
the Forum. Having missed it on the main site, I did look high and low here too.
Will it be OK if I have a look at rewording it, so it's more erm, definite?

Regards,
Steve

Hi Steve,

I've just been over and done a bit of tidying over on the main site. I've taken out the Lincs / Cambs and just set it as 'East Anglia' now. Think that is more appropriate to us now.

Good idea about copying our to the welcome page here. I'll get on it.

Feel free to see what you can come up with regarding a reword.

As a general note, I've noticed that a few of the 'members cars' photos are now out of date. I have updated Jim's with his Camaro but don't have others, so if you want you cars on the main site send me a photo and I'll do the rest.

Hi Ian,

An example...

Quote :

A "future classic car" can be defined as being any vehicle that is likely to
become collectible in the not too distant future, but doesn't yet fully meet the
classic car criteria. The Future Classic Car Club is an informal group of car
enthusiasts resident within the Eastern Counties. There are no fees to join us and
no badge snobbery! We welcome anyone with an interesting vehicle who would
like to join us at various events that we either organise or attend.

Regards,
Steve

Ummm, not really sure about that one Steve. Maybe I need a bit of time to think that one through.

Don't want it to come over too restrictive of what is or isn't a future classic. TBH, some of our cars (maybe mine included) are not likely to become a future classic in the true sense of the meaning. To be honest I thing the original with maybe a bit of tweaking is more 'modern' and snappy which is more 'us'. Don't want to become to hooked up on whether a members car is 'right' for the group like some clubs I've come across.

Be interested in others thoughts (if anyone see's this).   

Ian V wrote:

Don't want it to come over too restrictive of what is or isn't a future classic.

Hence my use of "can be" - it's more firm than "could be" yet leaves any clearer
definition up to the reader. I've left that sentence in the passive voice, whereas
what follows is far more definite.

It's true that a specific definition of a future classic is a bit like asking a detailing
enthusiast to define a "quick detailer" - ask 50 people, get 50 different answers.
Anyway, it was just an example...

Regards,
Steve

See Steve, this is what I'm up against !   

Not one new post since yesterday afternoons discussions.

You should now all have this email. It's now fully in your hands.   

Dear all,

This is the email I was hoping against hope that I wouldn't need to write, however after the last few weeks of stress and 5 years trying to keep this club going, I now feel like I'm constantly banging my head against a brick wall. So it is with great regret that I announce that at the end of this season I will stand down as club events organiser.

I will continue on with the events already in this years calendar, the last one being Cars by the Lake on Aug 31st assuming that these don't have to be cancelled due to lack of uptake.

So the future......well that's over to you lot. The ideal would be for someone from the club to 'step up' and take over the role. I will give any help and support required and I am more than happy to continue to maintain the cyber element of the club ie; forum, website and Facebook page which would be easier as they are in my name. I would also continue to support as many club events as possible during the year. This, of course, is the best outcome we can all hope for. On the flip side is at the end of August 2014 the club will fold for good if nobody comes forward.

So please give this some thought and ask yourselves how much you value what the club has done over the last 5 years.


Cheers

Ian V