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BobH
United Kingdom
242 Posts |
 Posted - 12/06/2019 : 13:51:47
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| Well at least in the UK this problem seems to have been overtaken by events. Since the government is now seemingly embarked upon a legally enforceable zero-co2 policy, I expect we will not be permitted to use our cars for too much longer anyway. |
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Simon Johnston
United Kingdom
5987 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2019 : 18:15:51
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I just had a sobering thought today - when my car mad youngest grandson turns 18 (he’s 4 at the moment), my J2 will be 100 years old! OMG (sorry, Bruce  )
Simon J
J3437 |
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thecollingburnboys
United Kingdom
574 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2019 : 23:32:19
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quote:
Originally posted by BobH
Well at least in the UK this problem seems to have been overtaken by events. Since the government is now seemingly embarked upon a legally enforceable zero-co2 policy, I expect we will not be permitted to use our cars for too much longer anyway.
I was thinking about this too. Goes for all cars though, if it's better for the planet and future generations let's go solar powered electric all the way and scrap the lot. Cars as we know them will die but I predict communities will thrive :-)
Regards James Collingburn |
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Richard Hardy
United Kingdom
2138 Posts |
Posted - 13/06/2019 : 18:51:04
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Chris, and I thought all Rover owners had to be old to own them !!!!!!!!!!
Rich
Vintage MG Parts |
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Tim Luffingham
United Kingdom
342 Posts |
Posted - 13/06/2019 : 22:24:38
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An excellent topic.
For most youngsters visiting a classic car show must be akin to attending a pensioners outing. You can look at the cars though “do not touch’’.. So how about inviting them to climb inside, waggle the wheel and beep the horn? It works in my pub and supermarket car park and a bonus is often a chat with a charming young mum brightening up my day!
Post Stoneleigh this year volunteers were invited to give their feedback. Although the day was judged to be a success critique was offered and taken onboard by our Triple-M organisers.
Some felt that the day was little more than an old boys reunion ( which is fine and has it’s place ) however an opportunity was missed to attract new members.
Suggestions included defined roles for the volunteers, with an active meet and greet role to be created. An open plan stand. Coffee or tea could be offered to visitors wanting to stay longer. Volunteers posted near each of the display cars to offer a talk through. A tech corner with expert on hand to advise - bring along a faulty part. Cars for sale flyer available. A board highlighting the years events - racing, hill climbing, Summer Gathering, annual tour, family orientated days where wives and children welcome. To that end perhaps more lady volunteers ( or teenagers) on the stand?
A common tee shirt or sweatshirt for the on stand volunteers? Unfortunately the near sub zero temperatures at Stoneleigh had most of us in anoraks and woolly hats looking as though we’ve just come in from the allotment - though a possibility for warmer times.
Visitors could be invited to leave their email address and a standard follow up ‘Welcome email’ could emphasise all of the above including our very active forum with help available to newbies.
A ‘Welcome to the world of Triple-M ‘ section on our forum home page rather than simply the history of Triple-M. Each article written in a magazine to finish with a link to the above.
As mentioned in earlier postings on this thread it’s unlikely that we are going to get many cash strapped 20-30 year olds buying into Triple-M.
I’d suggest our target audience are 40 years and up. Perhaps already a MG or other classic car owner with a hankering to explore Pre-War. These are the ones that will walk past our stand and buy into T types or Triumph if we don’t change our ways and begin to actively reach out.
This posting is not meant as a pop at our Committee members who already do a huge amount behind the scenes. I’m told plans were afoot to implement some of the above at MG Live which of course was subsequently cancelled. There will be other opportunities to come though volunteers are always needed and then perhaps we can offer more on our open days.
I’m unaware of any specific Triple-M role at PWP other than individuals attending. Perhaps an ideal opportunity for us all to do our bit - get the kids into our cars, chat to their Mums and Dads and offer a seat around the course.
Tim ( first Triple-M bought aged 55! )
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Edited by - Tim Luffingham on 13/06/2019 22:35:37 |
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LewPalmer
USA
3208 Posts |
Posted - 13/06/2019 : 22:43:25
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Tim reminds me that at our Central GOF (mainly T-type and earlier) each year, Hagerty Insurance sponsors a Youth Judging event. Any kid under 18 years may participate. They each receive a special shirt and hat and get to judge the cars based on criteria they decide. My granddaughter (now 16) \has been going to GOF Central each year since she was eight and looks forward to judging and riding in a few of the cars.
Lew Palmer
PA1169, PB0560 |
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chapelfarmer
United Kingdom
241 Posts |
Posted - 13/06/2019 : 22:59:46
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Tim I'm sure you don't need your MMM to lure the supermarket yummy mummies but good to know it helps! A lot of great ideas are in this thread and it's sobering (for me anyway) to realise how many of them are already implemented. They seem to come to:
1. keeping the cars visible - driving as well as parked
2. Getting people into the cars, driving if possible but horn beeping etc too
3. Looking for ways to signal that events are fun / accessible / lively: camping etc. (Le Mans and beer seem to work for 50s / 60s cars)
4. Three sorts of young people to think about a) kids / pre licence b) 'young adults' c) 40-60.
Worth pursuing?:
1. Joint events with Midget Register, MGF, Z, Metros etc not just Rileys and Austins. We can be competitive in EG rallies. Maybe include car swaps (even just as passengers?).
2. Incentives for young navigators at Tours and rallies: awards etc. Bar / night life? VSCC approach.
3. Infield driving opportunities for non-owners and especially non-licence holders - Gymkhanas? Driving tests? as in Summer Gathering type events. Conscious that these take an awful lot of work.
4. More Prewar Prescott type events / ways to bring the 'public' into these? Conscious that these too take an awful lot of work.
5. Car Loan scheme. a la Octagon (article in their current bulletin)
6. Noggin and Natter type things but with 'the public' more invited to connect / and where cars drive around as well as park up EG more than one venue ie pub-to-pub drives.
7. Free Parade laps for young (under driving licence age) co-drivers at race meetings.
8. Pressure an insurance company to allow young drivers into prewar cars (even with owners alongside).
The question of environment was brought up too and this is definitely an area that's helping younger people to feel a distance from cars in general. It should surely be possible to present MMM as a) an exercise in recycling and b) artefacts from the days before cars were replaced (!).
Maybe it's time to make the case more actively for them to be preserved - even as 'working archeology' - rather than being fitted out with Nissan electric motors! https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/features/prelude-e-minor-prototype-electric-morris-might-change-world/
john |
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mackeith
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - 14/06/2019 : 02:24:56
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My son, not yet 17 and off in 2M0662 to race his bicycle (returned in the rain loving every bit of the handling in the wet).
Lucky to have a granny who shipped (against perhaps financial sense) from UK to US so he could enjoy it as his late grandad intended.
Young license age, affordable insurance and excellent information available from the likes of this forum. Its certainly not a pristine car and has had its share of mods - hopefully we can continue to care, use and learn from it without damaging it. Its definitely 'working archeology' from which he has gained so much pleasure after a few miles.
(He'll be posting question soon since it developed a knocking noise and the rocker box cover is now off - the car did get handed down with a copy of Blower's )
James |
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colintf
United Kingdom
1481 Posts |
Posted - 14/06/2019 : 05:42:44
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I love those photos Tim and James :)
Colin Murrell
D0285
Photographer for MGCC (LeMans Classic, Oldtimer Grand Prix etc) & MG Motor (BTCC 2012-5)
http://www.triple-mracing.com/ |
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Cathelijne
Netherlands
744 Posts |
Posted - 14/06/2019 : 09:15:45
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James! How brilliant! I tried to contact you offline, but you have no email address specified. Would you please send me a message at cathelijnespoelstra @ Outlook . com, please?
Many thanks,
Cat
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Ben Stephens
United Kingdom
167 Posts |
Posted - 14/06/2019 : 09:20:43
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As an avid cyclist I had always wondered how to fit a bicycle to the PA!
One observation that had been prevalent throughout this discussion is how many clubs are suffering from the same issue. Perhaps it’s time more clubs come together and encourage inter club younger membership? I think less young people have the same badge loyalty as perhaps previous members had. That coupled with the low numbers means that encouraging the younger members out is hard. Perhaps a interclub coordinator, or, something like a club for younger people that’s funded as part of all the other club subscriptions? (for instance, you join the mG car club and you are automatically a member of the inter marque young persons club if you are under a certain age)?
The VSCC as has been mentioned have a thriving young section, but generally this is sons and daughters of older members.
Perhaps it’s time I expand our French camping tours out to a wider audience? Apart from the Ferry costs, I keep the nightly spend to about 15 Euros (camping and food).
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kjrj
United Kingdom
136 Posts |
Posted - 14/06/2019 : 09:44:44
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On the environmental note, for actually getting from A to B on a daily basis I am in no doubt that zero emission is the future. We have two electric cars, and between them they cover all of our daily motoring needs. The running costs are negligible, both batteries seem as good as new after over 50,000 miles, performance is ample (in one case especially so) and they just feel clean, in the same way that electric trains feel cleaner than diesel ones. Plugging in at home overnight is more convenient for us than buying petrol. With two electric and three classic, I think cars should be either proudly modern or proudly obsolete. ;-)
I don't see a case for getting Triple-M's and other classics off the road. I don't know whether anybody has tried to calculate the carbon footprint of all the extant Triple-M's, but I would be surprised if it's equivalent to more than two or three 38-ton trucks covering 70,000 miles per year. These cars are part of our heritage, just like steam railways. They bring pleasure to thousands (hopefully not just us...) and the classic car business as a whole supports thousands of jobs.
Incidentally, one of the clearest and best-informed summaries of climate science that I know of is at https://climate.nasa.gov/
Kevin Jones
Letchworth, Herts
NA0950 |
Edited by - kjrj on 14/06/2019 09:49:35 |
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Keith Durston
United Kingdom
698 Posts |
Posted - 14/06/2019 : 09:48:22
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quote:
Originally posted by mackeith
My son, not yet 17 and off in 2M0662 to race his bicycle (returned in the rain loving every bit of the handling in the wet).
Lucky to have a granny who shipped (against perhaps financial sense) from UK to US so he could enjoy it as his late grandad intended.
James, he is a lucky lad. What a great looking car. Even with all its mods it still proudly proclaims it is an M type.
Keith
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thecollingburnboys
United Kingdom
574 Posts |
Posted - 14/06/2019 : 10:38:36
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This is excellent James.
You, your son and the car would be perfect for a magazine feature to encourage other MG owners to, within reason, I realise it is a skill to drive one well, let their kids, grandkids, partners etc. drive their cars or at least be involved somehow.
I don't own a classic car, so I can only go from personal experience: Even though my brother and I grew up with MGs we never drove one, Dad took us out in them but not often enough tbh. He admits now that he didn't drive them enough and would have if he just had one. Now he is older and can't drive for health reasons he say's he wishes he had listened to a friend who told him to keep it simple: Just have 1 hobby car, keep it running and drive it. Dad had ended up with a collection of 3 TCs and a 1929 Morris in bits. None of the cars were drivable through years of neglect, work and time just getting the better of him. He excelled in making trim but lost sight of why he fell into it in the first place.
Said friend has some form of Morris, had it since he passed his test and for the main kept it running. He/the car is known in our area, my father now realises he was right!
I just want others to learn from this. To drive and have some fun you only need one and some spares, not a garage full of restoration projects that, if you are honest, probably won't get finished and although may be your pride and joy, could end up being a burden to your family if they don't know the avenues of how to move them on if something happens to you. A few years ago we helped a lady offload her husband's TD when her husband died. It is seriously upsetting at a time when she was grieving, dealing with living alone and doubts of letting him down crept in. Once he passed though it was just a an empty tin box on 4 wheels she couldn't cope with when she needed to downsize. What you see as an asset can actually be a burden to your loved ones. Emotional ties to objects, the essence of hoarding.
This highlights another point: My generation, I'm 41 and the younger generations actually want less interms of physical things and the essential basics. My sons come to my workshop and even though I've massively downsized since my Dad's retirement. They look at what I'm working on and say, "We get that but why do you have all this other old stuff Dad?". I've listened to them, I'm having another cull.
PS If ever anyone is in Richmond North Yorks then my father Mike would love to be taken out in your car or just look at it on the drive and chew the fat about the good ole' days. Due to Parkinson's he lives in the past now and has a great long term memory and is very knowledgeable about MGs and just old stuff in general.
I'll start a seperate post re this, cheers James :-)
Regards James Collingburn |
Edited by - thecollingburnboys on 14/06/2019 10:46:50 |
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coracle
United Kingdom
1870 Posts |
Posted - 14/06/2019 : 11:28:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Ben Stephens
As an avid cyclist I had always wondered how to fit a bicycle to the PA!
I have a bike rack that fits on the rear door mounted spare wheel of a LandRover. If I can find it I will dig it out and see if it is practical on a PA. Give me a few days and I will report back. |
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