I wasnt going to reply to this topic, just let it drift... as you are only seen as one of the old guys, what do they know!

But what the hell.

This forum is great, the knowledge, the answers you can get to any question you have (may not always be the right answer mind you). The greater freedom to voice an opinion. Long may it continue. Knock spots of the 2cvgb forum which was always going to be more formal when its run by a 'company' which is what 2CVGB became with all the additional rules and laws to abide by.

To continue going forward you need to know where you've come from and that history is 2CVGB (Like it or hate it).

The club has done main great things over the years and made a few mistakes.

Yes the magazine is dull and forums like this one have taken over as the source of immediate news much the same as happened to newspapers. The 2CVGB magazine like newspapers needs to evolve or be scrapped, become a thing of record, more indepth technical articles but thats a hard thing to do without input from people prepared to give the time.


Its a bit like the film 'Its a Wonderful Life'. Where would we be without George Bailey.


NO parts organise (SPOG) to source and put up the cash for those parts that the commerical oranisations have no interest in manufacturing. Someone mentioned MOT failure for the want of a part that equates to a scraped 'A' series. SPOG as actually become a model for the rest of Europe to follow.

NO World meetings in Cheltenham and Kelso

NO National meetings around the country

NO Registers day each year

NO Local group camping weekend (sadly much reduced from the 80's and 90's when you could be away every weekend somewhere in the country).

NO archive of 2CVGB and A series history and memorabilia

Probably no I2F website.

and most sobering - Friendships never made because we never met!


Dont lose sight of the fact that the reason we are here is the car and the friendship. Now in my book cars are for driving and friends are for having a beer with.

This is just a forum, its typing.

You own an iconic motor car. 2CVGB gives you good reasons to get in it and drive to muddy field, pitch you tent, have a beer and the craic with like minded people and then drive home again.

All this said its personal choice and its your money to do with as you please.

Anyway before I forget what I was doing I had better get out me cheque book and rejoin!!!!

To be fair I agree to a lot of points on here, I too was not going to post, but I do just want to say this. My dad is a club member, I am not. He's been debating to keep subscribing or not, if he doesn't, I will. Firstly I'm glad to see it come through the letterbox, as it's a damn better site than bills and bank statements! Second I can take it to work and book my holidays to shows( the boss prefers that rather me turn up with random weekends) and I like going straight to the classified to check on the prices lol. I've enjoyed all the shows the club hold, even the drowned Kelso lol but I've personally never felt welcomed. Here however I've met good friends, everybody helps when needed, and the banter is great! Yes I agree I think the mag has been heading downhill, but it will do from time to time, the thing that annoys me most is the modcon bloke. Five times my dad has tried registering his jeep, spoken to him in person, and he's even taken pics of it, the ONLY time it's been mentioned is when he then called it a Bedouin! I understand registrars have other cars and things to talk about but that's beside the point, if a man makes a promise, keep it!
Rant over lol, ibstill like receiving the mag, they make the effort to hold shows, but I'd prefer to post here any day!

The fact that British clubs are organised as limited liability companies these days doesn't mean that there's any more inherent restrictions on what they can do. It just gives those who run them better protection from anything going wrong.

It all started in the mid '90s when something went very wrong at a 4x4 club day - and a spectator got killed. The club got sued, and several of the club officers had to go personally bankrupt, losing their houses etc.

As a result, clubs started to go limited liability company. Technically, limited by guarantee, which means that the club is owned equally by the members - in the event that the club goes bankrupt, for whatever reason, nobody can be exposed for more than their membership fees.

Look at the GS/Ami rally at Thenay last year - something went wrong with the organisation of it, a _huge_ loss (over €50k, IIRC) was made, and the head of the organising club was last seen trying to sell his cars to cover the loss, because French law doesn't allow clubs to be limited liability.

Hi, this is all very interesting for me as i'm very new to 2CV ownership and am currently struggling to restore one for my daughter. I am not new to restoring cars (over 20years) and have had everything from pre war to fire engines. I belong (am the secretary) of a brilliant club for another quirky car but times and money(now only work part time) are getting hard so am using this as a gauge to see if its worth joining/belonging to another club. Parts are so readily available (compared to my other cars) that that doesnt seem an issue, Insurance, well the quote i had for my fleet of 3 atm including the 2CV was £133 fully comp so no problems there, Nationals or whatever they're called, I visited the one near St Ives and wasnt that impressed, I went on the way home from friends, cost me £30 odd quid to get in, went to the few trade stands, saw some people driving across a field and came home slightly dissapointed.
Believe me I dont mean to sound negative and I want to find an excuse to join and justify £25 and hopefully find that there is more to the membership
Colin

I'd introduce myself Colin but it seems we've already met


To get the most of a 2CV National I think you need to camp, the atmosphere in the evenings at St Ives was great. I joined in 2007 and went to my first camp that year and loved it. I found the best thing to do was make myself known to the organisers who then pointed me in the right direction for socialising and introduced me to various people.

Join for a year and see what you think. Come to Registers Day (first weekend in July) in St Ives, bring a tent, look at the shiney cars, relax in the evenings. Then if you don't like it you don't have to rejoin.

Agreed.

2cvgb events, on the whole, aren't like other car club events. The days are the bits that join the evenings together.

Register's Day is the exception to that - much more of a "normal car club event", where there's actually stuff going on in the day.

Me

Almost welled up. You are absolutely right. See you 29/4, mines a pint.

(warning I have read the thread and I am NOT happy)

Well what a load of ungrateful gits.

Here I am spending my precious free time sorting out organising Registers day, writing valuation letters and trying to work my way from the latest load of shit from government concerning the increase in Ethanol in fuel that will impact Citroen A series. Why should I bother? I could be sitting on my arse in front of the PC criticising and doing **** all to keep the 2CV and its other A series running, or indulging in a night of passion with my hot French Girlfriend (who I've also converted to 2CV's).

You get out of the Mag what you put in. If you do not submit stuff then its not going to be interesting to read.

If you want to change it, have the balls to stand up and make those changes rather than moan about it. Yes the mag is crap, and why? Well its because you lot can't be arsed to put pen to paper yet can spend hours writing loads of crap on here.

Well I could just say Sod the lot of you, and I will, but for the other couple of thousand members who actually understand what 2CVGB is for and who value the club then yes I'll carry on giving away my time and knowledge.

Oh and Louise....when the insurance man called me to confirm how much I valued your car it was because of the Club and its standing that you got the cars value back. Next time I'll have to just refuse to comment if the car in question is not owned by a club member.

<picks handbag up, hands back>

Although...

...bit of a point there, gotta admit.