What do NORTH Island members want from the OpelForum?

[001 Neville]

Since there is a distinct lack of responses to events advertised, particularly in the South Island, I think with the end of this year fast approaching, I need to review just what NZ members are looking for and see whether changes need to be made for 2013.

* I set up the OpelForum, and have funded it so far, for website and other items, but my funds are limited.
* If members are keen to attend shows in the North Island, but not in the South Island, then where do we go from here?
* If we arrange regular attendance at shows, whether North or South, then will need to invest in some more signage/flags/marquee(?) so are members prepared to make a donation towards these sorts of items? (We've had a kind offer of a marquee this time, but it might not always be available)

This is a quick poll for NORTH ISLAND club members - evidently not relevant to overseas members - and would appreciate if everyone could take a few minutes to consider their answers. You can click on more than one option. I'll send out a message to all NZ members inviting responses to the poll.

[020 Brad]

I'm sure I always put up a speel in these threads and I'm sure it always get ignored, but I'll chuck it up once again anyway.

I help run another forum, oldschool.co.nz, though my time for this seems to be dwindling, but that's another story. I just want to try and put some perspective on how things run by comparing that web based "club" to this one.

oldschool.co.nz has over 5000 members. Of these, we managed to get a response to a census from just over 500 of them. Of these, we manage to get between 50 - 100 to out largest annual event, which is usually held in the central North Island in an attempt to centralise it around our member base for maximum attendance (usually Taupo, Rotorua or Palmerston North). Our smaller regional events wouldn't attract more than 50 members, and of these numbers, the amount of cars is usually half the number of people (eg 50 people, 25 cars).

Another forum I am a member of always appears to be struggling for numbers and even any active web based discussion. I'm not sure if this can be related across to the Opel Forum, but it is worth noting because there appears to be a trend. Whether this relates to the financial climit, the time of year, or other reasons, I have no idea.

Now returning to the oldschool.co.nz example, with over 5000 members, the Opel Forum has 135. There are obvious reasons for this small number, not least of which is the scarcity of the product in NZ. We must also take into account or large percentage of offshore members, which could be as high as 1/3 total members from a quick look. I guess what I'm getting at is that this is a very small forum, with a very limited user a car base to draw from. Many of us are very busy with other committment and to me, managing to get even a couple of cars to one event a year is a major accomplishment for such a small "club".


Because this is dragging on I will end with this. I can't commit to shows or events as much as I would like to, partly because my cars aren't going, partly for other reasons. I won't be making a donation to ensure the Opel Forum can attend every event, but I will support these events as and where I can and I will also continue to make an effort to contribute to the online aspect of this forum, which to me is the most important part, largely due to the reasons I have outlined in this post.

[020 Brad]

Crap I just read through that and my spelling and grammar at times is terrible. Sorry for that but I typed that in a rush during a break at work and don't have time to tidy it up. Hopefully you guys can decipher what I'm trying to get across. It's meant as positive feedback too, this forum is great and I'm sure we all appreciate the effort and commitment you put in to keep it alive Neville.

[001 Neville]

Thanks for your constructive comments, Brad, and I accept there are not the numbers we need to make regular attendance at shows a priority.

Just to put things into perspective, I have just checked the current 135 members as follows:
North Island 67
South Island 30

Australia 10
UK 19
Other countries 10

Bearing in mind that some of those have never posted anything, and some have not logged on for more than 12 months, the true numbers are lower still.

It still leaves the question - just what do members want/expect, and how can we grow the club?

I'm in the process of producing a club flyer that members can download and leave on car windows if you see an eligible car. Attendance at shows is the other way to grow the club, since like-minded enthusiasts and members of the public will be more likely to be attending.

[242 Darren W]

Need a regular meet can be monthly or bi-monthly really by regions

[001 Neville]

Need a regular meet can be monthly or bi-monthly really by regions

Thanks Darren, that is a good suggestion that we can take forward.

[168 Derek S]

I have looked at the poll and have not voted as I am not sure how I would cast my vote, mainly due to relevance.

I think a contribution towards forum membership is perfectly reasonable. I pay to be a member of two offshore clubs which have very good forums with lots of participation.

Both of those forums have open forum and restricted forum access areas, I tend to like the idea of having a closed forum area for paid up members only, it keeps the zone free of crap, its highly moderated and its just a better place to be in general.

However I am also of the opinion that there are some individuals who - may not / would not / should not - be expected to pay for forum membership here, for reasons financial or simply because without them the forum would then be a pretty bleak place to be, I am not going to mention the forum members I have in mind, but there are at least two that stand out to me.

^^ Sorry DW your not one of them and I would just expect you to pay -

I think the reality is getting available time and commitment to attend events, it always takes one person to motivate people and organize things, its a lot of pressure for that person or those people and its something I just don't have time for, but can tag along when and if it works out for me time wise. (Lets see how Ellerslie goes in February)

[021 Chad]

I think having regular meets really changes the dynamic a bit. At the moment we all have a common interest in the brand of car that we enjoy caring for. However when regular meets start happening, it becomes more of a social situation. In which case many of you may not be interested in hanging around with a chap my age (different interests and motivations etc). At the end of the day we hail from multiple age groups and interest groups and these will not always line up.

[001 Neville]

I think having regular meets really changes the dynamic a bit. At the moment we all have a common interest in the brand of car that we enjoy caring for. However when regular meets start happening, it becomes more of a social situation. In which case many of you may not be interested in hanging around with a chap my age (different interests and motivations etc). At the end of the day we hail from multiple age groups and interest groups and these will not always line up.

Fair enough, Chad. How often do you consider "regular"? Monthly? Quarterly? I'm just keen to keep momentum rolling so members can meet up over the times when no shows to visit. More people joining after coming over from UK, who are used to regional meetings in the Opel Manta Owners Club and others.

North Island is different to South Island since you tend to mostly be in top half, and you have motorways to enable faster travel between districts - in offpeak times anyway

Age has nothing to do with it. I'm no spring chick myself at 49!

[168 Derek S]

how about a pole on members ages

[020 Brad]

how about a pole on members ages

haha

Probably doesn't matter too much, we all share a common interest (or two).

A regular meeting would be quite good. Not sure how best to have it though. Ideally it would be cool to do a bit of a garage cruise, visit a different members garage every couple of months to have a look at progress (or lack there of) and perhaps have a beer. Only problem here is we'd have to put address information up on an open forum, which is always pretty dangerous - you don't know who could be looking - and you need these meetings to be as open as possible to encourage new members. If they just turn into a bunch of mates catching up at the pub every month it can become very difficult for new members who don't know anyone to make the effort to attend.

Perhaps arranging a meeting at a central location every couple of months? For example, I'm going to watching the SS2000 series at Hampton Downs this Sunday. We could find a relevant meeting (be it a race or a show) and organise to attend. This way we can still enjoy looking at cars when none of them are going.

[021 Chad]

A garage cruise sounds like fun and it may be quite valuable for ideas on projects etc. The only issue is I had a couple of guys round last weekend as they needed help, guidance and garage space to install new suspension in an MX5. One of them ended up commenting on the 'mess' in my shed.
Now I don't know about you but my shed is somewhat of a shrine to me and having a go at it's presentation is akin to desicration! I know where everything is (most of the time) and I have everything I need, I'm not going to spend hours making my shed acceptable to whoever may be dropping by because its my shed and I'll keep it as I see fit .

However a bi-monthly get together for any reason at all will be of great value to the club in my opinion. I like the idea of picnic trips, select a destination, take a BBQ and a chilly bin, convy there and have a munch. Simple, easy, fun . That is unless there are any shows on, in which case a meet goes without saying.

[168 Derek S]

mm someone getting the use of my shed and telling me its in a mess would get told to pack up an GTF out!
my shed is a mess, I need to have a clean up but, no work without some mess.

Woody, Brad & Chad's ideas good, maybe to start with find a nice reserve by the beach where we can all park up and have a feed is a great idea, would be good to get some pics of the cars against some of our lovely coastal scenery so the rest of the world can be jealous of us in NZ

once we get into the swing of it you will find some of us coming along with parts and stuff for other attendees.

where is Gordo on all this?

[233 Jon Mc]

I've cast my vote and opted for option 1, not because I'm a miserable bugger but more because I have a couple of relevant European GMH models (for the forum, at least) but no Opel! I'm sure a Vauxhall would cut the mustard but I don't have one of those either (in NZ...) and I'm not sure I'll be in the market for one any time soon. I was a paid up member of the Imp Club in the UK, since it felt like a good idea for such an old/obscure car. I went to one local club event at a car show at around age 22 but it wasn't really for me, though probably something to do with a difference in ages, as cars that stopped being produced 36 years ago tend to appeal to [i]older[i] enthusiasts....!

I also live a fair way from Auckland/Wellington, so would probably not be in a position to go to any events there, unless I happened to be in the area at the time. Hopefully as an on-line member though, I can add some content to the forum when I've got something relevant to give.

Hope that's of some help? It may not be what some may wish to hear, though I thought it better to give an opinion as a new member, than nothing at all.

[001 Neville]

I've cast my vote and opted for option 1, not because I'm a miserable bugger but more because I have a couple of relevant European GMH models (for the forum, at least) but no Opel!

It doesn't have to be an Opel to be on display, Jon. Any club eligible cars - Opel, Vauxhall or euro-Holden models - would be welcome on the stand provided it is legal, clean and presentable (possibly a work in progress on a trailer, if there is room). Think about it for Galaxy of Cars? Sounds like we might have enough cars for Ellerslie now.

I also live a fair way from Auckland/Wellington, so would probably not be in a position to go to any events there, unless I happened to be in the area at the time.

The roads are better in the North Island for travelling up to AKL, but would be useful if members could try to get along to at least one event/meeting a year in the North Island I will certainly try to.

Hopefully as an on-line member though, I can add some content to the forum when I've got something relevant to give. Hope that's of some help? It may not be what some may wish to hear, though I thought it better to give an opinion as a new member, than nothing at all.

Your feedback is appreciated.