Is this rumour correct?

I belong to both and am happy to do so to promote the hobby and all the work the clubs put into the hobby. I like one mag more than the other and participate in one club more than the other, but I will continue to belong to both. I think the cost is very little compared to what we get out of the clubs.
 
I belong to both MARC and MAFCA. I dropped out of AACA because most of what they had just didn't really interest me. Their Editor had the same spiel in every magazine....'We have to get the youth interested.....' Whatever.

The best antique Ford magazine I ever got was back in the early 70's, Lorin Sorensen's FORD LIFE, Silverado Publishing. They were great! T's-A's-V/8's. I still get them out and look at them. They show up on E-Bay from time to time. If you never buy another antique Ford related magazine, buy these. You will not regret it. I will NEVER part with mine:)
 
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In their time they were useful before everyone had a computer. Now that we are in a high tech era we have negated much of their worth. And you are correct, the two Model A websites ( both free ) and EBay will eventually put them totally out of business. It may be sooner rather than later!
 
Geriatric..Hubley model racing and knickers just don't excite the youngins..seeing middle age interest in bangers but as whole its small..factor club memberships like the value of the car,both are dropping like a smooth stone in clear water..
 
This is the time to speak up to the National Officers of each club and voice your opinion on what you would like to see, and or not see, in a club magizine such as The Restorer and Model A News. Granted all articles will not be meant for everyone, just as they are now. But it is going to take not just this very small minority but everyone involved in this hobby....But, that will be the day!

I would like to see a graph of just how MARC and MAFCA, membership wise, have been fairing over that last 20-30 years or so. I think the clubs are afraid to say one way or the other. I do not know if that information can be got out of the clubs yearly reports or not...I amigine it is...I do not know.

Pluck
 
Steve Plucker said:
This is the time to speak up to the National Officers of each club and voice your opinion on what you would like to see, and or not see, in a club magizine such as The Restorer and Model A News. Granted all articles will not be meant for everyone, just as they are now. But it is going to take not just this very small minority but everyone involved in this hobby....But, that will be the day!

I would like to see a graph of just how MARC and MAFCA, membership wise, have been fairing over that last 20-30 years or so. I think the clubs are afraid to say one way or the other. I do not know if that information can be got out of the clubs yearly reports or not...I amigine it is...I do not know.

Pluck
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The MARC club I am in is also concerned, lost 20% of membership this last year at membership dues renewal. Do not think these members ever came to a meeting or activity though. My club is setting up a committee to see if anything can be done. The club is centered around social activities, monthly meetings, meets, shows, and of course a monthly get together at a place to eat. No technical/mechanical to speak of.


I have fears that with no activates/meetings for months due to Covid, will lose more people. It was nice to have things to go to, an excuse to go for a little group trip to where I had not been before.
 
McMimmcs said:
In their time they were useful before everyone had a computer. Now that we are in a high tech era we have negated much of their worth. And you are correct, the two Model A websites ( both free ) and EBay will eventually put them totally out of business. It may be sooner rather than later!
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Interesting in that you call the non-profit clubs a 'business'. So as far as the hobby is concerned, -if both clubs ceased to exist, would the Model-A hobby become extinct? I feel very certain that it would not. Personally, if preservation and restoration are the passion that drives the hobby, I would be WAY more concerned if MAFFI and/or the Benson Library would cease to exist.


I have been involved in this hobby for nearly 60 years. I have heard it over and over that the hobby is dying because younger people are not interested. Only part of that statement is truth. Younger people are typically NOT interested in restoring Model-A. They never have been for as long as I have been alive. The facts are that young people typically get old if they live long enough, ...and older people have different priorities and desires over young people. Restored Model-As have always attracted a mature hobbyist. There is just as great of a demand for Model-As now as there was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Also, I have seen the prices of Model-As risen from each previous decade during those 60s years. I'd make a strong prediction that Model-A prices in the year 2030 will be higher than what they are now, and there will still be buyers then too.

.
 
Jack Shaft said:
Geriatric..Hubley model racing and knickers just don't excite the youngins..seeing middle age interest in bangers but as whole its small..factor club memberships like the value of the car,both are dropping like a smooth stone in clear water..
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I gotta tell you that as a youngin' in the 60's & 70's whose family was VERY involved in the hobby, wearing knickers back then didn't excite me one bit either!!

As far as prices falling, pick out any Model-A that was for sale in the year 2000 and the year 2010, ...and then find one exactly in the same condition (mechanically, aesthetically, color, etc.) today and show me where the value was greater back then than it is now. The true market value on like/equal A's from back then compared to today finds the cars selling for more today than back then.
 
Aok said:
May not be for everyone but I would be ok with just a online magazine.
I only belong to the MAFCA and prefer reading the online version of the restorer.
That should reduce cost enough to lower membership fees.
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Like you, I read every issue of The Restorer on my laptop as soon as the link to the online edition hits my In Box. It's cool. It's like getting a sneak peek preview.

Then when the paper copy comes a few days later, I read it all again. I see things the second time that I missed the first time. I leave a few paper issues laying around in my shop for visitors to flip through (back when I used to have visitors -- that will happen again, I'm sure).

So I really like having both.

I suspect that the majority of people in our hobby, due to their age or their comfort with technology, would prefer to not lose the paper issue of the magazine.
 
30 Closed Cab PU said:
The MARC club I am in is also concerned, lost 20% of membership this last year at membership dues renewal. Do not think these members ever came to a meeting or activity though. My club is setting up a committee to see if anything can be done. The club is centered around social activities, monthly meetings, meets, shows, and of course a monthly get together at a place to eat. No technical/mechanical to speak of.


I have fears that with no activates/meetings for months due to Covid, will lose more people. It was nice to have things to go to, an excuse to go for a little group trip to where I had not been before.
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I recently moved away from the Houston area, but I keep in touch with them from afar. As in your club, and others, we lose a few members every year due to age, death, or other life events. But at the same time, that club (a very active club, until the virus shut things down) has been able to recruit new members at about the same pace as they lost them.

The key is to have fun activities, and to have open, friendly inviting club members to make the new folks feel wanted. That's not easy.

Like Brent, I've been in the Model A hobby for 50 years, since I was a kid. I've heard people talking about getting younger members involved, how the numbers are going down, etc. for most of that time. Yet the hobby lives on, through dedicated people who draw in new blood.

The solution to this problem is you.
 
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I agree with Brent on this one. I have also been involved in this hobby for about the same
amount of time and have the same observations.
 
Every six months we hear the usual stale arguments for one National Model A Club, ( of course, hopefully it will be yours) because it will be cheaper ....?


As long as it is still America, completion is good, makes people try harder.


Imagine a single National Club....charging what ever they wanted for either an online or print edition, for mediocre content, & dictating 'their' vision of the Model A, all with the attitude 'take it or leave it'.


I've been a member of both clubs for over 50 years....twice the information, twice the pictures from twice as many talented knowledgeable enthusiasts !
 
I belong to both and find the cost to be minimal when you consider the benefits of keeping the "A" hobby alive and well. When you consider the money we spend buying a car or cars, and the maintaining, repairing, restoring, and modifying, membership fees are a drop in the bucket. Membership is an investment in the future of the hobby!!
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
I gotta tell you that as a youngin' in the 60's & 70's whose family was VERY involved in the hobby, wearing knickers back then didn't excite me one bit either!!

As far as prices falling, pick out any Model-A that was for sale in the year 2000 and the year 2010, ...and then find one exactly in the same condition (mechanically, aesthetically, color, etc.) today and show me where the value was greater back then than it is now. The true market value on like/equal A's from back then compared to today finds the cars selling for more today than back then.
Click to expand...

My opinion of the market is anecdotal,not analytical. if I'm right there are certain societal dynamics that will accelerate the loss of value..One affecting the entire collector car market is a generational loss of interest in cars as a whole.Computers have replaced cars as a pastime and that trend is accelerating with the passing of time..
 
I have to say I enjoy getting the hard copy magazines and I get a bunch. I belong to both Model T clubs, both Model A clubs, the V8 Club, AACA and the Lincoln Zephyr Club. I also get John Levoy's mag. I can't really get enough of them.

Not all the mags are great, but most are good to great. If I got one a week, I would be happy. I also contribute occasionally. I had a piece published in Hemmings Classic Car, the MAN and a photo published in the V8 Times. I am a regular contributor to my local club newsletter, too, and really enjoy the national meets I have attended.
 
I dropped my MARC membership because of their heavy handed by-lwas change last year. I did not see why I had to explain why I wanted to vote no on something- you had to submit written justification or your no vote would not be counted.
 
I suspect that to most of us the cost of belonging to MARC and MAFCA is not a big deal. The quality of the magazine is like the quality of the local chapter/region.

What YOU put into to it has a lot to do with what YOU get out of it. I'm sure your local newsletter editor would love to have a submission from you as would the national editors.

NOT a writer? Your grammar not like an English Lit professor? The editor won't care. Stories, ideas, knowledge and PHOTOS are always welcome.

No, I'm not an editor, but I know a few and I did sleep in a Holiday Inn once in the sixties. Just my 2 cents worth?

P.S. Some kids still love cars.
 
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