Hopefully I won't be classed as a Ludite, but England is a much smaller country with a much higher concentration of Jaguars per square mile, so the two situations are not exactly comparable. It is a lot easier for the JEC to organize something central and have a huge turnout because the most anyone would have to drive is three or four hours.
Now to the U.S. I think what's needed is information from the other marque clubs. What does the national club do and what do the locals do? Pick the successful ones, American and European. Pick ones with a heritage but that includes modern cars.
The recent comments are that we aren't successful because of comparatively low membership. We don't even know if that's true. Someone should compare membership in similar European marque clubs, such as the Mercedes and BMW clubs, with sales over the last 10 years and see how we compare. I'm not saying that we couldn't do better -- there are a lot more Jaguars out there than we have members, but it might be that we compare favorably.
Speaking of membership, we have a great membership resource right under our noses. These wqould be pre-qualified leads of people who have already expressed an active interest in their Jaguars beyond simple (yet classy) transportation. Many turn their own wrenches, others want to double check recommendations by their mechanics, still others just want a place where they can converse with people who feel the same way about their Jaguars.
I'd bet most of us access it weekly, at least.
Jag-Lovers (www.jag-lovers.org).
There are over 8,000 members worldwide, although the vast majority are from the U.S.
I can't say what would be acceptible, but I think a relationship could be established that would greatly benefit both sides. Here's a hypothetical example. Suppose there was a header on Jag-Lovers' home page that said,
North American Jag-Lovers
followed a rotating series of teasers, such as,
Are there like-minded Jaguar owners in your area? Check the [JCNA website] and find out.
Are local shops good for your Jaguar? Join your local [JCNA] affiliate and ask local members.
Want to hit the highway, but there's no one to go along? Visit the [JCNA] and see if one of our 57 clubs is in your area.
Do your friends beat a hasty retreat when you start to talk about your Jaguar? There are people who'd listen in the [JCNA].
You've found the answers and your Jaguar is running like new. Now what? Shows, drives, social events, and more are at the [JCNA].
etc.
The bracketed items would be links.
In exchange, the JCNA could run a Jag-Lovers ad in the Jaguar Journal touting the vast technical expertise that can be found at Jag-Lovers.
It's downright symbiotic, I tell ya'.
Jag-Lovers has expressed an interest in working more closely with clubs. The foregoing is just a hypothetical idea that I came up with as an example. Jag-Lovers hasn't offered space on the home page, that was just my suggestion.
If you've never checked out the site, take a look. You'll be impressed.
I'm just wondering if anyone is interested in pursuing it. If a decision-maker at JCNA wants to get in touch with a decision-maker at Jag-Lovers, let me know. I can put you in touch.
"Mark 1" Mark Stephenson, Jaguar Club of Central Arizona
The Arizona Concours Weekend is coming...
JCSA Concours, Tucson, Oct. 26 / JCCA Concours, Phoenix, Oct. 27
For more information, visit www.jcca.us.
: Steve,
: You are hardly irrational. In fact, you raise an important point that
: has be irking me since I read several of the responses from the
: nay-sayers. It seems to me that the real problem with JCNA is that
: whenever someone comes up with a new idea, it gets some initial
: enthusiastic support, some alternative ideas are kicked around, and
: then the Ludites come out of the woodwork and squelch it. And we
: wonder why JEC in England has 20,000 members while JCNA has trouble
: mustering 5,000.
Submitted by kanestanek@aol.com on Fri, 10/04/2002 - 00:00
Now this discussion is starting to get interesting! I can see where it is going, we'll very soon get to the point where we start to question the very existence of JCNA.
The UK vs. US argument is an interesting one. Let's explore further:
- the UK is smaller geographically and the owners are closer together. OK, so what? I just looked at some stats; the ratio seems to hold over time that there were approx. five times as many Jaguars (any year, any model) sold in North America than in the UK. If the ratio of original buyers to Jaguar club memberships holds, we should have five five times as many members in JCNA than they do in JEC/JDC, right? Well guess what? We have one-fifth the number of members! Why? Why? Why? Population density in the USA is 80 people per square mile; in England it is 376 people per square kilometer (one square kilometer = .3861 square miles, you figure it out). So there's a lot more distance between people in the USA on average, BUT we should theoretically have 5 times as many Jaguars, so........ unless I'm mistaken, if I draw a circle around myself of any given radius, I "should" find roughly the same amount of Jaguar owners in that circle whether I live in the USA or the UK. Or should I? Averages are dangerous and people don't live in nicely spaced grids, they live all squished together in major urban areas, right?! And the distance between densely populated major urban areas is further in the USA than it is in the UK, right?
I agree that "national" meets in the UK should be more successful because participants may only have to drive 200 or 300 miles to get to them. Here in the United States you might have to drive from New Jersey to Arizona for a Championship Challenge. What are the chances the average enthusiast will do that?
This still does not explain to me why the JEC/JDC have almost 30,000 members while JCNA has 5-6,000. Especially when there are theoretically 5 times as many actual Jaguar cars here than there. OK, I'll admit that Jaguar is a British car, not an American car. But hey, people bought them, right? Maybe Americans are not as passionate about their cars as the English are. Does anybody believe that?
So let's divide the US into say, four seperate sections and have one big Jaguar extravaganza in each. Will we get 500x4 or 2000 cars to show up? As was metioned, we got what, 200 cars, at Franklin? Was it really that low?
I'm sorry, but I still think the number of JCNA members is low because WE AIN'T OFFERING THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PEOPLE VALUE. If we build it, they will come, at least more than just 6,000 of them. I think the problem is quite simple: we haven't been building it for a long time, and they're not coming!
Please debate away on that one.
OK, next topic.
Mark's idea of a joint Jag-Lovers/JCNA venture is interesting. I've personally visited Jag-Lovers and the forums there one million times, so I know what they are all about: they are a VIRTUAL car club, and a damn good one. Can there be synergies? My personal opinion is that if you open the JCNA Pandora's box to Jag-Lovers, there will be no JCNA (as we know it) in ten years. Then again, if this is what the people want, then maybe it is a good thing. It would be a huge step for JCNA, that's for sure and those within JCNA who are politically minded would resist what they would see as a dilution of power. You ever notice the amount of JCNA-bashing that goes on within the Jag-Lovers forums? There are lots of people within the Jag-Lovers confines (the posters, not the organizers) who would like to see JCNA fall off a cliff.
Anyway, I've got to get back to work here..... one last point: if JCNA is going to go anywhere (but sideways or down) it HAS to be done by the regional directors. The geographic argument is a valid one, regional directors are the ones who will initiate and guide the growth of JCNA, forget about the so-called "board".
Daniel