CCGB - Why can't we fill shows

[STORM 2 0]

How much does it cost for a nuclear family to attend the VW Festival Owen?

[Cressa 44]

If I could ever get my vr on the road b4 I die, I will attend some. Bloody money pit car. But I still love her as she gathers dust

 

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[seanl82 23]

Seeing as this thread has gained momentum, I think I'll chip in now. I spoke to someone about it a couple of days ago and it's simply coincidence this has popped up now. I think trying to revive the CCGB is like trying to flog a dead horse. I won't go into specifics, but I don't think I'll be renewing my membership next year. If this forum offered the benefits that being a paid member of CCGB did, even as part of the donation process I'd be in. In truth most unpaid forums offer everything aside from Sprinter that CCGB does.

I have no beef with most of the committee, Jim produces sprinter when he can with little or no material sent into him, Eric books club stands at some great events, but the members just aren't there, Ron updates us on new merchandise when he gets it, and Ian sorts new members out and shamelessly plugs away to get people to join (he did it to a guy selling his G60 the other week - and I think it may even have worked!!!). I just don't think it's viable for 2 forums/clubs to coexist for what is now a very limited car. The fact the forum is free to join means it's always going to trump the CCGB and has the numbers in active members to back it up.

[ozowen 2]

How much does it cost for a nuclear family to attend the VW Festival Owen?

 

i think what you have mentioned is also a problem, I imagine it would cost north of 50 quid just to get in; and here lies another problem the organisers need to let kids in for free.

Edited August 14, 2016 by ozowen

[Erallus 10]

I Joined the CCGB to go to events.

 

So far I've been to one (Practical Classics Restoration show - This year). Didn't bring the Corrado as its been off the road for ages.

 

Why don't I go to more events?

 

- Money, just bought a house currently eating all my money. A 30's semi eats more cash then a rental flat!

- Time, working on house, which is a project

- Can't afford to run my car currently

 

Hoping the above will change soon.

 

What do I think of CCGB:

 

- The only car club I've been in, so can't comment on others. Generally enjoy seeing the club stand at events and talking to others. As others have said, don't like the idea of leaving the car all day.

- CCGB site is dead and this is the best resource for the Corrado by far.

- Genuinely appreciate your efforts in keeping a club for a rare car going

 

What do i like the idea of/suggestions for CCGB

 

- Breakfast meets sounds great. All turn up have some food and talk

- Beer? Meet and Beer? Car Beer? BEER

-

Edited August 12, 2016 by Erallus

[Jim 2]

Heh - appreciate the feedback / thoughts. It's all helpful in us shaping how we go forward. I'd like to try and organise a little Midlands get together at some point as I think there's quite a few of us around the area.

[ozowen 2]

I here you, I used to donate to this forum but through changes etc the PayPal thing stopped paying. Then I saw the membership thing and signed up; reasons I believe that as a forum, it cannot expect to run for free.........unless like the Premiership, a foreign investment is made :-) America maybe. We do need to rethink though, I agree the Corrado in all fairness is rare on the roads so we should as enthusiasts endeavour to keep it alive; Christ even modern MG's are getting the limelight. I don't know the history between the two sites CCGB/Corrado forum, (I've heard wife's tales). But like all businesses they need to diversify; so should there be a coming together to form a go to site/forum.......whenever I have a issue with the Corrado this site is where I come, hit the search and start reading, it often comes up trumps. There is a lot of knowledge out there. I'm glad my opener has caught people's attention. To the comittee members on CCGB site Jim, Eric, I know you both put a lot of effort to run the CCGB site and hearing your responses I'd feel the same as you when you see that all your hard work ends in a muted responses.

 

Back in the day (god I'm old) the southern possie as we liked to call ourselves regularly met these included cazzvr, vorwend,swompy, etc and we did the coleford show and then had regular meets/drives and it was great, nothing better than a poodle and pies

Edited August 12, 2016 by ozowen

[Jon_vr6 1]

Personally i think, some way of combining the corrado forum and the ccgb is the way forward. As we all know this is where most corrado owners come first as its more active, go on the ccgb and theres not many threads which are recent.

 

Shame to hear that there was no takers for the corrado stand at tatton park, i remember it always having a good turnout.

 

I for one have probably let the side down but mines currently off the road getting some rust issues (sills and floor) sorted im also saving for first house.

 

I think deals for paid members might be an idea too. Like what the vr6 owners club do. 15/20% off at certain suppliers to try and entice people to join up.

 

Sorry if its all jumbled up above currently drinking in the pub so wrote what came to mind.

 

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[dr_mat 0]

It's a shame that CCGB and the forum have never happily coexisted, and in my view that's the sole reason why CCGB struggles. The forum seems to continue to have inertia and be the place to be wrt Corrados. But it's not the CCGB, which is the one that offers discounts with specialists and so on..

 

Have enough of the original people now moved on that CCGB could become an adjunct to the Forum? CCGB contributes to forum running costs, gets a members-only forum off the main one and a unified calendar in return, all based around the forum itself, or would that still be seen as "loss of sovereignty" by the CCGB.. and "heresy" by the CF? :)

[Jim 2]

All such options were discussed in the past but decided against - I don't entirely remember the reasons why. The forum is now under a new owner - the problem is I think he has plans longer term to try and monetise the forum himself so his objectives may be at odds with the CCGB's.

 

The problem is ultimately by one merging with the other, ownership / control becomes lost - and I don't believe either party would want that. I just don't see an easy way of amalgamating the clubs.

[Tempest 0]

monetise the forum himself so his objectives may be at odds with the CCGB's

 

And it's this point that I am going to be nice and challenging: Actually that would solve "my" problem I have with this forum (its mere existence - told you it would be controversial, but that's what I do, not here to make friends but question critically this time), in that I never understood the difference between the 2, but know that there has always been a certain dislike by the former forum owner to the CCGB. I don't care of its historical implications, seems like kindergarden to me, and have always advocated the 2 merge, but with the CCGB enjoying a formal club status, under CCGB ownership and management. If that doesn't work, then the CF has to go.

 

Flamesuit on? Bah, fire me, and I'll hit back even harder ;-)

 

Tempest

[oxfordpaul 0]

Very interesting thread, I am a die-hard Corrado enthusiast, having owned 7 of them on and off (but mostly on for most of my driving career since 23 years old, now 44!) I've been to Leeds today and entered the show, primarily because I didn't have to be on stand until 11am, and could leave at 4pm (which most of the show did judging by the queues to exit!). Most shows require attendance from much earlier and I just get bored with most shows after 2-3 hrs, as they're mostly the same year after year and I think I've just grown out of trapsing around admiring the same cars over and over. I went to Leeds and was supposed to be camping tonight. However for me the show was disappointing due to far too few cars in attendance (Corrado's aside and met a couple of great fellow owners). So we came home back to South Oxfordshire as I didn't see the point of staying. I think shows would get greater attendance if the terms of entry were more relaxed but appreciate this is impossible for the likes of the NEC (which I would love to show my car at but not from dawn till dusk, and that's the issue).

 

My best friend who got me into VW's can't be bothered anymore and has lost all interest - I guess the Corrado is of an age where older members like me may be starting to lose interest and it's more of an 'effort', that's my view.

 

As for the Corrado Club I am no longer a member and it did cross my mind today about re-joining. However the forum offers all I need, and would happily pay a small annual fee to be able to post and access the previous posts. I've never found the CGGB website that useful and the Sprinter mag was always hit and miss. I totally admire the dedication of those that keep it going and spend a lot of their time on it but as someone else said perhaps the Corrado is just too rare to have sufficient owners to warrant two websites. It would seem sensible to me to blend the effort and resource and make one great place for all things Corrado.

 

As for attendance at shows, shorter hours of display I think would help, and why don't shows have dedicated parking areas for the different models? The best bit of most shows is the car park but you have to weed out all the non VAG stuff. Today at Leeds they could easily have 2 car parks for VAG and no VAG cars - this might encourage more attendance if people could come and go as they please within a dedicated model area rather than feeling 'trapped' in the show.

[Yandards 0]

And it's this point that I am going to be nice and challenging: Actually that would solve "my" problem I have with this forum (its mere existence - told you it would be controversial, but that's what I do, not here to make friends but question critically this time), in that I never understood the difference between the 2, but know that there has always been a certain dislike by the former forum owner to the CCGB. I don't care of its historical implications, seems like kindergarden to me, and have always advocated the 2 merge, but with the CCGB enjoying a formal club status, under CCGB ownership and management. If that doesn't work, then the CF has to go.

 

Flamesuit on? Bah, fire me, and I'll hit back even harder ;-)

Tempest

To be fair Eric that was mutual dislike and the responsibility for the 'split' regarding the forum and club rests more on the committee of that time.

 

The problem lies with the fact the forum is effectively free compared to the club and that the club list a lot of the organised activities via the forum to try to get people to attend (See Jim's and other folks comments about limited attendance at shows). The vast majority of show and trip activity on the forum is actually generated by the club but most casual users assume it is via the forum as that is where the information is. This leads to a lack of activity on the club site etc etc.

 

All clubs have struggled to get on terms in the digital age, just look at the pain Club GTi went through to get where they are now, forum daily traffic is down considerably compared to 5 years ago (used to be at least 4 pages per day now around 1) and there are a lot less Corrados around.

[Jim 2]

To be fair Eric that was mutual dislike and the responsibility for the 'split' regarding the forum and club rests more on the committee of that time.

 

Absolutely. The club was stuck with that really dated Yahoo eGroup mailing list thing. Andi offered to stand up a forum for the club, for free, just as someone who was a Corrado enthusiast and who wanted to help make them more accessible and he was rudely shot down.

 

Spite can be a wonderful motivator - and ultimately it's cost the club as in terms of general daily activity, it's always been in the shadow of this place.

[mic_VR 3]

It's a shame that CCGB and the forum have never happily coexisted, and in my view that's the sole reason why CCGB struggles. The forum seems to continue to have inertia and be the place to be wrt Corrados. But it's not the CCGB, which is the one that offers discounts with specialists and so on..

 

Have enough of the original people now moved on that CCGB could become an adjunct to the Forum? CCGB contributes to forum running costs, gets a members-only forum off the main one and a unified calendar in return, all based around the forum itself, or would that still be seen as "loss of sovereignty" by the CCGB.. and "heresy" by the CF? :)

 

^^ This. The CF and CCGB working at odds to each other will always end up this way. If the new CF owner want to monetise the forum then why not allow the CCGB to have a splinter, members only, forum and take a cut of membership fees? This allows CCGB to get 'footfall' so to speak, helps the CF running costs, and could save the CCGB money if it didn't need to host it's own forum. Ultimately this could lead to having money spare to organise other things/discounts for it members? CCGB could still be the show face of the Corrado owners and the forum continues to be the online base?

[Jim 2]

^^ This. The CF and CCGB working at odds to each other will always end up this way. If the new CF owner want to monetise the forum then why not allow the CCGB to have a splinter, members only, forum and take a cut of membership fees? This allows CCGB to get 'footfall' so to speak, helps the CF running costs, and could save the CCGB money if it didn't need to host it's own forum. Ultimately this could lead to having money spare to organise other things/discounts for it members? CCGB could still be the show face of the Corrado owners and the forum continues to be the online base?

 

Andi offered exactly such very similar solution for the club previously (a CCGB branded portion of the forum, for us to conduct our club business on, advertise events, etc - in exchange for a fee, such as an advertiser might operate on the forum) however it was rejected. There seems to be a belief that in order for the club to succeed it has to be completely without help or involvement with the forum, and I (personally) feel that is a mistake for a number of reasons.

 

The club are planning a get together in the coming months to talk through the problems and work through ways of moving forward, so I'm hoping forum association will come up as a topic of discussion again.

[mic_VR 3]

Completely agree, Jim.

[quicky1980 0]

I've been on this forum for some time now but more recently I haven't been on it as much. I think the reason being that "life" takes over. But when ever I get a moment I come on and check. So checking in addition the CCGB site for event is less likely being that the forum was my first welcome to corrado ownership and am used to checking more regularly.

 

I personally can never tell when or where the corrado meets are going to be as it seems to be scattered all over the place on the forums (unless there is a Page/calendar Ive missed??). I have often walked around event to find a corrado club stand and think that if had known I would have arranged to join them. Instead I end up being in the daily car to get to the event or if Im in the corrado I just go to the show n shine or standard display areas.

 

I don't mind registering in order to support the preperation for events etc. Which I did for the CCGB, but I would want more than the privilege to be part of the club stand. I think this isn't the right motivation as a club stand cant function without members so instead should offer web service benefits like extra mail space, selling page access etc similar to this forum.

 

TBH I don't quite get why this forum and CCGB are separate. Any way that they can be combined and have a "sticky" showing any up and coming Corrado events? If its a case that the CCGB wish to keep their independence (which is fair enough) then the partnership should be strengthened for eg membership to one links to the other?

 

Just my 1p worth.

[Wendy 0]

I too have waited a while to comment.

I am a CCGB member .. that hardly visits the CCGB Forum.

 

What I think is being missed here - is- nearly all committee members on the CCGB have had enough/lack time, energy and motivation to continue. (It sadly does not appear to be being pushed by the relatively new Chariman either)and most are wanting to stand down and only keep going due to no-one coming forward to take over.

 

As much as I would not like to see the CCGB fold - as with the start of this thread - the Club is not being given the support generally by its members - either in show attendance, magazine contributions, CCGB Forum visitors and thread posts.

 

Unless something pretty drastic happens in combining the forums - I can only see on way forward now for the CCGB.

[Wendy 0]

I would actually like to see the Combining of the Forums, so as quicky1980 states - everything is in one place.

(This has been confusing for anyone who has not been around for years and knowing of the CCGB.)

 

Then Regional Hosts - albeit anyone can Host an event /Show if they see one they like and would like to attend with others.

[EJ Taylor 22]

The understanding i have gathered over the years is there seems to be allot of old beef being retained by stubborn old men, and that seems to be the prevention of progress.

 

I started paying for the CCGB membership, but as with many soon didnt see the point. to be brutally honest. I think its a mixture of a few things though:

 

-Being corrados, most of our cars are never in a state seen as show worthy by the owner.

 

-This is a knock on affect, as the corrado for us is a way of life, but for rich kids is a status symbol, so those few we do see at shows, are often ones owns by kiddies with minted parents and huge budgets and are built to an incredible standard. How can you pitch your rusty arched, slightly tatty model against that?

 

-The huge reluctance of integration, for reason im unsure of. There is this age old corrado CF and CCGB almost rivalry, i feel to be more enforced by SOME of the CCGB, people who cant let go of negative pasts or issues and therefore they almost dont want to contribute or integrate with CF to prove some sort of point? Ive mentioned on many occasions the possibility of joining forced, and its like suggesting green peace join forces with donald trump.

 

-The older average age of the forum, once again this probably contributes to the sustained petty beef between the clubs, but also allot have the "been there done that" attitude. Also the shunning of anyone who modifies there corrado outside of the elders ideology of what a corrado "should" be. I could wack a 10ltr V8 in mine pushing 3000hp and still be considered inferior to the bloke who spent the last 5 months stripping back sanding and powder coating the bracket for his starter motor.

 

-mainly though, its the separation of some but not all, each club has its members who contribute on the forum, members who go to shows, and members who dont ever own the cars but used to and still enjoy the forums, the CCGB seems to be, as previously mentioned, a dead horse, yet out of principle rather than it being accepted and the brains and people that made it happen contributing to the CF, i bet my last dollar there are some on there who want the CF to crash and burn, feelings like that are clear, and dont make for a good community.

 

going forwards, i think the CCGB could still exist, but like some said, done as the VRoc do it, the CCGB could be almost like an upgrade on the CF, you join the CF for free, but if you are willing to upgrade to a CCGB membership it enables you access to different areas of the forum and additional things, i and i know i can speak for many have literally not been on the CCGB for months/years, and who knows how many things and event are on there i wasnt even aware of, if its not posted on here, i literally would not even know its going on.

 

CCGB either needs to go completely solo, and run as a different club all together, or join forces, this whole half hearted reluctant coalition bull sh it clearly isnt working and never will. The damaged relationship between the too contributing only negativity to the community.

 

I wouldnt dream of going on there and sparking conversation, i would be moked and shamed for my silly half cage, and stripped out interior, and stupid attitude and immaturity. Think there are far more people on both forums more interested in having somewhere to keep busy and moan rather than meet people and make friends and enjoy the cars. Im yet to break over a handful of corrado related events, yet i travel the country over to do car related things, in the 5 or so years of being on here, ive only ever chatted and got on with about 10 people. Yet its regularly being viewed and has members over the thousands. Tis a strange old place the corrado community.

 

But yer, the Corrado Club of Great Britain, even the name just says it all :lol:

 

If offered as an upgrade to the CF membership, enabling access to another area of the forum with discount codes and such. I really think i speak for many when i say i would be well up for that. This whole, We organise event on this page, talk on this page, hang out on tihs page, but you must be registered to this page, pay money to them, but then all talk on here bull is just stupid.

Edited August 17, 2016 by EJ Taylor

[Jim 2]

Thanks all. All feedback, positive, negative, whatever is extremely useful for us to take onboard and discuss as a club - it's appreciated.

[VR6Pete 0]

Having been here already with the VR6 Owners Club and decreased interest in the club / shows etc.. in the past and running the club for the last 12 years +

 

CCGB needs to get with the times, the average age of owners is decreasing with younger owners all the time - think about that point..... magazines and forums are quite old hat these days and considered un-cool by younger folk.

 

- Facebook: Like it or hate it you NEED to embrace it, I have now over 5.2k members on the VR6OC group, 22,992 followers of the facebook page, 2k Instagram followers, 2.6k followers on the classifieds group, 1k twitter followers - That's a lot of people and easily can drive traffic to VR6OC.COM and a lot of content I post is automated, post in a single place and it posts them to all.

 

- Mail outs - Monthly mail-outs / newsletters is much more effective than magazines - if you are not publishing regularly (and it sounds like you are not) then members loose interest, and monthly updates is the way to go.

 

- VR6OC Mobile App - As everyone has smart phones these days, I launched a VR6OC app on Android and iOS app store - This has had a massive improvement on visitor numbers, membership retention and interest in the club / events. Push notifications is KEY so is social networking integration - who wants to log on to a clunky website and check for content, push notifications push it direct to your phone - check it out for ideas, its based on Tapatalk API but I use my own branded white label app.

 

- Forum Platform - The CCGB website / forum looks like 100 years old compared to modern forum applications - I invested heavily in a "platform for the future" and went with invision board 4.x - cutting edge in terms of community software.

 

The reason why CF does well is because its a niche forum and will always be popular for resources / help. but from an event point of view facebook and social media is the future, if you dont embrace it then you will simply vanish into the realms of history, especially when you see the number of so-called clubs popping up on facebook these days (often flash in in the pans) and people by nature follow new trends.

 

Don't get me wrong - membership has fallen to that of 10 years ago, accept that. You will never have that membership base again, the whole scene is different from what it was. we have adapted.

 

Down-sized the club, reduce cost of membership, reduce size of team / operations, embrace social media, invest in newer community software / build native apps for mobiles.

 

Not had any issues filling stands this last 2 years (asides from ultimate dubs in 2016 due to break downs, cars not finished) but its not easy and you have to work for it- the days of just posting a forum post and expecting people to see it / be interested are long gone. constant promotion, mail-outs, social media is the way to go to get the numbers on the shows, and get people to commit by buying tickets in advance of shows as they are less likely to drop out at the 11th hour.

 

Good luck :) but if you need any advise then git me up.

[mic_VR 3]

Can't remember who I was speaking to at Harewood at the weekend but I was saying how well the VR6OC is doing at the moment. Never used to go on there much but the app is really good and the Facebook posts do work well to grab people's attention. Well done mate

 

The CCGB has tried with the Facebook posting but although the content is good it's not very often. A CF app would be good, if I knew how to create one!

[Jim 2]

Pete - What is the size of the operation for the VR6OC? As in how many of you are running it? Is it literally just you?

 

I have often admired how modern the VR6OC setup is and how active you guys seem and always wanted to know a bit more.