How many people belong to BMW CCA?

[Mike87]

[quote=

Just curious. I am a member but thinking of dropping...my local chapter is mostly newer cars and wine and cheese.

I used to be a member back in the late 80's early 90's, but like you said, the local chapter is now mostly new cars and wine and cheese. So I dropped my membership about 15 years back. I just was not getting any benefit out of it.

[M3M3]

I agree with Marshall's and Jim Gerock's comments, get involved, it's YOUR club. Membership has benefits, oh yeeeah!! -Raine

#29605

says the guy that just won the BMWCCA Raffle! nice!!!!! :-)

[BMWonly]

Same here. The Sacramento Chapter is mostly newer cars, older folks (no offense), and boring events (except autocross). Also, the Roundel is about 90% irrelevant to me. Still a member though for the parts discount ...

Dieter

[steve k.]

member since 2000. Mostly for Autocross Events

steve k.

[BillWilliams]

Thousands and thousands!

The National Capital Chapter, the one I belong to, has thousands of members and we are the largest chapter closely followed by one of the California chapters

You get out of it what you put into it. I volunteered two years ago to contribute an article for every issue of our chapter newsletter on vintage things. It keeps us old farts with old cars represented.

The very best layout guy of all chapter newsletters, Raine Mantysalo, owns a very sweet 2002. (I did not want to out him on winning the M5 in a National BMW CCA raffle, but since the Admiral already did, I will pile on)

Marc Caden, a 2002 owner, writes about our DIY sessions.

And Dr John McWilliams, a long time BMW CCA member, organizes and chairs the chapter's Annual Concours Event.

Plus, The Admiral, Marshall Lytle is a driving instructor extraordinair and flashes a very fast 2002 around his home track in West Virginia.

We are pretty well represented but it was not always that way. We just pried our way in.

I too have met some great folks wihin our chapter and outside our chapter, at national and regional events. Met Mike Self and David Landro on the way to Colorado in 2002, still friends - I think.

Scott Sturdy's Vintage BMW CAA regional event in NC/VA continues to draw 300+ vintage cars and Frank Greppo's Vintage at Saratoga BMW CAA regional event continues to grow with 100 cars this past year and will double next year in conjunction with the BMW V&CCC "Holiday".

I agree with the comments on the Roundel, the best of all club rags but way tooooo heavy on Praise Satch letters and other letters in general. I think some coverage given to Vintage BMWs in Bimmer and Hemmings really outshines by miles what the Roundel does on members' vintage cars.

[Mikesmalaga72]

I am a BMWCCA member #98874 w/15 and 20yr pin.

Roundel Contributors and vendors have helped me immensely over the years.

Yes, BMWCCA membership has it privileges and progams that make it worth it. Theres always room for changes and suggestions. Involvement always helps.

[ndog]

Iam holding out to be the newest member with the oldest car

[Dicks]

Well...member #545 here.....since God knows when.....

Someone once explained to me (concerning racing) that our favorite era (that we now miss) is the era when we first got involved and followed everything. Going back to BMWCCA today I find that to be true there too.

I really miss what we had back in the early 70's. It's changed now, and that's the way it's supposed to be. It would be wrong for me to whine and bitch as the whole automotive world is different from 40 years ago.

Frankly, it's not relevant for me today. I get 1000% more out of the FAQ than anything from BMWCCA.

[BillWilliams]

I think internet forums like the FAQ have minimized some of the once important attractions of the BMW CCA, tech tips, info on events and a sense of community.

We don't really have to wait for the Roundel or local chapter newsletters to get those things any longer. It looks like most answers to tech questions come within minutes if not seconds on the FAQ.

edit: Dr Johns statement below prompted this thought and what I failed to mention.

The club/chapters' strengths, in my opinion, are developing a sense of local community and sponsoring and organizing events the club members will attend and support.

[John_in_VA]

I have to agree with Bill's statement above, but club membership does have advantages.

I, too, am a 30-year member. Some chapters I've been in had only a quarterly membership meeting. NCC here has 2-3 events on the same weekend!

The cars change, and members drop out, but there are still many great experiences and owners to enjoy.

[visionaut]

Member here as well, and my chapter's a pretty active one too.

http://www.rmcbmwcca.org

[vinceinIL]

Been a member for 22+ years. Still a great club, even as the world changes around us. But...change is inevitable and it's up to us how we adapt to it and enjoy it.

vince

[gracer]

I've been a member on & off siiince sometime in the "70"s. My current # is 91202. I've been amember of the Portland ACA since December 1971. My how the time flies. G

[TobyB]

Funny thing, a few years ago we had about 5 2002's at the CCA corral at Sebring for the 12 hour race. The e46 M3 had just come out...

uhhh, that was more than a few years ago...

Yeah, the cars have changed, the drivers have changed, the club has changed.

I never took pictures of my dash, either.

I DO find CCA club 'racing' to be particularly irrelevant up here in the NW corner-

I didn't mind so much until the snark- ass letters started coming in when we got

a page of coverage for an enduro...

...then I started realizing that snark- ass was more common than not.

Whatever.

There are almost as many BMW's racing up here as race in

the entire CCA program.

The local chapter's great.

t

[thehackmechanic]

It used to be that the Club was one of the best places, if not one the only places, to get BMW-specific tech, repair, and parts info. Now, in this big web-enabled world, it is certainly not the only place, and is certainly no longer the best place. Both the Club and the magazine have to cater to a fairly diverse set of interests, from us hard-core '02 folks to the "wine and cheese" crowd. Personally I think there's WAAAY too much racing-related content in every issue of Roundel, but that's me.

When I joined in the early 80s, the club and Roundel were both headquartered here in Boston. It was a great time to be active. Yale Rachlin dragged me to be a judge at a concours in Newport, something for which I was, and still am, laughably unqualified. Concourses aren't necessarily my thing ("cleaning the car" to me means spitting on the birdshit and wiping it off and throwing out the espresso cups littering the floor).

When Yale retired and the club office moved to Spartenburg, I became something of a hermit, going to no events and content just to fix my cars and send in my column. About three years ago, for a number of reasons, I started getting out again, to two V@Vs, Vintage at Saratoga, and local Club events. In August I had a great time at the Boston Chapter Concours, seeing folks I hadn't hung out with in 20 years. One gentleman came up to me and said "you judged at the Newport concours, didn't you?" I said "yeah, that was nearly 25 years ago... I'm surprised you remembered." He sneered at me and said "you dinged me points for not having all the bolts on my hood latch." I was concerned, but then he burst out laughing and we had a great chat.

So, yes, you get out of it what you put into it.