General Forum Members Age?

[Old Dude]

Your kidding if I go for a drive its to enjoy the cars handling, if I wanted to drive 20kph below the speed limit I would have bought a CAMRY

I don't see a problem if someone wants to drive slow and enjoy the scenery but they should definately be at the very back of the convoy!

Old Dude

[mx52nv]

Our club runs are these days well attended, but amongst the group there are often folks who just want to dawdle along and admire the scenery, when others want to just go for a drive. Attend a few runs where the pace of some attendees is bordering on pedestrian, coupled with the run 'rules' of no overtaking, and the novelty very quickly wears off for those out for a good old fashioned drive on some fun roads. We used to split groups on club runs into "faster" and "slower" but that got quashed because it was seen as encouraging speeding in the faster group. The point of that idea was missed entirely, and now we all have to go as slowly as the slowest car, even if that means 20km/hr under the speed limit.... End of mini rant, as you were

I am so glad that our club has done away with convoy rules a long time ago. Now we have a few regroup points on the way to the final destination. People drive at whatever pace they prefer. We advocate safe driving and always remind members of the fact that they are representing the club to the general public.

That said - some club members consider that I am the "hoon" of the club.

[grazza]

Having 2 seats is off putting to some however as they are seen as a selfish car with no room for their mates. So they aren't as popular with young people as some other models. Then as people get older there is a need for rear seats and a bigger boot as people start to have families so the MX5 makes way for something more family based.

Yes, but look how popular utes are...

Its to be expected that more and more younger people are looking at the MX5, not just because they are getting cheaper second-hand but also because it appears (to me anyway) that they have more expendable/available money, than when I was that age. I have seen P plates on NC's (thanks daddy )

So with a larger younger ownership, as proven in this forum's membership demographic, there will be a different type of enthusiasm, sometimes resulting in focused attention on looks/rice/fads/fashion, which is different to the motivations of the older guys, some of whom see bling as spoiling the MX5's inherent classic'ness (spelling )

You would not see neon lights under an MG, but maybe an MX5...

[Jeo]

Let me preface by saying I'm both 22 and a self confessed ricer.

I'll admit I was a little skeptical about joining the club as it certainly had an aura of cardigan about it. The first run that I went on before I joined had no less than 38 speed bumps (I counted) and we would have only hit the speed limit once or twice. I was not impressed.
At our last stop, a guy who would have been in his early 30s pulled me aside and explained that this is not our normal monthly run and that I shouldn't judge the club by this. The next month's run was totally different (more what I expected originally) and I really enjoyed it.

My girlfriend and I have since been on a few runs, make it to coffee and lies when we can and I've attended two shows with the club. I've only ever seen two other people under 25 on a club event ever (daffy and his significant other) and guess what, I still have fun. While the driving is normally pretty good, the conversation before, during and after has always been good fun. I try to say hello to everyone and I spend a day socialising with people that I never would have otherwise (interesting people at that). Yes I cop plenty for being a lout with big wheels, holes in his bonnet and jeans that are on the ground, but by the same token I give plenty back to the old fuddy duddies who all drive identical cars at the pace of a camry.
Sorry, I'm going on a rant here but I don't get concourse. I mean I understand the concept, just not the logic of a competition based on who can keep their car the same-est.

The pre-noon start times are often a bit rough, but you get over it fairly quickly if the run is worth it.

So I'ma run with what I normally say at this point, join the freaking club! Young and old, awesome and stock; its good fun for all involved. The more the merrier. Another cliche. etc, etc

Having said that, I'm still at uni which means I work weekends. That makes it hard to get on runs so I make sure I go when ever I can. I'd assume that there are a few others in a similar boat.
As for the natmeet, there isn't a chance in hell I could afford to take the better part of a week off work (no leave as a casual) only to spend a fair chunk of money traveling across the country.

And the two seats thing, thats a selling point. I don't need more seats, I don't have kids and my friends better have cars. Or to put it another way, I don't care how you're getting there, the mrs and I are going in my car. You also get great lines like I would drive tonight but then I'd only be able to take one person, me going designated driver just doesn't make sense, you'd better drive mr accord owner. Like almost everyone here I'd imagine, there has been one or two times where a third seat would have been incredibly useful, but most of the time its more than enough.
I bought a motorbike as my first from of transportation. One of the advantages that I (and my parents) saw was that I didn't have to give people lifts, ever.

[NMX516]

I don't see a problem if someone wants to drive slow and enjoy the scenery but they should definately be at the very back of the convoy!

Old Dude

I agree entirely. I have no problem with those who want to go at a leisurely pace, but those who do would be best to the rear of the group. That doesn't always happen though, and so it could frustrate others and ruin some of the appeal of their day out.

Having said all that, the MX5 club runs are great!! Always plenty of people to talk to and we always have a good time, and traverse some great roads. I just think that sometimes people can feel a little restricted in the convoy, which may be why the "20 somethings" don't attend too many club runs. Perhaps that's the same in the other states. To some extent I'm just theorising, but it might be worth making some of those changes to encourage more of the younger members to attend club runs.

[Okibi]

Our club always promotes obeying road rules and being courteous to other drivers, driving in a convoy is dangerous.

Often a convoy gets split by traffic or traffic lights, the tail car and in turn the entire convoy slows down to wait for the trailing cars. This would cause cars to drive illegally slow and create a rolling road block which upsets other road users and puts the club in a bad light.

We search out roads where you can have fun without breaking the speed limit, different drivers and cars prefer to corner closer to the speed limit then others. A convoy forces drivers to slow down to the speed of the "slowest" driver on the cruise. Slower drivers could get pushed beyond their limits trying to maintain a convoy with a faster car ahead. We would never want anyone to push themselves or their car beyond its limit on a cruise.

We have regroup points and drivers drive at their own pace (within all road rules) to these points.

[NMX516]

Our club always promotes obeying road rules and being courteous to other drivers, driving in a convoy is dangerous.

Often a convoy gets split by traffic or traffic lights, the tail car and in turn the entire convoy slows down to wait for the trailing cars. This would cause cars to drive illegally slow and create a rolling road block which upsets other road users and puts the club in a bad light.

We search out roads where you can have fun without breaking the speed limit, different drivers and cars prefer to corner closer to the speed limit then others. A convoy forces drivers to slow down to the speed of the "slowest" driver on the cruise. Slower drivers could get pushed beyond their limits trying to maintain a convoy with a faster car ahead. We would never want anyone to push themselves or their car beyond its limit on a cruise.

We have regroup points and drivers drive at their own pace (within all road rules) to these points.

All sounds very good to me...

[RG.net]

*cough* sticky *cough*

[Okibi]

If it's popular it will stay at the top of the list

[greenMachine]

Lets just say that I can still remember my 60th, but haven't started to plan the next big one.
I've had the GM for nearly 10 years, so I was just a youngster when I started this 'grin from gear to gear' thing.

...

I have a one year old son and I am trying to convince Mrs H that he needs his own MX5

One of my favourite kiddie snaps is the photo of my one year old, rugged up against the Canberra winter, sitting in the baby seat, which is strapped into the topless Bugeye... the looks we got at the traffic lights that night were, as they say, priceless He has just turned 33 ... sigh.

[Doug Danger]

17 here, been on the forum for ages. I think since I was around 12 on my old account... much too young to be surfing the net

[miata]

17 here, been on the forum for ages. I think since I was around 12 on my old account... much too young to be surfing the net

The last time I saw you, you were about 10, it was at a N.S.W. Club dyno day and you were with Slammer of course, although I think your Dad might have been there too.

[CheyneX5]

Great to see the youngens keep rolling in! When are you 18 doug? Do you have an mx5 yet?

I see that you are in camberwell, will you be joining the fold for the weekly meet?

[Garry]

I've been in the NSW club for almost 9 years and in that time things have changed somewhat. Please note that I'm not having a dig at any past or present comittee members, they all do a fantastic job, these are just some of my observations.

When I first joined the club most of the members were a little older than me, most seemed to have been in the club for a long time and knew each other really well. It was a very friendly bunch and the runs were always fun, if a little bit slow for me.

There was a change of committee, a change of captain and the focus of the club changed. There was a faster run and a slower run every month, lots of tech nights and generally the pace of the club increased. There was more of a driving focus on the runs rather then a coffee run focus. The average age of the run paticipants dropped but unfortunately some of the original "stalwarts" stopped coming along. They would only turn up for major events like the Christmas party.

Then there was another change of committee and another change of direction. The vibe of the club seems to have slowed somewhat. There's less frequent runs, very few tech nights, the pace of the runs has slowed, the run destinations tend to favour the older set and the age of the participants has increased again until now at 46 sometimes I feel that I'm one of the youngest people on a run. However, the people that are attending now are still enjoying themselves which is the most important thing for the club.

Organising something like the MX5 club is very hard to do because of the varied interests and ages of MX5 drivers. Unfortunately it's impossible to please everyone at once.

[Okibi]

..Organising something like the MX5 club is very hard to do because of the varied interests and ages of MX5 drivers. Unfortunately it's impossible to please everyone at once.

Very true, we try and make sure the different styles of members in the club can enjoy their membership and do our best to bring the different groups together.