New DOA Membership Prices!

[tommyrich]

Truth? The DOA isn't a club for California.

I met Skip on the way out to DCS 2016. He seemed to be a very nice person and very enthusiastic about reviving the DOA. However, the list of board members (and where they are located), in my mind, strongly supports the argument that it is a California club.
Tom

[DMCVegas]

I met Skip on the way out to DCS 2016. He seemed to be a very nice person and very enthusiastic about reviving the DOA. However, the list of board members (and where they are located), in my mind, strongly supports the argument that it is a California club.
Tom

Like I said, it's not. California already has 2 individual DeLorean car clubs, one in the north and another in the south, that serve local needs. So the argument isn't valid anymore. Make no mistake, it certainly was at one time, but not now.

This is to be an International Club for sure. Now don't get me wrong, local clubs are great. But there is a certain amount of geographic restriction involved with them when it comes to club activities. And I'm not just talking about local events, but also mechanical aspects as well. Which in truth is the same for any marque. A DeLorean in California isn't going to have the same kinds of concerns that a car from Oregon, Michigan, Florida, or even Arizona would have. That is both a concern when you're buying out of state, as it is when you're operating in state. Different states will have both common problems as well as unique ones. A Florida car might have more concerns about mildew & even flood damage, whereas a the Michigan car is more about rust. But Michigan rust is different than Oregon rust. An Arizona car is built more for heat tolerance with more of a focus on cooling. California cars usually have a much tighter focus on emissions testing. So as a result these cars may just happen to behave differently once you start driving them.

That's also global too. A car in Japan is going to have different challenges compared to a car out in the UAE. But that's the point; recognizing these differences and bringing them to light. Now we may not all be able to reenact the DeLorean World Tour, and drive around the entire globe. But going between different countries, and even just individual states is might just present a challenge. Fuel pumps might buzz in Arizona, your A/C might not work as well down in Florida, tires might not grip as well up in Oregon, the list can go on and on. Things that you might not be quite prepared for. Which is one of the things planned focuses in future tech articles is about focusing on both regional issues, as well as how to build a modernized and road ready DMC-12 that is ready to drive anywhere you need it to.

The flip side of this as well is that member input is needed as well. As you said, you feel that it's a California-based club. So let me just come right out and ask you: What would change your mind? Is it just the locations alone?

[tommyrich]

What would change your mind?

I'm not for or against it, I guess I don't understand the mission.
Is it to provide technical help?
Promote the marquee? I'm all for this, but specifically, how would the DOA do it?.
Hold a national/international events? Promote DCS?

Is it just the locations alone?

I am fortunate to have both a local (Long Island) club and a regional (DMA) club. My understanding is that the DMA was formerly DOA chapter.
Is the DOA considering creating new regional clubs/chapters for those not as fortunate?

I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I wish success to all things Delorean!
Tom

[Patrick C]

Should I have received an issue of DeLorean World yet? I saw others posting about the factory reunion issue months ago, yet I have received nothing.

[DMCVegas]

Should I have received an issue of DeLorean World yet? I saw others posting about the factory reunion issue months ago, yet I have received nothing.

You can either send an e-mail over to [email protected], or PM me and I'll get everything over to Gordon to get it sorted out.

[DMCVegas]

I am fortunate to have both a local (Long Island) club and a regional (DMA) club. My understanding is that the DMA was formerly DOA chapter.
Is the DOA considering creating new regional clubs/chapters for those not as fortunate?

I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I wish success to all things Delorean!
Tom

As for regional clubs/chapters, no. There are no plans right now for bringing back the chapters. I'm not a psychic either, but I have a pretty good feeling that that won't happen ever again. Thank you as well for the support though. Preserving the marque and having the support of people is precisely what is needed. Not just for the organization, but for serving the needs of members and the community & marque.

I'm not for or against it, I guess I don't understand the mission.
Is it to provide technical help?
Promote the marquee? I'm all for this, but specifically, how would the DOA do it?.
Hold a national/international events? Promote DCS?

That is a great question. Overall the answer would be a resounding yes, but with some answers for your questions.

Technical help is key. Absolutely. Organizing the help is IMO a great future project that has been discussed, but more immediately there is a need to create a set of standards for the cars beyond just Concourse guidelines and factory recalls. Creating a set of standards for a daily driver, as well as a more diverse classification system for the cars is a pet project I'm personally working on for starters. We have buying guides, and those are great. But moving beyond that into the realm of maintenance is another aspect I'd like to explore. As well as how to raise the values of our cars organically with these kinds of standards. A how-to guide on assembling a Portfolio with sub-details on not just maintenance records but how to contact DMV/PS departments in your state or provence to build up a history is something else that is of value.

Another item I'm big on is Advocacy. Like we recently saw with the story about the owner who was carjacked in Santa Monica, Ca. The article about the incident mistakenly said that the top speed of our cars was only 85 based upon the regulation speedometer. To which I kindly wrote the article's author and she was more than willing to immediately change the article to remove the incorrect information. Things like that are a big part of the advocacy I'm going for. If someone includes misinformation, or even purposefully takes a cheap shot with a cocaine joke, I want to be there to advocate against that to have the incorrect and spiteful information removed. And I want to keep on doing that until reporters get so bombarded with complaints and tired of hearing from us all as a community that they dare not do it any more. It's not a "chilling effect" on all negative press, just anything that is not factual. That way we can ensure a better, more positive public image of our beloved cars.

Hey, even with the "Stupid DeLorean Comment" thread we see this kind of ignorance within our individual interactions with people. I even want to help create a guide on how to avoid those confrontations and how to correct people there too. So one day hopefully we can make this all a thing of the past.

Promotion of the marque also goes far beyond Back to the Future, but also of our community. We're probably one of the oldest on the Internet, and I'd say along with our only equal in terms of age & helpfulness, the Miata Community, we all together helped lay the groundwork for the modern-day online car community. That's a new chapter in our marque's history, and things like this need to be preserved as modern history. And we also need to explore un-researched prior histories as well that have yet to be explored.

All of this is to myself a great reason as to why the DOA is a valuable resource for the community. We're one of the oldest DeLorean organizations within the community, and there is allot of history and archives to both preserve as well as build upon for the good of all of us.

Will the DOA help promote other car shows? As it says in my signature, yes. And there will still be the DOA Expos coming up that will help to bring members of other clubs out beyond their normal geographical areas for people to meet even more like-minded owners and enthusiasts. Both to reconnect old friendships, and to build new ones. Just like with the other clubs, you can have multiple memberships with different regional clubs to complement one another. Because that's the thing: if we're going to remain enthusiastic about our cars, and have the success for all things DeLorean, we've got to do it through positive actions. Being a member helps you to do that, and helps bring even more change to the community through both fueling and guiding the club's activities. That's why I say it's your club too. You can help get involved and improve the community too.

[louielouie2000]

I've been around the DeLorean community for nearly 2 decades now. So the elitism of DeLorean One and the rather one-dimensional focus of it's PR arm, the DOA, is still fresh in my mind. However, it's pretty clear to me that the old guard has long-since stepped aside. So what do we really have to lose by giving the DOA a shot one more time? $50 is a ridiculously small amount of money these days- I spent more than that going to see a movie recently (to be fair, the Alamo Drafthouse serves dinner & drinks, too). But seriously, variety in the community only strengthens it. Having an international club that has been in existence for decades legitimizes the marque, too. Other institutions like DCS are reinventing and repositioning themselves; I don't see why the DOA can't do the same.

[David T]

DCS has taken away the need for the DOA to run a national event. Most "national" groups run the national event and the local chapters participate. If the DOA and DCS could combine that would further the usefulness of a "national" club. In some other marques you must be a member of the national club if you want to join a local chapter. As for the purpose of a national club to define and help with the uniqueness's of cars in different countries, that can be accomplished by a local chapter. Same for cars in different parts of the US. The vendors also are aware of those differences and can accommodate them. About the only things the DOA has going is the archives of old Delorean Worlds, the history (which is probably a hindrance) the name, (again IMHO a hindrance), and the membership list. If the DOA is going to have a reason to continue and try to be a "national" club, IMHO it has to take on the national event. It has to find some way to combine with DCS. It cannot have ANY ties with any particular vendor so it has no taint of a conflict of interest as it had in the past. It should go out of it's way to try to have a board made up of people from all over the world, not predominately California. Anything less and it has nothing to offer that a local or regional club can provide and do it better. The DOA doesn't have to have chapters but it can recognize the existing ones, direct inquires to them as appropriate, and include articles from them. It should be the clearinghouse of all things Delorean including press releases, requests for appearances, Rules for the concours, etc.
These are my suggestions to make the DOA relevant to others outside of California.

[DMCVegas]

I don't know how much more clearer I can make the past points that keep getting brought up. However, I will reiterate them again.

First off, let's talk about the Elephant in the room which everyone keeps alluding to: DeLorean One & Ed Bernstein. Which remains spoken of under the guise of "vendor affiliation".

D-1 is gone. It no longer exists. Ed himself also no longer has anything to do with the DOA, because if he did I wouldn't be on the board. It's pretty well know public knowledge that Ed, Millie, and I don't get along too well. I have been one of the harshest critics of both Ed and the DOA going on almost 2 decades now. So if Ed was still this supposed puppet master behind the scenes, how am I here? Furthermore, ensuring the broad participation of a diverse group of board members and active members helps to ensure that never happens again.

And let's talk about the board membership. You said it yourself, David:

It should go out of it's way to try to have a board made up of people from all over the world, not predominately California.

I'm here both recruiting regular memberships as well as inviting board participation for those who wish to join, and encouraging feedback from all. Short of forcefully conscripting people into board positions, how much further can we go out of our way to encourage a diverse board? Have I, nor anyone else said anything about there being restrictions about geographic location or cross-club affiliation as a means to turn people away? You're in Jersey, you yourself could run for election to be a board member and represent your area.

As for local chapters, there is no indication that that will ever happen again. Even if the DOA wanted to do that again, we'd suddenly be competing with the existing clubs, and we'd be criticized for bullying. And you know what? That would be a very valid criticism that even *I* would have to agree with. Do local clubs have great insight into local areas? Absolutely. So when DOA Expos come to certain areas, they will of course be contacted to work with. But also as people travel with their cars, a national club can offer insight into prepping cars for just such travels because we have such a diverse member base.

A DOA membership can complement an existing membership with a club no problem. Likewise for those who many not have a local club in their area, or even if they do choose not to join it, we're here for you. The DOA is here to help fill in those voids whenever they arise.

The DOA doesn't have to have chapters but it can recognize the existing ones, direct inquires to them as appropriate, and include articles from them. It should be the clearinghouse of all things Delorean including press releases, requests for appearances, Rules for the concours, etc.

Totally agreed on all counts. Why do you think that we ask for notification for local club events & activities that we can send out via our mailing list as well as on our Facebook page? Is there anything anywhere right now that makes it appear that our mission is to the contrary? I'm not trying to be confrontational nor argumentative in the least, please believe me. But if there is some verbiage somewhere that you or anyone is seeing this at, it needs to be taken down.

Sure, I know that the words "DeLorean Owners Association" have a negative connotation for a good number of people, and rightfully so given the experiences of the past. Hell, even I myself experienced them too, so I'm not oblivious to any of it. But I do feel that there are two big reasons to keep the name alive and going. The first is for community stability for the age of the club. It's something we desperately need. Not merely because we're an orphaned car club, but organizations come and go, and the DOA should be the rock that weathers the storms. Both outside and inside. The second is to show that yes, this is OUR club. A club for the community. We took it back for ourselves to fulfill the organization's original mission from back when it was first founded. To serve us all for the betterment of us all and the preservation of our marque.

[David T]

I didn't say the DOA has any current "affiliations" with any particular vendor, I just said the DOA must go out of it's way to prevent even the perception of that because of what happened in the past. From all accounts Ed B and Millie are no longer active with the DOA although they may be in contact with individual members. In your most recent post you left out what I believe to be the single most important thing the DOA can do, is run the national event. If the DOA has ANY aspirations in being the single organization, club, whatever, speaking for all things Delorean (and not coming from a vendor but from the owners) it must take a major role in running the national event. Now that Ken K is no longer doing it, this is a big opportunity for the DOA to step up and take it over if it can. With it's history and membership it is well positioned for that. What is necessary is a commitment from it's board and it's members to assume that leadership role. That will make the DOA relevant again. Not so much the glossy paper magazine. Something on the model of the Lotus Limited national club. In the world of Lotus, Lotus Limited is the national group and it runs the national event they call LOG (Lotus Owner's Group). I would not go as far as they do and make it a requirement that to join a local club you must also pay dues to the national group. The DOA can make all of the money necessary to run itself from the national event so there would be no need for dues if it gives up the paper magazine and postage. Make it an on-line mag and charge minimal dues and advertising fees to get it. Having been an officer in my local club for a few years I feel I have done my dues and have no desire to run another club, thanks for the offer to be a board member. I am of the opinion there is a time to step aside and let others have a turn. Term limits. Forces new blood into an organization. Would be a good thing for our government too. Other things it can do to become the central clearinghouse might include taking over the DoD. Making an on-line marketplace for all Deloreans and parts to be bought and sold. Discounts for members for certain items or services form vendors. Some of this is simple to do. Some of it will take a dedicated volunteer with the right skill set. None of it has to take a lot of money.