Are there still a million Model A's?

[68HILLBILLY]

I personally believe 1 million is a pretty high number . having said that ,I have 2 and know of several others in my area owned by non club members.

[WTSHNN]

Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

Why? Draw your own conclusions. A sense of 'I don't need to belong' to enjoy the hobby? $$ are tightening up? (MARC is thinking of a membership dues increase) The idea of being in a club is not an enjoyable one? The cliques that always form? Don't tell me they don't, the Mustang and Shelby people are about as bad as the Corvette guys and our local AACA is really rough on 'outsiders' they have been losing members in DROVES from what I'm told by friends who still belong. Youngest guys in the local AACA are in their early 60's.

Find a copy of Robert Putnam's "Bowling Alone" which looks at involvement in leisure organizations and clubs. More and more organizations are losing members, in all sorts of areas, not just cars. The book is probably 15 years old and notes the dramatic decrease in membership across dozens of leisure activities. This was before the internet really put a death knell to a lot of tried and true organizations.
-Tim

[Huckster Dave]

With a forum like this one and Ahooga who needs a club? I have 2 just for the record.

[CarlG]

Our local AACA club has a host of "members" that belong name only. They pay their dues only so that they can participate in shows, parades and the like. Otherwise, club participation is zilch! And at 70, I'm one of the "youngsters".

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by Richard Wilson

I know one old guy nearby that probably has 35 "driver" and/or "restorable" Model A's in the dry. (No, he will not sell any.) Most of the Model A guys that I know have three or more.

Make friends with his family

[Mike V. Florida]

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Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

The actual number of Model A's I believe, is growing. There must be a pretty good demand for parts to keep the big parts houses going.

The actual number of Model A folks joining the National Clubs I believe, is shrinking. (The Model A News recently noted something like a 1900 member drop in the last dozen years if memory serves correctly).

Why? Draw your own conclusions. A sense of 'I don't need to belong' to enjoy the hobby? $$ are tightening up? (MARC is thinking of a membership dues increase) The idea of being in a club is not an enjoyable one? The cliques that always form? Don't tell me they don't, the Mustang and Shelby people are about as bad as the Corvette guys and our local AACA is really rough on 'outsiders' they have been losing members in DROVES from what I'm told by friends who still belong. Youngest guys in the local AACA are in their early 60's.

Around here the biggest draws are the local Car Cruisers clubs. Little or no dues just guys having fun with cars. No national affiliations and dues to pay. Nobody getting strung out on not getting judged for that 500 point restoration and getting their panties all up in a knot!! Just driving the cars and hanging out at each other's garages, the Donut shop, etc.

Just the coming trend, kind of like everybody dropping their land line phone company and having a cell phone or Smart phone only. What do you do? I don't see young people joining MARC and MAFCA very much in the future, but I know plenty who like Model A's.

I know that we don't have that problem with our little region of MARC.
We have cars that have been in concours events, some drivers, some "show", some with A/C, juice brakes and as a club we don't care. We have at least one event every month and most likley more. Want to drive often, don't want to drive often, drive far or close, we don't care. We do go out of our way to let the members know that we are willing and able to help them with their car problems if/when problems arise.

[Dodge]

I have lots of different cars, motorcycles and boats. (32 cars, 5 motorcycles and 9 boats) I used to belong to Car clubs, motorcycle clubs and a boat club.
The dues just kept getting more and more expensive so I quit all but the Horseless
Carriage club which alows most of my cars to tour with the regional group I belong to.
I wish there was a way for it all to work, but I think the handwriting is on the wall.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by CarlG

On the other side, I belong to both MARC & MAFCA, and I only have one Model A. Subtract 5?

CarlG,
Why subtract "5"? Is this some kind of "NEW ARITHMETIC"?? Or did you & I have the same teacher? I thought it would 1/2 to MARC & 1/2 to MAFCA, which would equal 1.7!
On a serious note, as I was reading all this to Buster, my Rat Terrier, he said, "Countin' Model A's here & around the world is like tryin' to count all the rats & mice, they hide everywhere and are constantly roamin' from one area to another!" (And he knows his rat & mouse stuff!) Bill W.

[Cory Moffat]

I also am not in any clubs unfortunately. In my area there is not a lot of model A's around. It would be great to meet some genuine model a people. At one time I was in the local vintage car club. It was more focused on the 50s and 60s vintage. No one talked about fixing them. Just what shop to take them to. I don't need a membership to that. I should look into getting a membership the MARC or MAFC and get a news letter sent my way.

[Aok]

You could do a poll on this forum but 1st you need to decide how much of a parts vehicle needs to remain to count as a complete vehicle.
It also would not be a good reference but interesting to see how many A's are owned here.

[Richard Wilson]

Originally Posted by CarlG

Our local AACA club has a host of "members" that belong name only. They pay their dues only so that they can participate in shows, parades and the like. Otherwise, club participation is zilch! And at 70, I'm one of the "youngsters".

This is exactly what happened to my former Model A club. 20 or so member families and only four or five that you could actually count on. The rest would only show up once or twice a year if they needed their Model A worked on. Club membership was just $10. Not a bad price for the free Model A services. The youngest member is at least 55 and most over 75 now.

[C26Pinelake]

I live in Canada and I have 6 Model A's. I have several friends that have up to five and none of us are in clubs.
You will never get an acurate total but you might get an educated guess ! and bottom line, what does it matter ?/

[ronn]

Ford is wrong....

Can't be more then 250,000 out there total.... oh forgot, how about the Shay's?

[CHuDWah]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

"Countin' Model A's here & around the world is like tryin' to count all the rats & mice, they hide everywhere and are constantly roamin' from one area to another!"

Probably the best answer - Buster is one wise little pooch!

[CHuDWah]

Originally Posted by ronn

Ford is wrong....

Can't be more then 250,000 out there total.... oh forgot, how about the Shay's?

That would add about 4500 - and don't forget about 1600 Glassics

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Membership in all things (churches, clubs, civic orgs., etc.) is seemingly dwindling. People don't like to commit to much it seems. Ironically, very, very few of my customers are members of a Nat'l club. They have no desire. AACA membership is increasing though. I think much of club participation boils down to the "need". Membership is "needed" to attend a club function. That is the reason why many folks join a club it seems.

[murry29]

DMV if you can find out in each state

[Richard Wilson]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Membership in all things (churches, clubs, civic orgs., etc.) is seemingly dwindling. People don't like to commit to much it seems. Ironically, very, very few of my customers are members of a Nat'l club. They have no desire. AACA membership is increasing though. I think much of club participation boils down to the "need". Membership is "needed" to attend a club function. That is the reason why many folks join a club it seems.

I think society is going through a drastic change. People are less likely to join any group now than even a few years back. We have become a "me" society rather than a "us" society.

Local clubs tend to be more about the social aspects of a club while national club membership is more about the cars.

[Ca. Kid]

Was Mr. Ford speaking about cars in the USA or world wide? Seems everyone here is just focused on the United States.

[Blessyouboys]

Originally Posted by Richard Wilson

Local clubs tend to be more about the social aspects of a club while national club membership is more about the cars.

Local club membership (at least in my area) requires national club membership.

No thanks.