MCA membership - Reasons for not joining

[kryptonite]

I like the idea mentioned earlier that if you join the MCA, you automatically join the regional club you want to join/renew with.

I also agree that the perception with the MCA needs to change for new members to want to join.
When I first joined, I was required to before I could join the regional club I was a member of. The club I am presently President of, has no requirement. Another perception, and I don't mean to offend anyone, and if I do I apologize, is that MCA members trailer their cars where-ever they go and no longer enjoy the thrill of driving their cars because their afraid of getting it dirty/damaged.

My first impression of the MCA was the first Mustang Times I got and it was primarily about car shows. I like car shows, but I also like and do other events, such as track, driving schools, cruises to somewhere and cruise-ins because I enjoy seeing other cars and meeting/talking to people. There are articles about other things the MCA is trying to do, but they are few and far between. I wouldn't mind seeing some articles/pictures about some of those road course events listed, or a cruise to "somewhere", or some other social event other than the car shows.

I will be in Oklahoma this weekend for the Grand National, but my wife and I are making it a mini vacation (approx. 2,500 miles round trip driving my Mustang). We're spending some time in some cities along our trek to the show and plan on cruising down any part of good ole Route 66 I can find as well as getting together with some of my Legend Lime brothers/sisters and we're making it a social get together.

[grandpacobra]

We just returned from the car show in Mustang. Steve Prewitt was a hoot with his Georgia wit. Mary Jean took a beaucoup of photos. The Oklahoma hospitality was wonderful. The OKC mustang club along with North Texas did a great job processing the nearly 400 cars. I have to agree with the first poster of this thread. I doubt I will ever go to another MCA show. I thought Daily Driver class was just that, but it appears to be a concourse class with a little wear on the tires. 1st place is any within 3 points of the top car, then second and third. If your car wont bring $25k minimum at auction, I advise you to stay away from the competition or do display only if you want to attend the show. I had a friend in modified with a Shelby worth close to $100k and he did manage to eek out a second place. My only suggestion for MCA is to run a shuttle to the closest shopping centers for the spouses not interested in sitting with the cars. The monthly magazine is fantastic, but I don't see young people spending $50 a year for the subscription (or old people on social security).

[fastlane65]

The Grand National was a good show, if you overlook the 104 degree heat. I have to agree with the previous poster (he knows where I live) on the driver class judging. My Cobra was supposed to be in the "occasional driver" class, but I'm still not sure what class "PB" means. They gave one first place to a similar car that had perfect paint and never gets driven, and no second or third place awards. I drove through a rainstorm and 400 miles of road construction, spent all day Friday and half of Saturday cleaning and couldn't even get a second place?

Although I have been in the MCA for a long time, this is only my second judged show. I will attend other MCA events but don't think I'll go for the judging, just the show and people. It is very apparent that you have to know what class to enter your car in, and exactly what needs to be cleaned. No one at the registration desk could tell me exactly what my class was. Didn't even know there was a "Trailered Daily Driver" class. For future reference, there should be a large board on prominent display with all classes clearly defined.

MCA has to get away from the "beauty pageant" state of mind. Looking around the crowd, I couldn't help notice the average age is around 60. The club is geared toward those that have time and money to travel, clean and trailer. Without the youth market, the club will die of attrition.

[kryptonite]

We just returned from the car show in Mustang. Steve Prewitt was a hoot with his Georgia wit. Mary Jean took a beaucoup of photos. The Oklahoma hospitality was wonderful. The OKC mustang club along with North Texas did a great job processing the nearly 400 cars. I have to agree with the first poster of this thread. I doubt I will ever go to another MCA show. I thought Daily Driver class was just that, but it appears to be a concourse class with a little wear on the tires. 1st place is any within 3 points of the top car, then second and third. If your car wont bring $25k minimum at auction, I advise you to stay away from the competition or do display only if you want to attend the show. I had a friend in modified with a Shelby worth close to $100k and he did manage to eek out a second place. My only suggestion for MCA is to run a shuttle to the closest shopping centers for the spouses not interested in sitting with the cars. The monthly magazine is fantastic, but I don't see young people spending $50 a year for the subscription (or old people on social security).

I have been putting my car in the Daily Driven Class since 2007. My car is a 2005 and has 143K miles on it. It is daily driven and you can tell. I've taken 1st, 2nd, 3rd and none at shows I've done, depending upon what they find wrong with my car. I would recommend you getting your judging sheet to find out what exactly you got points deducted. The judges, even in daily driver, are very meticulous.

[grandpacobra]

Russ,
Your car would not have placed in Mustang, OK. Sorry. My Cobra convertible with IRS has 163k and we love the car and it is daily driven every day. Shelby said cars were made to be driven. My point I was trying to make was for first timers going to a national show, if your car would not bring $25k at Barrett Jackson dont bother entering. Daily Driver is for concourse with a little wear on the tires that do not want engine or undercarriage judged. Occasional Driver is for the same only judging the engine also. Top car (zero pts deduction) and the next within 3 pts get first place, second and third are right behind. We had CSI judging i.e. "a hair in the trunk", "dust on the speedometer". I really thought daily driver was just that. I want new MCA members to know it is all concourse like Pebble Beach. I fully expected my friend with the $80k+ Shelby to get best of show or a special award. I was flabbergasted when they announced his name for a second place award. I like the drive and may do Mustang, OK to Vegas in 2014 only to see Shelby's place, see the Vegas racetrack. We did MAA with Sam Haymart to Nashville and Birmingham and had a blast. Like the young man said, I wont be entering any MCA shows because my car is not good enough. If I owned the $80+ Shelby, I would have to think twice before subjecting it to CSI scrutiny. I have learned a lot from MCA and appreciate that but unless Obama gives me a Shelby 1000 perhaps it is time for me to move on.

[kryptonite]

Russ,
Your car would not have placed in Mustang, OK. Sorry. My Cobra convertible with IRS has 163k and we love the car and it is daily driven every day. Shelby said cars were made to be driven. My point I was trying to make was for first timers going to a national show, if your car would not bring $25k at Barrett Jackson dont bother entering. Daily Driver is for concourse with a little wear on the tires that do not want engine or undercarriage judged. Occasional Driver is for the same only judging the engine also. Top car (zero pts deduction) and the next within 3 pts get first place, second and third are right behind. We had CSI judging i.e. "a hair in the trunk", "dust on the speedometer". I really thought daily driver was just that. I want new MCA members to know it is all concourse like Pebble Beach. I fully expected my friend with the $80k+ Shelby to get best of show or a special award. I was flabbergasted when they announced his name for a second place award. I like the drive and may do Mustang, OK to Vegas in 2014 only to see Shelby's place, see the Vegas racetrack. We did MAA with Sam Haymart to Nashville and Birmingham and had a blast. Like the young man said, I wont be entering any MCA shows because my car is not good enough. If I owned the $80+ Shelby, I would have to think twice before subjecting it to CSI scrutiny. I have learned a lot from MCA and appreciate that but unless Obama gives me a Shelby 1000 perhaps it is time for me to move on.

Actually, I took 1st place at the Grand National in OK. I became a judge last year because of some inconsistencies I have experienced from MCA show to MCA show, so I could get an understanding on what they look for. I try to do 1 or 2 shows a year, depending on where they are located. I went to OK this year because it was the furthest west I've been and I was meeting friends from other states who were coming.
Last year, I did 3 shows:
Jacksonville, FL; I took 3rd due to the judges missing my MCA sticker. Should have been a 2nd.
Sand Point, NY; I took 1st place.
Waldorf, MD; I didn't place.
Out of each MCA show I've done, I generally lose between 2-4 points for minor cleaning spots I've missed. Waldorf is still a mystery, as I loss 11 points. Guess they were REALLY meticulous.

When I get my judging sheets, I see what I missed. Majority of comments on those sheets I have felt were valid, some not so much.

[fastlane65]

That last post is a little disconcerting. To win an award, you have to know what the judges look for. To know what the judges look for, you have to become a judge. That is a wee bit intimidating for the younger, first time entrants, don't you think? Not to mention that it almost sounds like cheating - - knowing what to target for cleaning, and what to overlook.

[mental]

The reason I joined was because I had just purchased my 2012 Mustang and was looking for cruising events and other people that appreciate mustangs. I have had the bug for a mustang since the 70's when my father owned a 1965 fastback. I loved that car and was heart broken when it was sold. We have always had a mustang of some sort in the family. Even my grandfather owned a mustang II ghia. The we hit a dead spell. No one in the family owned one for many years until I brought mine. I drove her to my father's house. He has diabetes bad and can hardly walk. I took him for a ride in my 2012 convertible and he was grinning from ear to ear. So much so my mother was grinning just looking at him after his ride. Why do we love mustangs? Who knows but I know it's in my family's blood and will be for a while. My son is already thinking about one.

[J_Speegle]

..MCA has to get away from the "beauty pageant" state of mind. Looking around the crowd, I couldn't help notice the average age is around 60. The club is geared toward those that have time and money to travel, clean and trailer. Without the youth market, the club will die of attrition.

Have to agree and disagree with your statement if I might. Don't think we need to "get away" from the show idea - especially since a large percentage of the membership is interested (directly or indirectly in it) but instead expand to opportunities and activities at the shows to satisfy not all but more of the possible participants. Believe that MCA has been trying but you have to admit that other possible options take more workers and time to successfully execute.

If you in a local club that is considering hosting a national show or in the region where one is being planned I suggest that you get involved and help with the solution Sure they will welcome the additional ideas and help

[kryptonite]

That last post is a little disconcerting. To win an award, you have to know what the judges look for. To know what the judges look for, you have to become a judge. That is a wee bit intimidating for the younger, first time entrants, don't you think? Not to mention that it almost sounds like cheating - - knowing what to target for cleaning, and what to overlook.

I did not mean it in that way. I wanted to learn more about the judging process after doing multiple shows. I already knew, based on previous judging sheets on my car, what they were looking at/for and what I missed when I cleaned my car. The judging sheets give great information on exactly what they find wrong with your car. An example of this from one of my previous shows was I missed a dead bug in the corner of my package tray. Another is wax compound build up I missed on the DS door hinge. All were point deductions I accrued at a National or Grand National Show.
In Daily Driver and Occasionally Driven Class, it is all about Cleanliness, Condition and Workmanship, with emphasis on cleanliness and condition.