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Club; membership.
Topic Started: May 11 2013, 12:54 PM (196 Views)
Ratchet
Advanced Member
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Sat here going through the posts.It would appear that there is the same members responding to,or putting posts on.Does anyone know out of interest how many there are.I know not everyone wants to be social who joins a club and therefore respond or meet up,and it,s also down to location.Just wondering wether we should change.Not everyone in our club drives a 7 style car,but have owned one in the past and are still members.May be as a club we should consider opening up to other kit car builders/drivers.We could keep the name Locust,but have the Locust&kit car drivers club or enthusiasts club.I don,t want to upset anyone,because I know there are persons who do a lot for the club.It was just a thought that's all.To be fare,theres nothing to stop other kit drivers joining.More the merrier.
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Steve
Advanced Member
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Hi Rachet
Just to let you know I agree with your points , much the same ones as I raised
last year.
Interested to see if the feelings are the same as they were then .

Regards
Steve
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Digger
Advanced Member
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:D I did have a Locust when I first joined, but out grew it :rolleyes: so found something a bit bigger.
I agree with you Andy the club is getting smaller,I don't think BWE have sold a kit for 4 years.
I know people don't like change but if we don't change with the times the club will die :o
Only my two Penney worth
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Ratchet
Advanced Member
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4yrs is a long time for a kit not to be sold .A specially as this is as near to a caterham as you can get dimensions wise.The problem with the kit,although it works well is it has fallen behind with the times.To be honest who would buy a kit that is based on old running gear that is getting scarce and having to build a wooden body tub.The only ones that seem to be around are the ones that owners built and kept,or unfinished or the spares/repair to put back on the rd. I really can,t see bwe upgradeing the chassis/running gear,so I suppose the locust will eventually die out.There are people on this site who have upgraded suspension/running gear to keep up with the change in availability of spares.I can,t see much future for the kit unless it was modernised,and I can,t see that happening,althoug it is possible,we,ve all seen it in one way or another.Who knows.Theres one on e-bay as I type unfinished. 181138910865
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Peter
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Advanced Member
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I can see the point and accept that over the years the number of members has fallen but I think the Club name says it all Locust Enthusiasts Club The club caters for owners, builders, and those who don't currently own a Locust or Hornet but have had one or know someone or someones great uncles best friends wives cousin who has had one and liked it or liked the easy going attitude of the club.

I agree the kit is know old and it isn't being actively marketed but the same applies to may kit cars and classic car clubs, I don't really think it is about the Locust dieing out, it will become a kit car no longer in production. How many kits did the various manufacturer's sell over the years? 500-600. I reckon only half of the folks buying the kit will have joined the club over the years.

With such a small run of cars to draw owners from and the fact that quite a few cars have been exported and I suppose a number will have been scrapped, yes the membership may dwindle, but I don't see a reason to turn the Locust Enthusiast Club into a general purpose kit car club. I don't know how many members there currently are but nevertheless I expect them to be a diverse set of folks both in what they want out of a club and geographically so this will limit the number of folks at runs or events etc.

Not withstanding the above the successful general purpose kit car clubs tend to be based around a location i.e the Lincoln based Mongrels car club that allows them to have regular local meetings.

I don't think the club is unusual, Dutton made about 8000 cars of various types. The UK club has hovered at about 300-400 members for years, i.e 5%.
When they advertised a track day they only had interest from 3 members............

These are my views as a Locust Enthusiast and fair weather show goer (haven't been to many in the last few years!.) My main concern about attracting/retaining members is what benefits do they get from paying their subscription?
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Sclub7
Advanced Member
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Perhaps everyone building cars is now registering their cars as a Robin Hood and joining the RHOC

See Is it a Locust?
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Ratchet
Advanced Member
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The club name does say it all ,so were are they. :ph43r:
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Brian
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Just a reminder, it's 20 years since Peter and Dave started the LEC next year ;)

Maybe the club could promote the club and cars a bit more, all that's needed is to use the cars more at shows, trackdays, and touring and the like.

How about getting in touch with Bev to see what's going on with the Locust and Hornet? you never know he may have had enough and let the club take over like the Midge guys did.
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bb_wales
Advanced Member
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Hi,

I agree both with what Ratchet says and also with what Peter says and can understand the frustration in many members.

There are a few of us who will attempt to be at every run/function/show that they can possibly make and this is the backbone of the club and every club will have the staunch few who keep it going and to this end I would see no change with LEC happening in the future.

Thanks Brian I had totally forgotten that next year is the 20th anniversary of the club and maybe we should have a megga run/function to celebrate it and advertise that it is happening and each take responsibility for chasing down a couple of members/ex-members to get them to come along.

Our subscription is not that expensive and if you come to the shows you do get your lunch on both days and you are entitled to get a reduction in insurance for being a member, very cheap for £8 a year, where I do feel we are silly is that we give so many free memberships out this is not condusive to raising funds so that we can buy items for the club. We made a collection at the Newark show and have raised money towards buying a new club tent rather than the old heavy canvas model (see below), this is in hand and we should have it soon.

I also feel that people like Jackie and Dave, Steve and Kim are taken for granted and that they will host Stoneleigh and Newark every year, so much so that they have to use 2 cars (when Austintacious was on the road) so that they can transport all that is required to the shows. I would propose that everyone should carry something so that costs are reduced for the hosts and that everyone takes a turn. As stated above we are looking for a suitable meeting tent and we will transport it to all shows, all those that camp have their own cookers we could use these to cater for members (club supplies the gas), everyone brings their own chair, tables are available from the campers which if I am correct leaves the food this could be brought by the hosts (everyone taking a turn) or bought from local shops this I feel would reduce the work and graft of the hosts.

Well that is my two penny worth, feel free to rip it to bits and maybe we should have an AGM where we could discuss the future of the LEC, but would we get a quorum??????????????????

Regards

Bob
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Peter
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Quote:
 
Just a reminder, it's 20 years since Peter and Dave started the LEC next year wink.gif

Maybe the club could promote the club and cars a bit more, all that's needed is to use the cars more at shows, trackdays, and touring and the like.


When Peter Lathrope and Dave Chalk started the club 20 years ago it was the hey day of the UK kit car scene. Practically everyone who bought a chassis and plans joined the club. In the early 1990s the Locust was the popular 7 derivative as when I built mine in 1991 it was the only affordable one. Caterham and Westfield were going through litigation and there was no other real alternative.

Back then there was no internet DTP was only just becoming popular and the only way to get advice was via the club and in reality you got the unique parts either from the manufacturer or when you attended shows. That's why in the early years you had a lot of members attending shows in the build phase of their project.

Most owners who built their cars use them and treat them like part of the family often attending local car shows, clubs or runs.

People are using their cars Bob's Europe trips and how about the chap who took his to Africa?

Locust in the Desert

I agree we ought to have a 20 years celebration and perhaps combine this with an AGM, Stoneleigh?


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