VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Name Change?

Since Motion No. 06-15 to Allow all Chevtolets in the club should the name be changed from VINTAGE CHEVROLET CLUB OF AMERICA to THE CHEVROLET CLUB?

This is a good point of departure for discussion. "Vintage" means different things to different people. There is a "Vintage Car" program on cable TV that seems to feature nothing but highly modified cars! Does "Vintage" mean "Old" to most people? If that is true then we should consider a name change.

Chevy50Jim

I just wander if we are further diluting our focus. Our membership and participation does not increase as we make the changes to take in more newer vehicles. We just don't see the older vehicles.

I've asked this question before and I don't have the answer. The Model A Club recognizes vehicles between 1928 and 1931. They have over 800 vehicles attending a national meet every year.

I have a sign that indicates more Chevrolets were sold than Fords from 1931 through 1953 except 1935. Where are the Chevrolets if they are not in VCCA?

Just put your self in this picture.You are 35 years old and have a stock 1970 Chevelle.You are looking to join a Chevrolet club.Would you consider one that has some kind of a Model T on its logo and the word VINTAGE in its name.
Picture closed.

When I joined in 1970 I was 37 years old and had a 36 year old car, and all the other members looked to be my age....The problem is that most of the members still look to be my present age. :cry:

Gene, maybe the Vintage Chevrolet Club is still for you and me, and all of our friends that are all getting older and feel the same way we do about our same old stock Vintage Chevrolet cars and trucks , maybe that is why we feel ok about being members of The Vintage Chevrolet Club of America.
I just don't feel at home in a club where everyone thinks my four cylinder 1928 car and my 1953 Chevrolet are pieces of unsafe junk, because I won't modify them with a Mustang front end, Power disc brakes and a 350/350 and reverse the hinges on the doors and add some fibreglass fenders, polished to a Chrome like Mother -of Pearl Ghost flame paint job ,a blow you out the sunroof CD player, Colder than a witch's *** Electronic controlled Samsung A/C and then replace the perfect white oak frame with some home welded up 1" China poured square thin-wall tubing.
Been there done that. (By the way, my 1953 belAire's body is TOO NEW to be a real STREET ROD)...go figure...

Maybe they are in the right club and so are We !

See some of you in May at Fin and Feather!

I guess you all are wondering what my point is?
Well, I want to see more younger members that feel the same way also, beleiving that the way to preserve and restore a Vintage Chevrolet is to get one that is 25 years or older and RESTORE it to ORIGINAL STOCK condition not come aboard with the goal of kicking some butt and getting the club modernized by changeing the purpose and creed to include any car we consider to be a Chevrolet..or a Geo! Maybe VCCA isn't the club for everyone, maybe we are quaint and old fashioned, yep! I think we have a right to be!

Mr Mack,

Most of the time you are "off the wall", however in this case I must stand up and applaud. You have your thinking cap on straight this time. Just don't waver.

Ray is too generous in his remarks. And once again Mac is way over the top. But none of that matters. The management of this organization has already voted to allow ALL Chevrolets (presumably stock / original) in the club. At least according to the original post about motion 6-15 passing and so on.

Terrible decision.

Most folks I know who have been in the club for 10-15-20 years (or more), still aren't over the shock of the 25 year rule. I regularly hear lots about the need to have a fixed cut off year. And, a lot of follow-up discussion about which model year. Suggestions range from 1954 to 1957 to 1962 and so on. About the latest model year that receives favor is the obvious style changing year of 1972. Allowing 1982's or whatever it was this year was crazy enough. But now going for ALL Chevrolet's is simply nuts. Based on allowing ALL years, I think Jim 'Back Roads' is right. We might as well drop 'vintage' and just go with The Chevy Club. At least that name accurately reflects what we have become by allowing ALL Chevrolets.

Bill.

When I joined the club it was for 1911 to 1942 vehicles. Many changes have taken place since then. Members come and members go and our numbers remaine about the same. For me The Early Six Cylinder Tour is what keeps my interest up. If it were not for that tour there wouldn't be much interest for me. I think the tours will be what saves us. We can be with folks with a like interest. My main interest now is seeing the people I have known for all these years.

I can remember when at a meet about 1/4 of the vehicles would be 1929-1932. Now about 1/4 are pre WW II vehicles and the total numbers are smaller than years ago.

I remember in June of 1964 we had 65 vehicles from 13 states in attendance. About half of them were 4 cylinder vehicles. One fellow drove a 1928 from Chicago, IL. One drove a 36 and another drove a 32 from California. The meet was in Urbana, Ohio. There were very few trailers.

I agree that our officers have spoken and I am not ready to drop out. I'll keep on TOURING. I do have newer cars but I love the older ones and would like to see more of them out and about.

Still scoring home runs for the Ford guys, I see Bill!

I recently requested and received some information from Chevrolet. Part of what I received is a list of clubs. There are some seventy Chevrolet Clubs listed for every group of years, engine size, body style,you name it.

Do we expect to compete with all of these for members? Each of these is a more focused organization.

One example of the competition is: A few years ago there was a 55-56-57 Chevy Meet in Columbus, OH. They had an attendance of 30,000. I don't know the exact vehicle participation.

The same summer at the Central Meet there was 1 1955, 0 1956, and 2 1957. Quite a difference.

Would you rather go where there are several owners of vehicles similar to yours or where there might be one, two, or none in attendance? Where will you get the most interaction?

Where do we go from here?

Which way do we go from here?

Stay the Course....even if it is straight and narrow...

Thanks Ray, I learned a lot about standing up for VCCA from you over at the old Classicar Forum,.... remember those days?

As for Bill42, I expected the usual from him. I may have to take him off of my buddy list.

Chevgene, MrMack, Ray, Backroads, etc. feel the way I do about VCCA. I too am a long time member VCCA #1273. When I joined I had a 1928 Chevrolet. I have had a lot of "old" cars. I now have a '41 SD 5 pass. coupe. It is as near original as I can make it with a few exceptions. I feel the VCCA is for Vintage Cars meaning 25 year or older.
Anyone wanting to join VCCA should abide by or rules and regulations. If they want to modify or add to their cars they should join a club that fits their desires. There are a lot of older members (the core of the club) that feel the same as I do. If the younger people want to join they should buy a "Vintage" chevrolet and restore it to original not try to change the club.
I hope the BD has not went too far already.
I know the club wants new members but we should not contaminate an outstanding club.
I am not getting out of the club but I am very disappointed with some of the changes that have taken place lately.
JIM

Just one more point about our club.....
I do believe in the premiss:

I also think we can enjoy the Old and original cars, while we also modernize our organization's operations, and find ways to recruit new members, we are doing a fairly good job of recruiting...we just need to have new ideas and events to encourage our members to renew and stay active.
To me it isn't a paradox TO ENJOY THE Old original stock Chevrolets and have a modern organization with electronic conveniences, and a modern
MODERN MEMBERSHIP DATABASE...WITHOUT BANKRUPTING THE CLUB....
We can do this! There is more than enough talented and hard working members to do it.

Guy's
I understand your concerns, but realistically do you think we are going to have every Cobalt owner joining the club? I really don't think so either, but however I do see the SSR owner bringing their vehicle for us to look at. We all must admit that an SSR will bring attention where ever it is parked, and it will always have a following! Another example of this would be the Impala SS's of the 90's they too have a large following and are very collectible. The point being is that many of these Chevrolets developed a large following way before they turned to be 25 years of age,(1957's Chevelles, Camaros, to name a few) and found their own nitch before being recognized by the VCCA. Does the owner of an 86 Monte Carlo SS like their car any less that any one of us? Do they feel it is "to new to be Vintage?"
The specific Manufacture Clubs similar to ours who are open to all years had nothing negative to say about being open to years, and has been a very positive aspect of their club.

One thing I would like to add is when Jim referenced those meets of long ago there were many vehicles that were not 25 year of age, and that was fine......then

In 1961 when the club was founded the 57 BelAir was a used car, When I joined with my 63 Impala in 1978 I was only 20 years old, with a 15 year old car.... and I am still one of the younger members in the Club.

All I ask is sit back and see where this goes, I think you will be surprised that the impact will not be a large as you think
John Mahoney
Board Member VCCA Area 11

Good words John. Especially about specific models. Like the mid-80's Monte Carlo SS's and the 94-96 Impala SS's. Even the SSR's. These are indeed "collectible" vehicles that would look good on a tour. I guess the concern I have is some of the 'other' not so cool cars that might come along in this ALL years situation. But as you say, it probably isn't likely the owners of those not-so-cool cars would even think about joining a 'car club.'

42bill: Keep in mind that "other" cars that you and I think are not cool are indeed cool in the eyes of those that own them. By the same token there are dudes who think that the 1994-96 Impala SS is not cool either because of its body style or because the car is not that old. So, in the VCCA where do we draw the line on what is cool and what is not cool?

:) :grin:

I was born the year after this club started, I knew nothing of this club until 3-4 years ago when I joined. I found this chatt sight on accident. I have had several old Chevrolets. in fact I have owned a 1950 since High school, 27 years ago and now I also have a 1936 for the past year and a half. Don't get me wrong I can appreciate Custom, hot rods, modified and newer cars,These are very important to there owners as our VINTAGE cars our to us However, I joined this club because I saw the word "VINTAGE". at witch I thought it ment, old, Antique, out dated, original.Just as it used to be. In being a member of the VCCA I found people whith the same exact interest as me. I wish I had known about this club years ago. The people I have met have gone far and beyonde to help me out with anything about my cars. This club is awsome, and I don't think they should fix what isn't broke. Just leave well enough alone. This is what drew my interest to the VINTAGE CHEVROLET CLUB OF AMERICA. Proud to be a member,

Ken Ippolito

When I mentioned the meets of old and refered to the First Central Meet the club recognized 1911 - 1942. Everything 1939 and older were 25 years old. The 1940, 41, 42 were the only three that were newer than 25 years so by the 4th Central Meet they were all 25 years old.

It might be that if we are patient enough this also will pass. I remember when the BOD made the change to recognize vehicles 15 years old. After a few years they realized that was a mistake and changed it to 25 years. We shall see.

I really welcome this discussion. This is a dialogue that needs to happen!

A few thoughts:

First an important clarification - The Board passed a Motion that simply states that the Club "recognizes" all Chevrolets. Do not confuse this with "judges" all years of Chevrolets. To be judged, a car must still be at least 25 years old.

The Board has done nothing to alter the fact that we are about "Preserve and Restore" - as in "Stock" - not modified.

I agree with John's points above - a 1996 Impala SS is a pretty cool car to look over.

There has never been an "Official" discussion (to the best of my knowledge) about changing the name of the Club. But there have been many private discussions. I can definitely see some strong points on both sides of this issue.

Consider this - just a couple of generalized examples - if you own an Oldsmobile, you join the "Oldsmobile Club of America" (not the VINTAGE Oldsmobile Club of America). if you own a Buick, you join the "Buick Club of America" (not the VINTAGE Buick Club of America).

Does this mean anything? Not sure. If a person owns, say, a 1968 Buick, are they more likely to join the BCA - versus if it was called the VBCA?

Does the word "Vintage" in our name discourage the interest of people that own a 1960 or a 1964 Impala SS that is restored stock? Do they have an automatic perception that our Club is about pre-War cars? Do we WANT these people to join? Should we be called simply the "Chevrolet Club of Amercia?"

I also agree that it is a shame that we don't see more 4 cylinder and 30's cars at the Meets like we did 25 or 35 years ago. Maybe it's because that was 25 or 35 years ago, and therefore those of us that own the cars are 25 or 35 years older!

So if we don't encourage the STOCK 60's and 70's Chevys from joining VCCA, they will find a home elsewhere. Where will that leave us in 10 years? or 20 years? Should our logo be "updated" from the current design that we have had since 1961, to perhaps showing maybe 3 cars - from different eras?

Please keep the dialogue going, we need to talk about this - it is important for our future.

Don Williams
President

When I joined nearly 40 years ago I was 25 and owned a '31 Coach. All members were older than I was at the time. Most still are! At the time I thought that '57 Chevys were just used cars and not worthy of collecting. The post war to '55 models were filling the junk years with little interest except for the coupes, convertibles, woody wagons and Corvettes. Trucks were work vehicles and of no collector value. Now where would we be today if that situation had prevailed? I sure would not own the '72 Chevelle that I drove on a VCCA tour 1070 miles last week.

Another observation I have made over the years. The younger set is into speed, noise and flashy paint jobs. Been that way for at least 50+ years. Likely will be that way in the future too. How many of those buzzing bee sounding rice rockets have you seen on the roads lately? Well seems that several of those people, as they mature, begin to appreciate and recognize the value of history and perservation of a little piece if it. Those are the future of the VCCA. They may have a stock SSR, Impala SS or other Chevrolet that has a special place in their heart.

A final word (or two or ???). Just remember the VCCA is a group of people with similar interests. The Chevrolets are what attracted us to the group but it is the people who keep us here. Without the friendships that we have made none of us would continue to be members. We are a true family. Now how do we adopt more kids?

Just a note.The Oldsmobile Club of America began in 1971.I was member #197.At that time it catered to all years and the Cutlass was still new and not considered a "collectable" car.As the years went by and the Cutlass became collectable the club became more of a Cutlas club than an old Odsmobile club.They recogonize every year made,right up to the last,and judge all years.The owners of the pre Rocket years felt neglected.A new club was formed, the National Antique Oldsmobile Club,which covers up to 1966 at the present time but the pre war cars are very popular (by Oldsmobile standards).The two clubs work well to gether and at times compliment each other.The original club went in the opposite direction of the VCCA-too many newer cars to please some of the members.

In no way do I suggest changing the name of the VCCA and in the way it does business.But it will never appeal to the majority of the younger people that own newer Chevrolets...thats just a fact like you will not get the average 25 year old to appreciate a 1931 Chevrolet.We are all in different worlds.Recognizing modified cars never even mentioned in the discussion........but the fact remains most of us will be long gone in the next 20 years and how many folks will be left in the VCCA that appreciate the cars that we do?and what will the membership look like?

And I also love the 1994-96 Impala Super Sports...but they are not a VINTAGE car...Although my 1994 Buick wagon with woodgrain is beginning to attract attention

I attended an Area Meet of the Cadillac Club a few years ago. They recognize all years in their club. There was one 1941 Coupe and nothing older. All the rest were newer vehicles.

I have started driving Chevrolets between 1954 and 1974 lately for the ease of it. Age and replacement knees was making it hard to get in and out of the 31. I think I will always have a 54 or older Six Banger for touring.

As an overseas member, I do not think I would have joined the "Chevrolet Club of America" My attention was drawn to "Vintage"
Now! For what it's worth....

If we do go down the name change road hows about "Vintage & Classic Chevrolet Club Of America" "VCCCA"
A car doesn't have to be old to be a classic!
This way we may attract young blood & satisfy us "Coffin Dodgers" "Casket Dodgers?"
The classic Chevrolet's could run alongside the Vintage as a seperate chapter thingy!

The word "Vintage" is a lot like the word "restored". Both words have different meanings to different folks and both words are over abused. In many circles of the car hobby the word "Vintage", as it is applied to old cars, is considered as follows:

"A vintage car is commonly defined as a car built between the start of 1919 and the end of 1930. There is little debate about the start date of the Vintage period … the end of World War I is a nicely defined marker there … but the end date is a matter of a little more debate. The British definition is strict about 1930 being the cut-off, while some American sources prefer 1925 since it is the pre-classic car period as defined by the Classic Car Club of America. Others see the Classic period as overlapping the Vintage period, especially since the Vintage designation covers all vehicles produced in the period while the official Classic definition does not, only including high-end vehicles of the period. Some consider the start of World War II to be the end date of the Vintage period."

That last sentence would describe the VCCA as it was back in 1960's when only Chevrolets from 1911 to 1942 were recognized in the club. Today, the term "Vintage" can probably be considered a misnomer since we now recognize all Chevrolets...even though they must still be 25 years old to be judged.

Here is the definition commonly used in the car hobby of an "antique" car:

"An antique car is generally defined as a car over 25 years of age, this being the definition used by the Antique Automobile Club of America and many other organizations worldwide. In many clubs, 'Special Interest' vehicles are included in this catagory as well."

:) :grin: