This is a hobby not an investment! I probably have $5,000 more invested in my
car than it
is worth. If I wanted to make a profit that money plus the original cost of the
car would
be invested in the stock market. Our goal is to get the younger generations
interested in
this hobby. Teenagers want something hot so they can show off the the girls in
the crowd.
It is the pre-teens and the over 25 group in which we must build interest. When
was the
last time you let a kid sit in your car to get his picture taken by Dad at a
car show.
Did you ever give a kid a ride around the exhibit area. Did you see the joy on
his face.
These kids are the future of this hobby. They probably won't be able to afford
an MG or
other LBC for 20 to 30 years but they will be the ones to preserve the cars
when we are
pushing up daisies. Both of my sons (age 28) drive modern iron. A Cherokee and
an
Outback. The thought of owning an MG never crossed their mind until they drove
my TC. It
will be a long time before either can afford any kind of an MG, but the seed
has been
planted, and they both want one. Exhibit your car at shows. Talk to strangers
about the
hobby. There is a crowd around my car at every show. What seems like a million
questions
are asked. I try to answer every one. Don't spend all your time at shows
talking to other
MG owners. They are already hooked. Give your neighbor or the kid next door a
ride around
the block. Drive your car in a parade. Get other people interested in the hobby
or the
generations to come will be driving LBC,s as recycled metal in Japanese cars.
MGSMGBGT wrote:
> In a message dated 12/20/97 3:52:09 PM, boballen@sky.net wrote:
>
> <<
> Enough of this blabbering. Perhaps we should be thankful that the LBC
> hobby is as it is. With the limited interest, we can still find
> excellent drivers under $5K and the car is collectable enough to have a
> good parts source. We may all whine about the lack of resale and the
> cost of restoration but, if they do start to appreciate fast, guys like
> me will soon not be able to afford them.
>
> It's a quandary.
>
> Bob Allen, Kansas City, 69CGT, 75TR6, 60Elva
>
> >>
>
> Howard Goldman, owner of Moss, once told me that the one thing British car
> people have to bond them together is a common enemy: the cars. I believe this
> to be true of car people in general. For those of us who do (or, in my case,
> attempt to do) much of their own work I believe there is an appreciation of
> what goes into any car, be it LBC, hotrod, muscle car, truck or whatever. I
> generally appreciate the older cars more for their simplicity.
> Like Mr. Allen, I don't have much to do with the take it off and
>replace it
> crowd who love the new stuff. Yet I really enjoy my Sterling: my eyes glaze
> over and I blubber at the sight of a Viper GTS coupe. So I cannot say I do
> not like new cars, even though I have no plans of ever owning such a car.
> Me and most of my friends also do not fall into the "I spent this
>much money
> on my car group." I have no idea how much I've spent on my cars, and do not
> really care to know. Ben Anderson, who some of you know, is selling some of
> his collection. A mutual friend asked him if he would come out on it and he
> replied, "I'm not worried about that. Would I be worried if I came out
> financially on bowling? Truth is, as I see it, most of us love cars. We
> always have and most likely always will. While we have chosen, generally for
> reasons of convenience and budget, to be involved with a particular type (or
> maybe two types, which is the maximum most of us can afford) still have a
> genuine interest and admiration for all things with wheels, whether we own an
> example or not.
>
> Bob Shaw
> '53 Chevy wagon, '57 MGA, '65MGB, '74 BGT, '88 Sterling 825SL.
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