Most liked posts in thread: Why I'm not renewing my BMW CCA Membership

^ Very well said & I agree completely with you. :yesnod:

Mark if you stay away because you have a MX5 that's up to you. For me if you have an interesting car, come on down. I like lots of cars & no one has exclusive rights to any part of the world including the dragon. Hope you change your mind. Just my .02.

 

I dropped my BMWCCA membership a few years ago for many of the very same reasons... The final straw was when in a local chapter publication they applauded a BMW driver for something like a 10th place finish in a ST Grand Am race whilst not a word of mention that in that very same, exact race, an RSR Mini Cooper finished second. When I contacted them about the omission I was given a not so nice brush off along with the need for them to cover Mini. Contact with the national board yielded a bit more tact in its reply but basically the same result... To put this in context, this happened not a month after the National Club President wrote an article in Roundel about how memberships in BMWCCA were in decline. He was asking members for ideas on how to increase membership and involvement in the club. Both my contacts were in this vain and how the club was doing little to include Mini Cooper owners...

Even though we also own a three, we decided that there were better places to enjoy our hobby..

 

oh and I also think its great that a dialog has been started....maybe this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.... :wink:

 

No worries, he emailed him the MOTM thread too. Should be covered there.

 

With BMW car ownership increasing every year, why do you suppose membership is in decline?

If they have an attitude about MINI now, I wonder how they'll react when there are "BMW's" with MINI engines and platforms under them? IE: front drive BMWs......

Kinda like the attitude Porsche Club had towards 914's, 924's and 928's, then later 944's and so on.....eventually they figured it out. But PCA is still dominated by 911 variants......

 

Now more than ever MINI's are part of BMW, that's only going to continue to grow. It could be a mutually beneficial link between the groups, the BMWCCA group is organized nationally in a way that the MINI clubs never will be, and there's strength in numbers. And the local MINI clubs could maintain their autonomy. Could be a win-win, but it's unlikely to happen.

Jason, I wish CCT stood for something as cool as that, but alas, it's nothing more than my initials....

Although over the years my wife has come up with a few things CCT could also stand for, which I'd rather not repeat here.

 

Thing is, there are some MINI owners involved in their local chapters pretty high up, but really none at the national level...That's probably what it's going to take to get more MINI related stuff into Roundel. With the exception of MC2, there is really no competition for a magazine, they could fill a very nice niche if they wanted to, and dedicated a larger portion of the magazine to the MINI on a monthly basis.

I know I'm posting probably way too much in this thread, sorry if it's excessive, but since Nate passed the link on, I'm hoping as many people will post as possible and keep bumping the thread to maybe stimulate some improvements.

 

Lip service, chin music or an actual reply with meaningful content?

 

Heather - please don't let these discussions on the national BMW CCA organization or Roundel Magazine put you off. We have a great local DelVal chapter, if you are interested in attending a HPDE event.

That said, I am also interested in hearing the response, if it can be shared.

 

Changes won't happen overnight, but sounds like they are listening and progress can be made. Great job Nathan on raising this concern. Feel free to share any of the feedback in my prior post as well.

To me, this is not a local chapter issue, and I hope Satch doesn't spin it that way. Local chapter dynamics can vary. It is more about the 2nd class treatment MINI receives from Roundel and BMW CCA. This is NOT a perception, it is a reality.

Through your efforts, they may begin to realize this and make positive changes.

 

Attitudes of the local chapters will mirror the attitudes of the National board and Roundel. Real change will come from there.

 

Interesting.. Windy City (Chicago Region) has been trying to get more MINI people involved..
There are many BMW members who also own MINIs, and several MINI owners who participate in the driving school/autocross side, but I am definately in the minority at the social events being a MINI only owner. I have however, been completely welcomed at events.
I evaluate my membership each year, and have continued it.. I initially joined for a drivers school, and more than got my money's worth out of the membership by taking my daughter to a car control clinic shortly after she began driving.
My problem is that MINI related events take precedence over the BMW events, so I don't participate in as many events as I'd like.

 

Exactly Nathan.. I'm sure that there are good and bad chapters too, but every time I have an encounter with them and was in the Mini I got the second class citizen treatment and was told to ride at the back of the pack... One year at the Vintage, I lead a group on a short drive from Old Salem to a winery, took the Mini and I would have gotten the same respect had I been driving a Pinto... This does not grow a National membership.