CCCUK Culture

[Nails84]

Hi All,

As a first time Corvette owner and a new member to the cub I am interested to know what the culture is like at meets and events. As a new C4 owner I am absorbing a lot of content about these cars from different sources. I found this comment about this club on another forum and wandered what people's thoughts were? I don't want to upset anyone, I am genuinely interested. While some of the poster's comments are somewhat inflammatory, I have to admit that if I attend meets and events I would want to be talking cars as well. The quote is below:

"After a year of membership I'm not going to renew. I don't stray much out of Readers Rides or the Classics sub-forum on here but I found the Corvette UK forum to be pretty dead and racist comments dismissed as banter. I went to one Corvette meet and it was very disappointing. I was the youngest by about 20 years (and I'm 27 now, it's not like I'm still a student) and with about 15 people there, only 3 other Corvettes were present. Personally, if I'm going to a car club thing on a Sunday, I'm going to be a nerd about that car and want to share knowledge/stories about it with others. Not spend 3 hours having a Sunday lunch talking about anything but cars should the couples get bored?"

 

[Pitre]

Hi Nails,

I'm very interested to hear your comments. Sadly, there will always be negative comments posted about any club, particularly one as large as ours, spread right across the UK. There is a wide age demographic, but it's fair to say that many Corvette owners are in the 'cheaper insurance ' bracket! The regional meets do vary in levels of participation but hopefully by being involved you may be able to encourage others to go to your local gatherings, particularly now the weather is improving and there are many more events to choose from, depending on how far you're prepared to travel.

I'm appalled that your commentator has highlighted 'racist comments' and any that the club officials see or are made aware of would be swiftly dealt with. I've never seen one on here, but it's always been the case that the club is run by part-timers on a 'best efforts' basis so I guess something may once have slipped through. There are always car nerds(!) willing to talk about engines, tyre pressures, OBD2 codes etc etc, but equally there are always those who would rather talk about non-car related subjects, again I think that will depend on which area you go to and your own level of involvement.

Please give the club a chance. Go to your local meets and events. Contribute to this website forum. Come to the Nationals at Sywell in July if you possibly can, particularly on the Sunday as there will probably be over 100 Corvettes there. CCCUK is a broad church and there will be something for you, but you only get out what you put in!

I hope to meet you during this year, and I hope you find the club to be both sociable and technically informative.

Peter Sansbury
Chairman.

 

[Oneball]

I’ve not got round to getting to a meet yet but once we’re into the summer I’m hoping to pop along to one. Everyone I’ve met from the club has been nice and I’ve never seen anything particularly derogatory. I r spoken to members about cars and about non-car stuff just as I’d do at any other car oriented setting. Cars as a pastime is somewhat of an older person thing nowadays and it’s something I think the industry is going to struggle with going forward, it’s certainly not just a CCCUK thing.

 

[Roscobbc]

I recall overhearing a comment some years ago from a 'new' to Corvette C3 owner at one of our Essex meetings to the effect "that we were all 'stuck-up' and wouldn't talk with him'. Reality was (and supported by other members) was this person didn't actually bother to 'engage' with other people at the meeting. He didn't introduce himself to anyone. He then complained that he was ignored (because he didn't have the 'right' Corvette) and was never to be seen again......it works both ways - as someone 'new' to a group you really need to put yourself forward to others. I also remember another person who only ever came to a Corvette meetings or events when he had just bought a new Corvette. He always bought the top fully loaded Z06 version or similar of the latest car, always remained with his car and only 'engaged' if people wanted to speak to him about his car......he never showed interest in anyone elses car, had no conversation other than about his car. We would never see him 'inbetween' new cars. It takes 'all types'..........

 

[Nails84]

Thanks for the comments people.

I am 39 so a bit older than the poster of that comment, but age doesn't concern me and shouldn't be a barrier to becoming part of a club etc. Please also bear in mind that the post I found dates back to 2017.

I certainly will be giving the club a chance and do intend to attend some meets and events, including the nationals.

 

[Custom exotics]

Whilst I can see the points raised are valid (excluding racism remark ) I would also like to point out that if a newbie is turning up to an event be it nationals or one of the area local meets its not always easy for individuals (unless super confident ) to bowl in and be like life and soul chatty chatty esp when lots of people are already friends it should be the group that interacts with the singular trying to break ice and make them feel more at ease I can say with confidence not everyone we have met within the cccuk comes across as the most approachable. And some of the remarks and comments we have recieved in the past have left us let's just say hurt and annoyed!!!

 

[Steven Smith]

I am a relatively new member to the Essex region, less than 2 years but everyone I have met, either at our regular meeting or at a show, has been very friendly.
Great club with very friendly members, go to the meetings and get involved you won't regret it.

 

[teamzr1]

Thanks for the comments people.

I am 39 so a bit older than the poster of that comment, but age doesn't concern me and shouldn't be a barrier to becoming part of a club etc. Please also bear in mind that the post I found dates back to 2017.

I certainly will be giving the club a chance and do intend to attend some meets and events, including the nationals.

Cannot judge a book by the cover, as the more people involved the more different viewpoints and bound something said by a few grades what the makeup of the whole group is
Early on in the 1970s I belonged to a Corvette club, it had rules and then national Corvette group laid down even more rules
that added more politics and discontent

31 years ago I was not wanting to be in a club anymore started Team ZR-1 via the internet, by 1995 started one of the first Corvette domain internet websites and most teammates have been with this team for 25 years plus
Being joined together via the size of the internet, most of those teammates have never met eye to eye yet treat each other as blood brothers
We have come together when a teammate has had death in a family, help sell their cars, to sending them money when problems occurred

When the Dodge Vipers came out, the owners had big mouths on how they rule the sports car world,
So I put together a Team ZR-1/Viper Topgun shootout series,
one type of racing was Open Road Racing, with speeds for most 130-160 MPH for 80 to 100 miles.
I sucked in the Vipers to put up or shut the F up

I put out a call to teammates who would have to roundtrip travel from all over the USA (one couple shipped their C4 ZR-1 from Hawaii by boat)


and 30 of us with our Corvettes showed up to this ORR and stomped the Vipers real good
So shows how close a Corvette group can be and what they are for if people are willing to get involved with few rules pushed on them

I set very few rules, like no teammate can flame another via the internet and in all these years I have only had to remove 2 people and ages vary from in late 20s to in early 80s and everyone owns at least one Corvette

We have our own private email system functional non-stop for all these years,
yet teammates will jump to help the others when needed and not even have to ask for that help

In short, a group is only as good as its makeup and just how many rules are pushed on your shoulders,
so I say give it time and get to know your Corvette club family members

 

[Rich]

The comment mentioned by Nails84 was made on Pistonheads in 2017. We have someone in the CCCUK with the same username and who is still a member. Can't say for definite if they are one and the same.

 

[C5Steve]

Not been to any in-person meets as part of the club but I can say that online this is one of the more friendly and helpful communities I've been around. Coming straight from other forums into Corvette ownership I can say 100% that this place (at least virtually) is far less judgmental than most others and everyone so far has been very welcoming.

I guess you'll always get "groups" of owners within the club itself due to the generations these cars span. So there will be those who value a mint original C2 over a track-prepped C6 perhaps, which might mean at in-person meets you find yourself the odd one out depending on whose turned up. I guess at the end of the day we're all petrol heads and have that in common.

 

[Chuffer]

I have been an active member of several car clubs for many years and there will sometimes be an element of `clique` by certain individuals in any club . That said , we are all of different personalities but it`s down to each and everyone of us to make a `new face` feel welcome at club meets and I am sure the regional reps make a point of welcoming them and introducing them to others as I do . We do love to talk about our cars and `talk technical` without being a nerd but we are a club of like minded enthusiasts and the social scene is also very important as it bonds us together and makes for a happier environment by including wives , husbands ,girlfriends , boyfriends , partners etc etc . ( is that PC enough ?? )

 

[Nails84]

The comment mentioned by Nails84 was made on Pistonheads in 2017. We have someone in the CCCUK with the same username and who is still a member. Can't say for definite if they are one and the same.

Yes I found it on Pistonheads while I was searching for C4 content.

 

[Fishy Dave]

The nice thing about the club is that it's a very broad church. With 70 years of model generation there is a very different type of person attracted to these cars and how they choose to use them. I've only been along to three regional meetings in the last five years and don't go to the nationals, but do enjoy circuit events, such as Brands Hatch Speedfest and the various track/handling events we've organised. You'll almost certainly be able to find a niche in the club that suits you.
I can recommend putting together an article for Vette News about your car, it's a great conversation starter when you attend a meet and it's always interesting to read about other owners, what they've done and why they bought a Corvette.
Joining the club has been very worthwhile for me, I've made a number of good friends, that wouldn't have happened had I only stuck to other forums and social media.

 

[Chevrolet]

but I found the Corvette UK forum to be pretty dead and racist comments dismissed as banter.

Mmmm? As a 34 year club member/Vette owner and regular viewer/poster on this website/forum, I seldom/if ever get incensed by a post/thread on here. This one has. What a load of "Garbage" re "racist comments"
How about Admin deleting the thread, or moving it to "Members Only" ???

 

[Pitre]

Mmmm? As a 34 year club member/Vette owner and regular viewer/poster on this website/forum, I seldom/if ever get incensed by a post/thread on here. This one has. What a load of "Garbage" re "racist comments"
How about Admin deleting the thread or moving it to "Members Only" ???

In fairness, it wasn't Nails84 who made a racist comment, he was referring to another poster who alleged that on Pistonheads back in 2017 apparently. I've searched and cannot find any offensively racist posts (either on PH or here), nor anyone making light of such posts, but I think it's fair enough to say "somebody once said..." or "I've heard..." but then have the club culture defended by various members as it has been above?

 

[C5Steve]

Mmmm? As a 34 year club member/Vette owner and regular viewer/poster on this website/forum, I seldom/if ever get incensed by a post/thread on here. This one has. What a load of "Garbage" re "racist comments"
How about Admin deleting the thread, or moving it to "Members Only" ???

Everyone's entitled to their views and everyone's personal experience should be valid. The comment was made on another public forum so I don't see the point in moving this thread somewhere it can't be seen by non-members.

As said above, I think the healthy discussion here speaks volumes and is a good advertisement for the current culture.

 

[Invetterate]

The nice thing about the club is that it's a very broad church. With 70 years of model generation there is a very different type of person attracted to these cars and how they choose to use them. I've only been along to three regional meetings in the last five years and don't go to the nationals, but do enjoy circuit events, such as Brands Hatch Speedfest and the various track/handling events we've organised. You'll almost certainly be able to find a niche in the club that suits you.
I can recommend putting together an article for Vette News about your car, it's a great conversation starter when you attend a meet and it's always interesting to read about other owners, what they've done and why they bought a Corvette.
Joining the club has been very worthwhile for me, I've made a number of good friends, that wouldn't have happened had I only stuck to other forums and social media.

Fishy Dave is a good example of a somewhat younger member who joined and "got stuck in" in his own way and has become a real asset to the Club. As he says, it is highly likely that you will find something that you will enjoy. You can't get on with everybody but overall, during the 20 years I have been a member, I have met some great people and had some really fun times. I very much hope you enjoy it too.

 

[Jimmywick]

So basically I haven’t met anyone off here yet as only got my c5 in September but will plan on doing some meets this summer north west etc and going by the post I’m 39 and guess everyone else will have false teeth and bald ! As for racism I’ve never seen anyone post anything on here

 

[CaptainK]

I've been to some club events and everyone has been so welcoming and friendly. I even took my then daily diesel Focus to one event to see the Vulcan and no-one shunned me (much ) for it. Would have taken my Vette, but it was having a bit of work doing in the garage and it took longer than expected.

Not seen any of the bad stuff on here that was mentioned above, and I've been a member for a mere 7 years now I think?

My only real advice is to talk to the wonderful experts on here about Corvettes before buying one. I bought mine before doing that, and whilst its worked out ok in the end, it would have saved me a lot of time, effort and money. Its really nice to see people being so helpful with their advice here. Which is handy as I'm a fairly mechanical-newbie, but I do like to have a go myself.

 

[Mr. Cricket]

So basically I haven’t met anyone off here yet as only got my c5 in September but will plan on doing some meets this summer north west etc and going by the post I’m 39 and guess everyone else will have false teeth and bald ! As for racism I’ve never seen anyone post anything on here

You'll get a very warm welcome form us fat, bald, toothless, Jort wearing North West crew Jimmy.

As for the OP I've been doing this a while now and we have plenty of large meets and I can't think of anyone having a bad thing to say about anyone especially anything of a racist nature. We're all one big happy dysfunctional family enjoying our Corvettes and each others company. We had our first meet yesterday and a) everyone survived the Winter and b) it was great seeing old friends again