RE: [DML] DeLorean Owners Association??

[Kevin Abato <delorean@xxxxxxxxx>]

Josh:  You and I are friends, so please do not take the following comments
as a personal attack on you, but my comments (Which I have made public in
the past) on/to the DOA.

Almost all of the things the organization offers are available for free on
the internet in MUCH LARGER and MORE ACTIVE forums (like this one) for FREE.

Many of the other offerings like the Magazines, "Exclusive offers available
only to Association members", and 
10% off merchandise that is already overpriced (and currently unavailable
anyway) is all a bunch of smoke and mirrors!    

The DOA has NOTHING tangible except for copies of back issues of their
magazine to offer their members. Buy it once, and you are done.  There is
nothing else they offer of value (as I told Ken Baker two years ago on the
phone).  Similar threads have existed for the past few years about this, and
the DOA always says "Hey..we are working on a new setup, net officers, look
for amazing new stuff!"  But nothing materializes.

The truth is that I have gotten a million times more from my local club
(DeLorean Mid-Atlantic) in the past few years than the DOA could have ever
provided me.   Social contacts, Networking, help, support, merchandise with
logos, TONS OF EVENTS...   The list goes on and on, but the most important
one to my wife and I is  "FRIENDS"  Some of the DMA members are like
extended family to us.

And lastly, the line of "As the largest independent car organization in the
world..."   Really?  The largest?  How many members do they have?  OHHH!!
That's right!   If I am not a member I am NOT ALLOWED to know that
information.   I am not allowed to know about the treasury or where the
money goes (even If I am a member).

I like paying my $15 per year to the DMA.   It is a great investment that I
actually see value returned to me.   It really is too bad for all the time
we spend trying to "Fix" or "Resurrect" the DOA,  It is time that could be
of much better use.

Kevin Abato
Vin# 16680
www.grenexmedia.com



-----Original Message-----
From: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Josh Haldeman
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2011 4:14 PM
To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [DML] DeLorean Owners Association??

Hey Robert,

 

I agree with your assessment of some past issues of the magazine.  I've
struggled with that exact problem in my tenure as Assistant Editor for DCS
Magazine.  From that experience, and now, as Editor of DeLorean World, I've
learned to ask myself these questions:

 

-          What can we at DeLorean World do better than anyone else?

-          Who would I like to see contributing to this effort?  (that's
actually an easy one; Everyone and anyone who cares about the community,
car, company, man, etc)

-          What would I enjoy reading about?

-          What benefits the community most? 

 

I've also asked my friends in the community what they would like to read
about and see, and tried to include a little of everything, as I see fit.

 

I think the only thing I didn't have for this latest issue is a good tech
article.  Our vendors work incredibly hard to provide top quality service to
their customers, and asking them to set aside extra time to write about what
they do, so that others can do it just as well can be a challenge, as you
can probably imagine.  On the opposite end of that, getting tech articles
from amateur mechanics can produce less than appealing results at times.
Despite this, DeLorean World, over the years, I think has provided some
extremely valuable tech articles, as well as some highly engaging articles
covering historical aspects of the original company and its suppliers.  (see
our last issue's story on the development of the torsion bar by Grumman)
Including the activities of the Board, in my opinion, is really only useful
if it benefits the community in some way.  Ie: voting to lower the
membership fee, adjusting the frequency of magazine publication, etc.

 

I believe the blunt answer to your blunt question about what do you get for
your money is answered on our website, on the membership application page.
It says, and I quote:

As the largest independent car organization in the world, the DeLorean
Owners Association appreciates the support of its members in promoting the
value, image and mystique of the DeLorean automobile.

Members enjoy:

*	A subscription to DeLorean World Magazine
*	Access to a large network of DeLorean owners, both nationally and
internationally. Members come from all over the world beyond the United
States, to Canada, Mexico, Japan and Europe
*	Technical advice on the DeLorean automobile from our network
*	Membership access to our website which hosts a wealth of information
for the DeLorean enthusiast in  the 'DeLorean Cafe' forum
*	Plus exclusive offers available only to Association members
*	10% off all DeLorean Store products (store currently under
construction, due to be re-launched soon)

Let me know if there are any other questions I can answer.

-Josh

Josh Haldeman - Vice-President

DeLorean Owners Association

 

 

 

 

From: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Robert
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2011 10:30 AM
To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [DML] DeLorean Owners Association??

 

  



--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dmcnews%40yahoogroups.com> , "Josh
Haldeman" <jhaldeman@...> wrote:
<SNIP>
If you enjoy reading DeLorean World, or have enjoyed
> reading it in the past, I encourage you check out this latest issue, which
> will be in the mail this week.
<SNIP>

Well now, that's the thing there. I've not enjoyed reading DeLorean World in
the past. To be rather blunt about it, after 30 years for a single model
year, what else is there to talk about? Yeah, flipping through seemingly
ancient copies from the heyday of the 1980's certainly had valuable at the
time technical information. Since that those days it seems to be nothing
more than just a medium for board members to abuse with their own rants and
vacation pictures that have absolutely nothing at all to do with DeLoreans.
Reading past issues of DW felt less like reading interesting adventures
related to DeLoreans, and more like being held hostage at an old couples
house while they aimlessly babbled a sort of narrative to describe their
boring trip to wine country. What makes these new issues any different?

But before I go on and in turn rant so much that I end up becoming like the
people I'm complaining about, let me just ask the blunt question: What are
the specific advantages of DOA Membership? What can the DOA give me if I
were one of it's members that I can't get anywhere else? Prove to me and
others that *I* need the DOA far more than the DOA needs ME.





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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