Re: [DML] DOA will remain D-O-A

[Soma576@xxxxxxx]

Wow, I would have to nominate this for Post of the Year!

John is saying exactly what I have thought these last few days, reading posts about the DOA.  Only problem is, I can't write it as eloquently.

Josh, everyone knows you are an asset to the community.  You only want to bring good things to the community, and we all appreciate it.  However, I get the feeling that most of the 21st century DeLorean owners would like to just forget about the DOA along with the cocaine jokes, flux capacitor jokes, and other annoying things that we deal with as owners.

I have owned my car for over a decade now... a third of the time it has been on Earth.  I also live in North Dakota, which is very far removed from all the great happenings like local club events, DCS, any major service center, all of the physical support for an owner.

And yet, I think I have the same needs as everyone else.  What I require as an owner are three things - parts availability, information, and a fun factor that makes ownership enjoyable.

The DOA, as I understand it, was very important in the beginning of the DeLorean's orphanage as it was the only organized place owners could get these essential items - especially information.  This would be technical help from the magazine, service bulletins, who's who in the world of DeLoreans now that DMC is dead.... The DOA acted as a center of information disbursement and you had to join the club to get the information.  This is probably where a lot of the power struggle originated.

The DOA also had information on parts.  D1 advertised heavily and other independents from around the country made it known, through the DOA, that they had parts to sell.

The third thing the DOA had to offer was a fun factor, though as far as I can tell mostly happened only in California.

Now here comes the internet.

One by one, DeLorean owners started to find each other through the web, often at the DML.  It didn't take long for the DOA to lose its grip on information.  The pot shots by Ed, the DOA, etc are well-documented!  

It didn't take long for the DML to become the first place new owners came to learn about the car.  The support of the DML by James Espey, DeLorean Houston, PJ Grady, DMC Joe, etc steered new owners away from D1 and the DOA.  I don't know everything, but I am confident that DMCH is where they are today because of the DML.  Now they have franchises all over, and between them and PJ Grady they have to have well over 85% of the DeLorean parts market.  I don't even know how D1 is still around!  Now, we have parts availability being satisfied by someone other than the DOA.  For 10 years people have been slamming D1, have they added a single new customer?  Doubtful.

As soon as you can get this many people online in a single website, you start to create the fun factor.  Online owners find other local owners and they make their OWN club.  Soon it's a city club, then maybe a region or a state.  That's where the Minnesota DeLorean Owners Club (MNDMC) came from.  We don't have a charter, dues, even a newsletter. Just a few owners that like their cars and enjoy each others' company.  

Now we also have things like DCS which is amazing... also DMCTalk, which is probably where most new owners are headed to.  Most people online these days prefer the board-type forum as opposed to an email forum like the DML, which is fine.  The DML is legendary, it has a massive archive of epic stuff, and it too will one day cease to be as necessary.  Post counts per week are the proof.  There is always evolution and that's a good thing.

So, that brings us back to the question John Schulz asked - what can the DOA offer that I need?  I would argue that the DOA has no information relevant to today's owner.  There was only one car.  How much can be written that isn't already released?  

What can the DOA do to satisfy my parts needs?  Nothing that Dave Swingle, Rob Grady, and countless others are already offering me, and not giving me hell when I call them, either!

What kind of fun factor can the DOA offer?  Well they sure didn't want anything to do with DCS which is probably the most significant WOW factor as an owner.  The magazine, which I don't subscribe to, by all accounts is a laughingstock which doesn't even come out on time.  

I think what it comes down to is this:  Today's owner is younger, internet saavy, unwilling to pay for things that have little value, and certainly don't want to be associated with a dinosaur that just won't die.  We have the DML (free), DMCTalk (free), DCS (pay as you go), a myriad of free or cheap regional clubs, and free archives of the most important thing - information.

Being an owner is great.  All we need is information, parts, and a little camaraderie to have a good time.  At one point in history, the DOA offered this.  The reason it is where it is today is because of attitudes but also because of competition to provide those essentials.  Others have stepped up to provide information, parts knowledge, and the fun factor in better ways than the DOA ever did.

We are in a better place today.  In my opinion, let's just let the DOA die, turn it into a CA owners' club for the few who won't join the rest of us, and let's move on to the next part of DeLorean ownership evolution.  


Best Regards,

Andy






-----Original Message-----
From: John J. Schulz / DTOUR Inc. <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: dmcnews <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tue, Jan 25, 2011 1:01 pm
Subject: [DML] DOA will remain D-O-A


<snip> "Since Ron Ferguson took over and I accepted the Vice-Presidency, I have 
een
ble to concentrate on the areas where I think we need the most help.
amely the magazine and the website. We do need our leaders, but more than
hat, we need doers." <snip>

osh - with all due respect, the DOA has written it's own future, and confirmed 
t with your response above. I write this with ALL due respect... 




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



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