.. and elitism. I have a few comments. When John McCartney and I conspired to contrive a prize in honor of his father, the "Daily Driver" prize, the board of the VTR fought it, and the chief judge of that organization sought to turn it into a concours category prize. I, and John, wanted it to go to the fellow who kept his car on the road, no matter what. The chief judge of the VTR thought otherwise. I went to the 2001 VTR convention with the express intention to find that daily driver and award that prize. I sat in the audience at the final award dinner, dumbfounded, when the VTR and the hosting club ignored that prize, even though all were aware of it beforehand.
The chief judge of the VTR has spent more than enough time on this board talking about his very expensive brick garage in which he keeps his various rare Triumphs, and the president has offered up photos of his garage, full of memorabilia, acquired with the proceeds from his businesses. Ultimately, when I and others describe the elitism in the hobby, it is of this we speak, in one way or another. When the word "elitism" is mentioned, it is an analogue for exclusivity. Some people in this sport, hobby, whatever, choose to make their wealth apparent to others through their acquisitions. At the VTR national in 2001, it was good that Vern brought his LeMans Spitfire. But, he wouldn't even start it up for the crowd, nor would he run it in the autocross. I was there, and he didn't. Vern, like many other members of the VTR, is into acquiring things, not using them. I spent my time there helping to tune Joe Curry's Spit autocrosser so he could run the course (because the idiots in the Rocky Mountain club thought that holding an event at 10,000 ft. altitude wouldn't inconvenience anyone). Vern opted to leave his car for display. I didn't see Vern rejetting and tuning so he could run.... This hobby--and the leadership of VTR--has been run by and lately controlled by people who don't care about driving their cars every day--they care about their acquisitions--about displaying the icons of their wealth. They care about showing others the objects indicating their wealth. That is why the VTR continues to lose membership over the years--it has become not a club, but a clique. That's a fact, now, rather than an eventuality to come. The VTR really doesn't give a shit about Triumph drivers--it cares about Triumph owners. Ultimately, what is wrong with the VTR is what's wrong with the country. Possession is more important than use and utility. As John McCartney has said, repeatedly, the cars were meant to be used and enjoyed, and are, in their engineering, neither sophisticated nor elegant--the cars were and are mid-line objects meant to be driven and enjoyed for what they were and are, and no more. Creating a club structure which would make them into icons of what they are not is ridiculous. The VTR is losing members because it has become stilted and self-important--and elitist. The people running the VTR don't recognize that fact. They will ruin their organization from within, because they think they are more important to the hobby and sport than the people who drive their cars every day. The proof is in the pudding (an old English saying). Your membership continues to decline, because you continue to deny addressing the truth, and it's a mystery to all of you in the leadership of the organization why you lose members. It's a mystery to you because you simply won't, or can't, accept the truth that what you want is not what everyone else wants. Get real, guys. Dig your heads out of your asses and stop being quite so self-important. You are impeding the sport and the hobby, and you're doing so because you haven't yet figured out the joy in the hobby. You still think _having_ something is more important than enjoying it by driving it. VTR? Its leaders are silly, stupid, self-important people who put their own importance over the hobby. Give me a break, guys. *** http://www.team.net/the-local *** Your messages not reaching the list? Check out http://www.team.net/posting.html *** unsubscribe/change address requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or try *** http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool *** http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo *** Archives at http://www.team.net/archive *** Edit your replies!
