NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

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Pete
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NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by Pete »

Hi there,

As many of you may know, the MMA has had an approach from the organisers of the "Classic and Sportscar Show" at the NEC in Birmingham to offer the MMA a stand at their 2021 Show in November.

There are a number of factors to consider here before the Committee either accepts or rejects the offer:

1) The great "Covid" Unknown. We do not know what restrictions (if any) will be in place in November - Distancing, Face masks, etc - or even if the event will take place if there is a winter surge in the transmissibility of the disease.
The MMA has no influence over this.


2) The Public's attitude to mass events in the light of the last 12 months - people may rush to events, or be very wary about attending indoor events, especially if the wearing of face masks is still a requirement for the 6 hours that they are on site.
The MMA has no influence over this.


3) Availability of Member's cars volunteering for display on the stand. The reality is that this has always been an issue. It is unfortunate that the MMA cannot fund the members to attend the event (especially as we are now a "Free" Club!), so this makes the event difficult to support from everyone's perspective.

The cars need to be there from Thursday morning to Sunday evening, which is quite a commitment.


4) With the loss of Steve Bilson from the Committee due to him moving house, the MMA would require a member to co-ordinate all the activities to ensure the MMA's presence at the NEC was a success.

This would include all liaison with the NEC Reps, the members, and on-site support for the Build up and Break down of the stands and all the H&S compliance that is required at such a large event.


5) The "Prestige" of an MMA Stand at the event. This is the largest indoor Car show in the world, and the MMA has been in attendance for at least 20 years.

Is this event relevant to the MMA membership anymore?

Is the MMA better represented by focussing on smaller local events whilst maintaining a presence at "Brooklands" and the "Mopar Euro Nationals" at Santa Pod?


As you can see, there is a lot to take into consideration.
Certainly a lot to think about before we have to either accept or reject the invitation in April.


Therefore, the Committee and I are extremely interested to hear of YOUR views on the subject before a decision is made.

Many thanks.

Pete Wiseman, Chairman, MMA.
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ScottyDave
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by ScottyDave »

Good questions Pete, here's my current thoughts.

1) The Covid unknown, simply who can predict where it'll go but I think that Covid is unlikely to disappear from our lives and will be something the severity of which will be controlled by vaccines much like flu.

2) Public attitudes to events, people will still attend events of all types whether they be exhibition shows, sports events or festivals. Maybe with reduced numbers admitted through the doors/gates. Facemasks are becoming the normality, I have to wear one all day at work now.

3) Cars for display, yes I see that this is quite a commitment as depending on how far the owner has to travel it could be 6 days in total. Personally on this I would love to have my Charger on the club stand at the NEC as I think it would be a great achievement for myself and my brother considering where/what we started with, but that's our goal. Whether its finished and in the Midlands this year remains to be seen.

4) Liaising with the NEC reps H&S etc, I couldn't help with this. Company I work for is currently undertaking a year long restructuring project, so I would be unable to commit the time.

5) Having a MMA stand at the NEC, probably the largest gathering of gearheads in the country. More likely to get a national exposure of the club at the NEC than smaller local shows.
Mopar Nats and Brooklands are important as well. One thing to consider is relevant to question (3) the NEC is an indoor show and not weather dependent, club members may be less likely to bail out displaying their car's if it looks like a wet weekend than if they were parked in a muddy field.

Just my thoughts, hope it helps :)
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MattH
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by MattH »

Thanks for your thoughts Dave.
It's a tough one to call this year, hence asking for opinions from the members.

Having someone localish to the NEC that would be prepared to do some co-ordinating is fairly key to it all, it is a commitment to attend as an exhibitor but very rewarding as well. I was very proud to able to display my car there in 2014.

The general uncertainty of everything may be an indication of why there is not a queue of volunteers currently, or opinions.
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kma176
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by kma176 »

I would agree with Dave on just about all of it !!
I think plenty of people will want to get out to go to a show this year after being locked up all this time & I think a presence at the NEC just adds a little extra to all the other smaller shows .
I had my Satellite just about finished as the lockdown hit so was pretty disappointed no to be able to show it after all the years under a cover - so if you need my car on its 50th anniversary for the show I should be able to commit to it so just let me know .
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by Pete »

Thanks for the very positive response, and the kind offer too - it makes a massive difference to organising if people are enthusiastic.

Keep the feedback coming, please!

All the best.

Pete
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MattH
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by MattH »

kma176 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 21 1:55 pm I would agree with Dave on just about all of it !!
I think plenty of people will want to get out to go to a show this year after being locked up all this time & I think a presence at the NEC just adds a little extra to all the other smaller shows .
I had my Satellite just about finished as the lockdown hit so was pretty disappointed no to be able to show it after all the years under a cover - so if you need my car on its 50th anniversary for the show I should be able to commit to it so just let me know .
Your car would be a stunner on display, especially with the history you have with it.
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by DougieJ »

Hopefully this doesn’t come across as a rant or sound like I’ve been on the sauce (‘cause I haven’t – honest!). But opinions were asked for and if we don’t participate then we shouldn’t be surprised if things don’t turn out how we might like. So some thoughts from my perspective - which is obviously a bit further away than many – though not as far as Dave is from his car.

Re Covid – we have to get back to doing ordinary things at some point but in whatever way we can. While we have to currently get things under control ultimately we can’t hide away forever whether we all end up wearing masks day-in day-out or getting annual vaccinations we get on with stuff eventually.

Mass events – apart from my own special enjoyment which is the prime reason for having the car one of the other reasons for getting it was always the intention of going to events and shows and the camaraderie that you get at them. Attending Oulton Park at the end of 2019 and meeting up with Simon and the others and experiencing the joy all of the cars brought to everyone attending highlighted that to me. When we can I’ll certainly be back at events but who knows what that timescale will be either from a regulations point of view or from everyone’s personal choices that they will make about what they feel comfortable with? All in I do think that there will be a significant appetite for shows like this as soon as possible.

Display cars –
1) The car certainly isn’t a show car and was not intended as such – it’s just a massive great toy for me to enjoy, to play with, to do things that others won’t see the worth in, some might question the value of or that might not be to a purist aesthetic but as said just for me to enjoy; and
2) It’s quite a distance. It’s a fair bit further than even Tatton Park which I’m still just contemplating even given how much I enjoyed Oulton Park. That said I’ve always thought that when Dave travels back down from the Western Isles in the Charger he deserves something like a relayed ‘escort of honour’ for the work and dedication he and his brother have been putting in – so maybe if he was going to show his car at the NEC a convoy of some kind would be a fitting thing to do in honour of all that work.

Liaising with NEC – not for me I’m afraid. That said if I was coming to the show, and given it would be a minimum 2 day stint for me, I’d be happy to take a turn on the stand.

Choice of venues – From my point of view NEC is far more achievable than Brooklands much as I’d love a picture of my car on the banking. Birmingham is far more evenly central for everyone to come to (much as I appreciate others may not think so) whether in the club or the vast numbers of car fans who do still exist and it does therefore have a much bigger attendance. And indeed those attending are not all of a similar mind, age or background. As a result you only need a much smaller percentage of the attendance to get inspired to help increase the longevity of something which risks dying out.
If the club just focuses on small local events (even while still having Brooklands and the Mopar Euro Nats) I suspect that ultimately it will diminish – despite the intentions, desires and efforts of the really good and enthusiastic people involved. I suspect it is the same as the discussion that was had before about being a club and having the forum etc. etc. which is to my mind a thing of great worth and - not to put a down on the facebook thing which undoubtedly has its place and value to a lot - but I do think that the club is so much better and has the potential for so much more.
If it ends up just local events with an ever aging demographic then it dies. If the club attends things like NEC and manages to inspire even just a couple of extra 10 year olds a year to want to become involved then as the years pass there is a better chance of these things continuing despite the drive for eco-boxes and throwaway battery powered culture. Rather - hopefully cars from the more ordinary, but exotic to our shores, cars through Matt’s Cuda to Will’s wonderful Charger inspire the next generations to go even beyond where Will is going.

On a final note - if it means not being free then from my point of view I don't mind - but I appreciate that this is different for us all.

As with all of us these are just opinions and I certainly don’t claim them to be in any way special or of particular worth.

Dougie
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by RobTwin »

Dougie - I feared the worst when you started off saying it was going to be a bit of a rant... but I agree with pretty much all of it :thumbright:

Especially the part about the benefit of the show to our club - I think it's vital to continue to promote the club outside of our usual circle of American car / drag racing events. And as Dougie says, apart from Santa Pod and Tatton Park, there aren't many events north of London with an MMA presence.

Stu and I always go to the NEC show - I think we've been to nearly all of these shows since the MMA have had a stand there, tho we did decide last year that we wouldn't go just before it was announced that the MMA wouldn't be attending, which was just before the event was cancelled. I just didnt fancy wearing a mask for the whole day (and we are there for a good 8 hours each visit) plus the other restrictions being put in place.
But as we now know we're likely to be wearing masks for at least the rest of this year, I think I'd rather just get on and do what we like doing, even if it involves wearing a mask for most of the day.

If the MMA do have a stand this year - if Stu agrees, I'd be honoured to have our Sport Satellite on the stand :shock: And I think it would look good with Kev's blue 71 too ;)
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by cadboy »

I agree with the fact that showing off our cars in a place like NEC and all the people that go to the classic car show, would be best for promoting MMA and getting more members for the club.

But I also know that these events take a lot of organising and need a lot of time to prepare and put into action on the Thursday till Sunday.

If I was not working full time I would have been happy to help out in the planning and set up.

Finally with this COVID who knows what may happen next, so we are hoping that some kind of normal life will return some day, so I would say if the volunteers are there to help out then MMA should have a presence at the Classic Car Show this year.

I am happy to help out on the Saturday and Sunday of the show.

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Post by MattH »

Some great points raised, especially the future generation aspect.
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Post by Gas for GOSH »

Good, important thread so keep the views coming. My two pence worth:
1 and 2: covid and public attitude.....being involved with a community hall means covid risk assessments are reviewed every time latest ‘guidance’ comes out. It’s part and parcel of operational considerations for everyone now, clubs, charities, businesses whatever and it won’t go away. Assume covid and associated precautions are here to stay. What is specific to event type is public perception: will it be supported? Will it be a financial risk too far? We consulted our film club.....7 out of 110 said they would come back, so no chance of that happening. But we are doing our first outdoors theatre performance. So the more people that reply to this thread the better as the committee need to know numbers for those planning to come if things stay the same or improve and, if people are not coming, then what are the factors influencing that decision? The reasons people gave for not coming back to film club were: it’s indoors, even though we have an air extraction system sitting on raked seating for a couple of hours you will breathe the same air most likely, the main attraction for many was not the film it was the social mingling and refreshments which cannot happen. So the more detail people give about what is the attraction, issue or turn off the easier it is to decide what to do.
3. Cars...totally up to each person. I know some years it has been hard to get enough cars and maybe a standby or two. If there are not enough cars offered to fill a stand then there’s the answer.
4. Coordination having helped out on the stand and spoken at length with Steve I know how hard this is and that was before covid. There is a lot to do and, sorry, I’m not able to offer help with it.
5. Prestige....definitely. The general reaction to the cars on the MMA stand is usually tremendous. They are different, they appeal to racers and showers, some people make a point of finding us. But that does not mean we should struggle to show up just to keep our 20 year record going. If we did not have a stand would the NEC not welcome us back next year? I doubt it. One suggestion: a few years ago there was discussion about having the hall set up like a long American road...what’s the Detroit road Willward Avenue?.. ie get a floor covering like a road and have different makes and models intermingled, positioned as if driving on it, parked up, being worked on, in a showroom etc. It never got anywhere because a couple of clubs were not going to budge from ‘we need a huge area and we don’t want to mix’. If we do not have many takers this year then instead of having a MMA stand possibly that idea could be put to the NEC. Maybe mustangs and corvette want to keep to their area but if a few clubs are struggling then this idea starts to make sense and would be a different spectacle.

Re should we bother with the Classic Car show it is complementary to the two main others, Brooklands and Santa Pod. Brooklands is essential because it’s a club event, it’s the history of the place etc. Moparnats essential because it has everything, racing, showing, camping etc. Classic car show is the biggest, most wide ranging, probably get more diverse audience, possibility of getting new members, engage younger people...all of that makes it worthwhile IF it’s achievable for us this year.

Simon
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by Pete »

Thank you for all your inputs!

Keep them coming!

Offers of cars would be appreciated too!!
;) ;) ;) ;)
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Post by Blue »

As I’ve never been my opinion doesn’t count for much! But, as a premier event it would be a step backwards if the club didn’t appear. I’m convinced as soon as they can the punters will return with a vengeance, most people seem to have cabin fever and can’t wait to do something normal. I don’t have a show worthy car to provide either or live anywhere near the NEC.
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by kma176 »

Come-on Blue your cars are more than show worthy NEC's only a couple of hours !!!!
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Re: NEC 2021 - MMA Presence? Member's views

Post by Pete »

The cars do not have to be "Show worthy" - they need to be interesting and the owner needs to be engaging with the public.

Of all the MMA cars that have ever been displayed at the NEC (including my Superbird), Cheng Lim's "General Lim" provoked the most interest and interaction with the public.

I know the car very well and the term "Shed" could be used, but that is how it was built.

It is not shiny or numbers matching, but the crowds loved it.
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