AAOC membership and cards

[bruce fielding]

I've just discovered that my new insurers want my AAOC membership number, and I guess that'll be the case for a few newcomers who go for discounted insurance. So, unless anyone objects, I'm officially starting the Ariel Atom Owner's Club (with Simon's blessing).

I'm getting some plastic membership cards printed up and I think that Ross should be 0001 as he's been with the marque the longest. I'm also hoping that he'll help with a dedicated website!

There will be no charge at the moment for membership. When it starts to cost money to run, I'll take a view and see if I can fund it myself - if not, we'll need to charge a small membership fee.

I propose that we issue three levels of membership - Founder Member status for people who are on board now; Member status for those joining in the future; and Honorary Member status for those without cars and those we'd like to be part of it all (like Simon, Tom etc.).

I'll look into the legalities (Data Register; Charitable status; global organisation etc.) and get things on a proper footing as soon as I can.

[atom290]

Ive no objections to Ross being number 1, but i think ive been the longest atom owner? Bought my first one in 2000

[bruce fielding]

Fair do's Jon - you'll be 0002! Although, If I remember correctly the car you actually bought was one of the first prototypes, so perhaps that should be -0001 !

Whilst we're at it, what would you chaps expect of the AAOC, and what would be on your wish list?

[coot]

Hi,

I could help out with any techy/design stuff when required.
The Lotus group I was/am in has been around for many years but has just started to get involved in group insurance ( for runs out etc ) so I could find out bits and bobs on how the club runs.

Cheers,

Pete.

[ross.mcw]

I'd be honoured to be no. 1 member Bruce, thanks - although like Jon says he was certainly the earliest owner of an Atom that I know of - although I guess it wasn't quite an 'official' factory production vehicle (I might well be wrong there though, so apologies if I am Jon!)

The Club sounds like a great idea and one I've been meaning to solidify myself for quite some time - but history is made by those that do, rather than those that talk - ie. you beat me to it - but I'd certainly like to be an integral part of it and would be very happy to contribute (possibly financially as well if we can set things up properly with it as a none profit making organisation - let me know about this off-line if you want Bruce).

I'll look at getting our own webserver and site together that will give us more flexibilty to do the kind of things on-line that I'm sure we'll want to (things like our own forum, photo/vid galleries, owner diaries, articles, reviews, circuit guides etc). I've actually already registered a domain name previously which I'd like to propose for use:-

www.atomclub.com

I know that might not strike anyone as being particularly fancy, but it's concise, easy to remember, short and to the point - ie. you know what it means. It's there anyhow, we can use it or not.

We could do with a logo and I reckon a suitably high quality badge thing to adorn our cars with at some point, perhaps machined metal or a casting reflecting the design integrity of the Atom - my Dad might be able to help here as he has his own machine shop and can produce this kind of thing.

Logo-wise, I reckon it would be good to incorporate a profile of the Atom's main chassis member and wheels in some iconic fashion - just a thought.

Ideally, in my view, the club should, in no particular order:-

• Help to get like minded individuals together to play with their expensive toys as often as possible by assisting with the organisation of appropriate events;

• Encourage and assist with safe, skilled and fast driving on track;

• Act as a central point for owners to log and discuss their experiences of the car;

• Gather feedback from owners to enable a bit of friendly lobbying with Ariel for changes and improvements;

• Record the history of individual cars (one day, I'm sure my original car will turn up rotting in some Austrian forest and will be worth millions as an early example of a design classic);

• Work to negotiate club discounts on things like insurance and track days and other useful bits of kit that owners will need;

• Provide unbiased and comprehensive information to new potential owners;

• Provide assistance to owners relating to ownership of the car by harnessing the efforts and skills of other members;

• Seek to promote the vehicle and brand - a good thing for general interest and residuals;

• Provide online services such as: forums, information, reviews, documentation, photo/video galleries, 'for sale' cars and kit;

• Provide appropriate club merchandise so that owners feel like they 'belong';

I'm sure there's numerous other things. A proper meeting at some point might be an idea.

Cheers, Ross.

>> Edited by ross.mcw on Wednesday 15th December 17:17

[display2u]

Hey guys, do you think I qualify for Honorary Membership ?
Mark
Ps . jon I think you sould take 007 as your number as bond would love to have your battleship full of electronics !!

[monza]

If you can accept a poor lonesome french guy, i'll be with you ... I don't worry about my number !

[jeremyc]

One thing you might want to consider is whether you will restrict membership to owners only, or allow anyone to join (whether past owners, prospective owners or those simply interested in the marque).

Right, I'll wander off now.....

[atom290]

display2u said:

Hey guys, do you think I qualify for Honorary Membership ? Mark Ps . jon I think you sould take 007 as your number as bond would love to have your battleship full of electronics !!

I like that actually

And i think i need to have an honoury membership as my isnt very fast at the moment!

[bruce fielding]

My first thought would be to have membership open to all (Aston Martin and Ferrari do, after all!), but have a two part website with a front end that's available to all, then a password protected bit for owners specifically, containing sensitive information (like how to start/steal one!). Alternatively, go for the 'Owners' and 'Appreciation' options as some clubs do...

I think Ross is right - we need to have a preliminary meeting. Given the disparate geographical nature, we could do it as a conference call... early enough in the morning and we could get New Zealand involved as well as France!

Some time in January, Ross and I could have some proposals to put forward for discussion...

Keep the thoughts and ideas coming, though - it's really helpful...

[bruce fielding]

atom290 said:

display2u said: Hey guys, do you think I qualify for Honorary Membership ? Mark Ps . jon I think you sould take 007 as your number as bond would love to have your battleship full of electronics !! I like that actually And i think i need to have an honoury membership as my isnt very fast at the moment!

Hmmm. How about 0007? I've set it up to be optimistic about membership (possible 9,999 members)

[owi]

Thanks Bruce - we'd be keen to be involved from the southern hemisphere. Let me know any support that you need and a date/time for a conference call and we'll be on it. I suggest mid-Jan at the earliest for the call ...

>> Edited by owi on Thursday 16th December 00:57

[coxm]

Good plan and full marks for volunteering. I like the charter Ross set out. If I can help on driving stuff, Ring / Spa days, happy to.

Founder members is a nice idea. I think its really important to have the club open to anyone, not just owners, since it helps to create owners. Both the FOC and Porsche clubs do that too.

One of the main thing that this forum does is help people who are thinking of buying decide and having a section of a website (and atomclub.com is perfect! well done) on that would be a good thing too.

MC

[SiCook]

For what it's worth I'd join if it's open to non-owning members. Also as a newbie I'm wondering where the AAOC begins and PistonHeads ends...? Having a dedicated domain name I think is a fantastic idea even if just to help in drawing a line of demarcation. For example, I've signed up to PistonHeads to be able to post here - does this mean I'm part of AAOC or do I need to apply elsewhere?

As for an annual charge.... I've been with other clubs for years, some free (IMOC/FDUK), others charge (MRC). These clubs have saved me so much time and money that I'd be more than happy to pay to join a similar club for the Atom (although I don't own one at the moment I'll expect to have one by this time next year).

Best wishes,
Si.

[John Lloyd]

My Atom arrived today . It's p...ing with rain so drove it backwards and forwards on the drive!!!

I would love to join a club.

[Atom120]

I'd love to join as well.

Would be great to compile a record of every car produced, where it ended up and what state its currently in (tuned, untuned, written-off, etc).

Anyone know what percentage have stayed in this country, and how many ended up abroad?

[Bruce Fielding]

OK. I'll be mailing out membership application forms next week. Having discussed it with Ross and Simon, I think that offereing to finance this myself was bit optimistic!

Physically, we'll be having membership cards printed and I'm printing and sending out a mailing/newsletter to all current owners all over the world inviting them to join. Then there are the website running costs and other stuff.

Having looked at what the Elise Owners and Caterham Owners pay I think a joining fee of about £8 and then £20 per year seems about right. Not a huge amount for a vast store of info and you could easily save that with one posting!

Plus, although it's not much, it will discourage those who aren't serious.

Retires to a safe distance, dons flameproof overcoat, and prepares to receive flak

[Bruce Fielding]

Atom120 said:

I'd love to join as well. Would be great to compile a record of every car produced, where it ended up and what state its currently in (tuned, untuned, written-off, etc). Anyone know what percentage have stayed in this country, and how many ended up abroad?

The factory knows, but doesn't release that info. Hopefully, the owners' club will collect the data. All those questions are on the application form.

[Atom120]

If you need membership forms / newsletters printing and posting out, give me a shout. We sell ink, so printing them won't be a problem, and I could probably sneak them all out on the company's postal account...