It's been fun fellows!

[tbsviper]

Nice post Rick and best wishes in everything you do. An option you did not list was a junior membership if you get a mini Viper for the baby. That coupled with your prior ownership, membership and fellowship ought to count for something. Good Luck!

 

[commandomatt]

Rick,

Always enjoyed your posts and found that I agreed with your views about these car and others. Maybe its a Colorado thing.

Also, thanks for taking the time to share all the high altitude Paxton info with me.

Good luck with whatever you set out to do.

Matt

 

[eucharistos]

hope you are back in a viper soon,

congrats on your 1st baby, nothing like fatherhood

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

Good luck with the family thing... that the important stuff in life anyways.

Okay then, I can't talk to you anymore since your a "worthless enthusiast" now.

 

[Cobraken]

I know where you are at. I sold my one of one mystichrome '04 Saleen Cobra S-281 speedster to get back into a Viper. Family is still undecided about whether to disown me for getting rid of everyone's favorite car I have had. She now resides in the AE Collection in Los Angeles.

 

[ViperGeorge]

I also own a Saleen and I would sell 10 of them if it meant keeping my Viper.

 

[Coloviper]

ViperJon that hurts. Ha! Ha! I think you said you sold your Viper too so you are probably not much better off than me either. Ha! Ha!

Actually Cobraken, you could always ask Roger Rodas for your car back. He is upset as I will not sell him the 1995 Saleen S351R BASF "Mystic Edition" Speedster, #95-0010. Anyway George, I hear you on the Saleens (as I have owned many over the years) but I can not part with the one I have as it is the former BASF SEMA show car that started the whole commerical vehicle multi-hue craze. The paint on it is one of one by BASF. I have owned it now for over 11 years. It is my blue chip collectible and the national and international offers justconsitently keep coming in about 3 or 4 a year. I have my "finally sell it price" in mind and even though the current offers are inching up to just shy of 6-figures, we are getting pretty close to that number I have in mind.

The Mach 1 above it on the lift just gets no drive time anymore and is what I am looking at selling or trading to hopefully get back into a Viper soon. However it all takes a back seat in the grand scheme with our little guy coming soon. We can't wait!

 

[Coloviper]

Everyone else! Thanks for the kind words and I will still be on from time to time. Hope to have great things to report on our lil guy when he arrives and maybe life will bless us with another Viper later on too. You never know!

 

[Smog Dog]

Rick---Best of luck to you and your family. I have enjoyed your posts, even though we didn't always agree! LOL

Bill

 

[Mopar Boy]

Ah Rick you will be back. We all know when you are really snake bitten, its in your blood. Just a matter of time.

A few more months for me. Really the only reason I've hung around is to meet my 8 yr anniversary so I can get in.

Edit: I've been here almost 8 years? Holy crap. I feel old now.

You are old........ Grandpa.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

If you want info about the car mechanics I would trust an enthusiasts response. If you want the latest car wax and/or car show locations then the VCA member would be the source for that non sense.

......

 

[Red Mist Viper]

This thread reminded me to renew. It was easy, and the VCA admin dept was very helpful. After 10 years as a VCA member I’m always sad to see old friends go and or those who have to sell their Viper. Needless to say, perhaps this year the VCA might consider reviewing its membership policy to determine if change is needed.

 

[pathoguy]

On my second viper, so enthusiast fits, although I could be equally enthusiastic without ever having owned one. Not into elitism, titles, or joining groups, nor do I need the enthusiast heading to enjoy my ride.

 

[tbsviper]

This has turned into a long good bye

 

[Joe Dozzo]

Also just demoted... Member since first Viper purchase in 1998 from Woodhouse... Now waiting for all the Gen V "dust" to settle...

 

[daytonprowler]

This should make it all better.

https://www.viperclub.org/membership/

 

[daytonprowler]

I agree with you 100%....I guess the next obvious question would be...If the VCA Board were to suddenly implement this benefit to former Viper Owners. How long should you be a member in order to be eligible for this benefit?

I think that former members should at least have CONSECUTIVE membership for at least 5 years. 5 years seems to be the best number because it shows a commitment to the club and the car. And anyone who has been a member of the club that long will more than likely be buying another Viper at their earliest convenience....

What are your thoughts on this?....

I do understand what you are saying.

I like your ideas.

We are going to discuss this topic at our National VCA *** and President's meeting next week in Auburn Hills. I'm sure we can come to some kind of resolution when a VCA member is between Vipers.

 

[ViperTony]

I here what you are saying Rick. I joined the VCA in 2002 and became Viperless almost 2 years ago. I contacted the "Prez" and in a nutshell he said that owning a Viper is a requirement for membership. I did suggest having a different "tagline" for past Viper owners (instead of enthusiast) but that was not an option. I even said that I would be more that willing to support the VCA through higher, non-viper owner, dues but that fell on deaf ears. So in my mind, the VCA is throwing money away by not letting past owners retain membership. Their loss.

So long as you don't own a Viper, your regional club (or any regional club for that matter) can you sign you up as an associate member. This would allow you to contribute to your local club, attend their events and receive some benefit from them locally. However, associate members don't receive national benefits such as the Viper Magazine, access to members' only forums, etc.

Your idea didn't fall on deaf ears, it just wasn't supported at the time. I didn't support it at the time but have since changed my mind on the idea and I think it needs to be revisited. As Randall mentioned earlier, this and other related membership level topics will be raised at the board meeting next week. In fact, there are a few membership idea suggestions in the VCA Suggestion Box. So, you're not alone on making this happen.

Having read posts on this topic over the last 4 years, I can summarize the ideas as follows:

- Recognize and reward long-time Viper Owner/Members.
- Change Non-Member Viper Owner Titles from "Enthusiast" to "Viper Owner" to recognize the fact that folks indeed own Vipers and are more than Enthusiastic about it.
- Membership Renewal Grace Period preferably for those that are in between Vipers but still wish to support the club in the meantime.
- National and/or Website Only Membership. For folks that will never see a regional event, don't care for raffles, magazine, etc. but wants to support the club with a fee that is fair and recognized.
- Associate Member Title. For those folks that are associate members recognize them as such on the forums.

Spit-balling here, I'd say those folks that are interested in a website only or national only membership may want acccess to the Regional forums and DIY forum. Something that is not available to non-members today. As for what the perks are, if any, for each membership option needs discussion. Right now, it's an all or none membership approach which I think accomplished it's original intent but may have alienated some folks and shut out those folks that are Viperless but still wish to support the club.

If I'm missing a membership type or title suggestion, let me know.

 

[ViperTony]

The software may seem cold to those that have seen their membership expire on 12/31 and suddenly see their title change to "Enthusiast" and all of the restrictions that comes with it. It's certainly not someone getting excited manually changing titles to "Enthusiast" to fulfill some twisted, membership-title fetish or make folks upset, LOL. The process of checking membership status/expiration is done via software. In the past, it was very manual and prone to error. This was discussed a long time ago in the member's only section and I suspect most folks here are not privvy to the change. But to summarize: Manual updates would occur to the site often done via data entry which was prone to human error. I've seen names, phone numbers, membership numbers, VINs, various data entry fields mispelled over the years that have cause problems synchronizing the membership "database" with the website database.

Since 2010, the manual data entry is gone (aside from members who are filling out the fields in the renew page). From there, your information is stored in a central membership database. No more spreadsheets, sticky notes, etc. That membership database is synchronized with our site user database. During the synchronization process membership status is checked. And yes, if one's membership expired the system will set the users' permissions as such "Enthusiast".

Someone mentioned there are a lot of "Enthusiast" titles. Yes, it's true. Aside from the members that either wish not to renew their membership, are viperless or simply browse the site, the main reason driving the "Enthusiast" numbers is that for a very long time, when memberships expired some folks still would be recognized as members on the site. Remember that manual process? There were a number of folks that enjoyed the "Member" title but really weren't members. The cleanup that took place in 2010/2011 fixed this. In the past, the title of "Viper Owner" existed to recognize Viper Owners/Non-Members. When this title was eliminated, folks in this category were moved to "Enthusiast" which cause a spike in the number of "Enthusiasts" on the site.

Sorry for the history lesson, thought it would be helpful.

 

[ViperTony]

Rick, exact same thing just happened to me. A member advised me to email [email protected] as I did not receive any notice, and I got back response's from 3 different VCA people, all on a Sunday too! Anyway, they sent me a password for the Renew! button next to 'Forums...gave my credit card and was instantly renewed. HERE'S THE INTERESTING point regarding your bylaw comment. I'm Viperless since June (although I do have a Gen V on order), and had no problem renewing, wasn't even asked. I'm guessing the VIN# requirement, is only for when you first join VCA ??[/QUOTE]

In our emails, I suggested checking your email's SPAM settings to make certain the VCA email address is not being filtered out, as well as my email. More often than not, I've found that those folks not receiving the VCA renewal reminder emails find the emails in their SPAM folder.

You should not have been able to renew as a member if you no longer have a Viper. Technically, you are an "illegal member" at the moment. For sake of political correctness, we'll call you and "Undocumented Member". I suspect that when the VIN's are verified you will see a change in status. But you bring up an important point: You are in-between Vipers, you're a former Viper owner and member and you wish to continue supporting the club in the meantime. I think this needs to be addressed. However, if you have a Viper on order (VON), you can renew.

 

[ViperTony]

I know that, in life, we all have more important things to worry about other than when our VCA membership expires. So when it suddenly expires it becomes a problem. We feel as if we were disrespected though that's not the intent. I've been in the VCA since 2005 and I've grown accustomed to the fact that my membership automatically expires every year, 12/31, and that if I don't renew I will be tagged as "Enthusiast" and shamed. For me, I don't need reminder emails nor do I need to be coddled to renew. For me, Membership Expiration = Membership Expiration automatically on 12/31. I don't get the "I didn't get a reminder therefore I didn't know" thing especially from those members that have been here more than one year and have gone through more than one renewal. It's like those folks that don't pay their taxes on time, get slapped with a penalty and complain that they weren't told their income taxes were due by April 15th even though they've been filing returns for years, LOL.

What I do believe the REAL problem is with membership expiration (beyond a grace period) is not that membership automatically expired (in and of itself). It's the change to "Enthusiast" title that's rubbing people the wrong way and adding fuel to the fire. To some, it's like painting a great big "L" on their foreheads when such designation may not be rightfully deserved.

Perhaps, if possible, that in addtion to knowing membership expires annually, and receiving membership renewal reminders both from national and local regions that perhaps the website can also remind folks to renew. Perhaps, let's say 2 weeks before membership expires, a message can popup here on the site when a member logs in notifying them their membership is set to expire. A warning if you will. I think this covers those folks that may not be getting the emails but actively use the site.

The "Enthusiast" title is tearing us apart.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

I think there are some great ideas being thrown around right now. I like Tony's idea about the website itself reminding when it's time to renew too.

In the name of forward progress...
I'd like to suggest we (Tony?-somebody?) start another thread dedicated to these positive ideas which obviously have quickly outgrown this "long goodbye" thread.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

My 2 cents below...

You must be registered for see images attach

Has VIN# - $upports the VCA - Full access to the boards etc.

You must be registered for see images attach

Had VIN# - $upports the VCA - Full access to the boards etc. - Date reflects ownership period - (perhaps not eligible for car raffles? TBD)

You must be registered for see images attach

Never had VIN# - $upports the VCA - gets viper mag, access to club events/calendars etc. - Perhaps gets an Avatar - can work w/local clubs on gatherings/events - perhaps no/limited access to bylaws discussions, voting, etc. (to be discussed further)

You must be registered for see images attach

Perhaps no change here


Think about it...
Anyone who is willing to support the VCA with their money is likely not there to cause trouble but there for support. If an enthusiast would like to pay the club for membership and then stir up trouble 5 weeks later, I'd be more than happy to ban them and keep their money.

I believe this type of structure base can make the club stronger not only in a monetary sense, but also by increasing membership #s and potentially getting more members/cars to vca sponsered gatherings and events.

disclaimer:
Sorry messing with everyones avatar as they were chosen randomly for illustrative purposes.

 

[Fatboy 18]

Woo Hoo, Im back Venom member again for 2013

 

[Jog]

Thanx....ViperTony and daytonptowler for looking into this matter.

 

[VCA Forum Staff]

We copied all of the suggestions/ideas in this thread to the VCA Suggestion Box so that they could be tracked and discussed by the board. We also tried to clean up this thread by removing posts not germaine to the OP's original post but there are so many we decided to close this thread instead. The thread will remain up. Should the board/VCA take up discussion/action on the ideas presented here I'm sure Tony or someone on the board will post an update.

If your post is not here it was either moved or deleted for the reasons above.

Thanks,
VCA Forum Staff