VPA Announcement

[Nsane1]

Maybe I am under emphasizing the environment we are in. I am not saying at all your money is not green enough, believe me, it's in the best interest of the club to have the most money come into the coffers, that means better mags, better events (maybe a free VOI, which would be an awesome goal), more regional stipends, heck a free raffle car without the need to charge for tickets in any way. However, how would I tell you, without telling everyone else? Additionally, it would likely be limited to members being told (to keep it secret for maybe a millisecond), which means non-members got left in the cold. SO someone will be pissed regardless.

M&A activity happens ALL the time, and shareholders are (routinely) never notified until after the close, for all these same reasons. Would I have loved, as a VZW shareholder, to have known about the merger announced today prior to the close? Hell yea! Did the board have the duty to tell me, cause they've obviously known for months? I'm a darn shareholder for goodness sakes, I technically OWN a piece of VZW, no one told me, I had to read it in the press!

I'll take it one step further, were you asked as a member about your thoughts on forming VPA in the first place? THAT decision was FAR more contentious. I was a darn regional President at the time and I was notified after the close of the deal. That decision started us on a non-happy path, I think this one puts us back on a happier path.

At the end of the day, we made a call. Clearly not pleasing to everyone, but I still stick by the decision.

 

[GRANGER73]

The fixed costs associated with the whole VPA fiasco were killer. Job well done. Is that the cow walking away from the barn?

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

If there are any of those intake manifold torx screws with the captive washer I'll take all of them.

 

[ViperJeff]

So are you saying that our money is not green enough ? I love JonB but i remember another time this happened also.
So lets say i have investors that have access to gobs of cash. Don't you think this should have been put out there to others
that might have wanted to go into the parts business and maybe even do some tooling. After all you went to Year 1 & Prefix
why because of $$$$...According to someone in the VCA the statement that Parts Rack wrote a Big Check and thanked him. I know that no one is ever completely happy
but if your looking at other opportunities it would have been great to know about this. Now there is not competition. You just flipped flopped
on your statement about viper friendly parts pricing. How do you thinks Parts Rack & Paul are going to pay for this. We will be Charged, prices
will go up.....Grab you parts now they will never be cheaper.....

After all those years of fighting, over money, agreements, Chrysler, us a regular joes are left in the cold, a great club was F'd up (still in tact but never the same), another
club started, mud started flying and really nothing has changed. The same people are involved just on different sides of the table....

So make Jon and Don and offer.......

 

[Camfab]

So make Jon and Don and offer.......

I think your completely missing the point.

 

[ViperJeff]

I think your completely missing the point.

I knew exactly what you meant.




Sometimes, appreciation goes a long way. I know we all can find fault in anything, but do we have to?

 

[Camfab]

I knew exactly what you meant.




Sometimes, appreciation goes a long way. I know we all can find fault in anything, but do we have to?

I have no idea what your talking about, but since you responded and clearly you don't know what I meant. I'm going to spell it out for you. Somehow people are under the strange belief that one of the purchasers here has done the club a favor by purchasing all these legacy items. The fact is that individual cried the hardest when the VPA was formed and did everything in his power to stir up troubles in the VCA. He did his best to sink the ship along with some other members an has repeatedly bashed the VCA on the other site, but is now the hero of the brotherly Viper world. Nsane1 i'm not blaming you or anyone else for doing what you had to do. It just rubs me the wrong way when I've been around long enough to have read every post these guys have made in the past. This club offered me some of the best times and friends I've ever had, but playing this out like they are doing a favor to the Viper nation is a joke. This is all about the Cheddar, and that's why they destroyed the club in the first place. Sorry, but I had to say it. I'm done.

 

[ViperJeff]

I have no idea what your talking about, but since you responded and clearly you don't know what I meant. I'm going to spell it out for you. Somehow people are under the strange belief that one of the purchasers here has done the club a favor by purchasing all these legacy items. The fact is that individual cried the hardest when the VPA was formed and did everything in his power to stir up troubles in the VCA. He did his best to sink the ship along with some other members an has repeatedly bashed the VCA on the other site, but is now the hero of the brotherly Viper world. Nsane1 i'm not blaming you or anyone else for doing what you had to do. It just rubs me the wrong way when I've been around long enough to have read every post these guys have made in the past. This club offered me some of the best times and friends I've ever had, but playing this out like they are doing a favor to the Viper nation is a joke. This is all about the Cheddar, and that's why they destroyed the club in the first place. Sorry, but I had to say it. I'm done.

fair enough....


Looks like I have a more optimistic view of what has happened in the past year or so. I see a Leadership that works hard every day to not only listen to the Club Members, but make changes based on that communication. I have no desire to dig up the past and rehash who did what when and how. I do see a repair of relationships, trust and community.

 

[Nsane1]

Cam-

I absolutely agree with you, and appreciate your point of view, when you let money get in the way of fun, things get off track, you have seen this here, and you're seeing it now elsewhere. \

We're all very happy to put another one of the sad deals done by the previous regime behind us. Could it have been done differently? Sure, but it just needed to end, and it never should have been done in the first place (in hindsight of course). I don't want anyone to think anyone is doing anyone a favor, it's a business transaction, that's pretty equitable, no one will get rich off this deal, but it's an equitable way to end a bad decision, close that chapter, focus on doing what we are supposed to be doing, and move ahead.

I did read an insightful comment that a part of this sad deal was that the warehouse rent was being paid to a former director. This was indeed true, and while we didn't widely publicize it, that arrangement ended on 12/31/13 with all the other relationships that got severed. Truth be told, that former director did indeed just do a pass-through sub-lease (so he didn't profit at all from the transaction). We know this as we simply went to the true owner of the warehouse and paid him the same rent that was being paid to that director. So bottom line there is ever since we essentially started to fix this stuff, we eliminated one more at least shady-looking deal those guys did quite some time ago related to the VPA.

Thanks again for the comments.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Camfab and Frank basically read my mind on all counts. VSP got shafted just as much as the next guy when the VPA was formed. Where was our opportunity to buy up any part of the VPA?

I cannot say I blame Jon or Scharf for doing what they did, at the end of the day thats their business model. However, this entire market, from OE part sales vendors to aftermarket, from Dodge to Prefix to Arrow, has turned into a big back-slapping circle-**** of a good 'ole boys club. Unless you know someone, your money isn't green. Unless you're one of the boys, you're on the outside looking in. Its no longer a market of who-can-do-what, its a market of who-knows-who. Competing in this market from the outside is like being a one legged man in an ass kicking contest, and the only ones who really suffer at the end of it all are the customers. Just look what this market, club, etc is now compared to ten years ago. A lot of that is the direct result of certain entities restricting the market for their own benefit, and that goes for a few different angles. I have seen the writing on the wall for this market for years, and the way this went down is just another example of whats going on.

 

[GRANGER73]

Welcome to the cruel world of reality.

 

[Bobpantax]

Reading some of the criticism above I cannot help but ask - what was the Board supposed to do - hire an investment banker for a five figure deal? To some that may be a significant amount but in the world of asset and business sales it is chump change. The members of the Board are all unpaid and unreimbursed volunteers. I give them credit for taking the time out of their lives to shop it as much as they did. Who else was there available to do it? Answer: No one.

Congratulations to Jon, Don and the Board again for completing the transaction. Excellent job.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Bob, that answer should be glaringly obvious. A simple email to all of the past and present vendors about liquidation with an inventory list broken down into groups or packages would have gotten the job done as well, in a very fair manner. Oddball items to be packaged by category as not to leave any inventory left.

Hell, even an open vendor bid for the whole lot, like any other industry. This isnt rocket science.

 

[ROCKET62]

Thanks for the explanation as I had the impression that some of the shares were owned by someone other than the VCA.

LOL, dude mucking up the FB page? Would that be Fredi? He is VERY passionate about FB, so I'm hesitant to say anything...

The 100 shares of stock are in VPA. VPA's assets are effectively now simply cash. So the VCA owns 100 shares of stock in an asset that is all cash. The cash will be dispensed to attorneys for the sale, for the modest severance, and to pay back the VCA for loans. The VPA will then be simply closed and the stock effectively disappears/is worthless, as the underlying corp has no more assets.

I guess they might have sentimental value to put on someone's wall, but in a few weeks, they will have no value. if the question is "will you start another business like this, since we have the corp structure" the answer is "hell no." We didn't put this in the announcement but one term of the deal is that the VCA will not get into the parts business again, and we enthusiastically think a non-profit car club should not be selling parts, or giving any kind of monies to officers.

The VCA should be run like any other charity/non-profit, where officers/directors put money IN to the entity, because they love the mission of the organization. A car club should not be a personal parts, trips, boondoggles, and cash piggy bank for those in control.

9, shooter, you have PM's

 

[Bobpantax]

I agree with Dirk Pitt's post below.

 

[Dirk Pitt]

The Board did their job and cleaned up a source of frustration for the membership. Assessing whether it was "good, bad or neutral" is irrelevant and attempting to do so only invites unnecessary debate as that is expression of an opinion and not a statement of fact.

You have not thought your suggestion through. It is not at all simple (just like developing a supercharger kit for the Gen V was not simple.). Who would have made those lists - including the email list? Who would have written and sent those emails? Who would have responded to the many questions that such emails would have generated? Imagine if three or four wanted to communicate about the same parts. Who would have done the separate packaging you refer to? And who would have run VPA while this is happening? Selling all of it all at once made the most sense. The Board did a great job.


QUOTE=Viper Specialty;3269698]Bob, that answer should be glaringly obvious. A simple email to all of the past and present vendors about liquidation with an inventory list broken down into groups or packages would have gotten the job done as well, in a very fair manner. Oddball items to be packaged by category as not to leave any inventory left.

Hell, even an open vendor bid for the whole lot, like any other industry. This isnt rocket science.

[/QUOTE]

 

[Viper Specialty]

You have not thought your suggestion through. It is not at all simple (just like developing a supercharger kit for the Gen V was not simple.). Who would have made those lists - including the email list? Who would have written and sent those emails? Who would have responded to the many questions that such emails would have generated? Imagine if three or four wanted to communicate about the same parts. Who would have done the separate packaging you refer to? And who would have run VPA while this is happening? Selling all of it all at once made the most sense. The Board did a great job.

Bob,

I have thought out my suggestion plenty.

You are really stretching here, and that's putting it mildly. Last I checked, the VPA was still functional up until this, and could have handled anything related to what I am talking about. The VPA should have an inventory list. If they don't, that's trouble in more ways than one. E-mails are not a big deal. Container shipments handled by the buyer are quite simple. Who gets what packages or the whole lot? Gee, the highest bidder maybe? I don't see why this would all be so hard. Parts for sale until X date, highest bidder, packages or lots are as follows [or complete], starting price, arrange your own shipments when complete, available for viewing.

Sounds rather straight forward to me.

Regardless, its already done, and I dont have to agree with it. You should probably just deal with that fact.

 

[Bobpantax]

I agree with Dirk Pitt's post above.

 

[GRANGER73]

For the record, I think Bob agrees with Dirk Pitt's post.

 

[Bobpantax]

LOL. For the record, you are correct.

 

[Nsane1]

LOL, now that was funny... I agree with all that! rant begins: I agree with Dirk. Something has happened, where somehow, people think opinions are more relevant than they once were . Perhaps its because we have 100 different ways to express ourselves, and people get this sense of belief that I care about what your every meal looks like, or how you think about the color of the sky. I grew up with the saying "opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one." Personally, my OPINION (yes I understand irony) is that we should focus on actions, not opinions. end of rant

Rocket- I know of the rumor to which you allude. I was actually at the President's meeting where the prognosticator of said rumor was presented with the actual share certificate. While he was mercilessly silenced and slapped down, and made look the fool, he still continues with this rumor to this day. Despite all facts to the contrary, this individual hates the VCA so much, that facts are hardly relevant. Many people actually still believe the rumor, because they want to; it is salacious, the source is pretty emphatic about it, and it molds to their desire for the VCA to be a corrupt entity. Sounds great, except the facts don't match.

The shares of VPA were ALWAYS held by VCA, never transferred, never sold, and to put a fine point on said rumor: CM NEVER owned a single share in the VPA. Believe me, if it were true we'd tell you, it would point to yet another example of buffoonery by the former regime, but they at least got the corporate structure right (they actually hired an expert).

Just another example of how one should never let facts ruin a good story; but most importantly, the VPA is no longer, it is not a thorn in anyone's side any longer. Maybe we'll put the cert on ebay after we formally close it down. Wouldn't that be a hoot!

 

[Jerry Dobson]

Viper Parts of America,
Please be advised that as of Friday, May 15[SUP]th[/SUP] 2015, I am resigning my position as a Board of Director for Viper Parts of America (VPA).

I have had no communication from the VPA board since December of 2013.Everything I have learned about the VPA since then is through Web forums and social media.That is how I found out about the scrapping of the body panel tooling and the sale of the VPA.

During the formation of Viper Parts of America, I was told that it needed to be run independent of the Viper Club of America (VCA), this is why a separate board of directors was formed.After a number of resignations over time from the VPA, I only know of myself and Herb Helbig as current VPA board members.

I spent many hours from Jan 2010 to Dec 2013 working in the VPA warehouse and helping out when I could.I was not paid; I did it to help support the Viper community. I wish VPA could have continued somehow.
With new ownership and not knowing what will happen to the name Viper Parts of America, it is now time for me to officially resign.



Jerry Dobson
Founding Viper Parts of America Board member

 

[Free2go]

Thanks Greg for taking out the trash.

 

[CWhiteRun]

Viper Parts of America,
Please be advised that as of Friday, May 15[SUP]th[/SUP] 2015, I am resigning my position as a Board of Director for Viper Parts of America (VPA).

I have had no communication from the VPA board since December of 2013.Everything I have learned about the VPA since then is through Web forums and social media.That is how I found out about the scrapping of the body panel tooling and the sale of the VPA.

During the formation of Viper Parts of America, I was told that it needed to be run independent of the Viper Club of America (VCA), this is why a separate board of directors was formed.After a number of resignations over time from the VPA, I only know of myself and Herb Helbig as current VPA board members.

I spent many hours from Jan 2010 to Dec 2013 working in the VPA warehouse and helping out when I could.I was not paid; I did it to help support the Viper community. I wish VPA could have continued somehow.
With new ownership and not knowing what will happen to the name Viper Parts of America, it is now time for me to officially resign.



Jerry Dobson
Founding Viper Parts of America Board member

Huh, isn't that interesting.................

 

[GRANGER73]

Mr. Dobson: As a member of the VPA board you were an overseer when all of the bad stuff was going on. Curious as to what action(s) you might have taken during that time frame to protect the interests of the VCA members. Clearly you must have had some suspicions as to what was going on. Do you feel the VPA board is responsible for the train wreck known as "VPA"?

 

[Free2go]

Jeez Granger...what are you gonna ask him next: "Do you have identification with you" ? "Have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor"? "Do you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse"? "What did you do to prepare for this deposition"? "Could you provide your complete employment history"?

 

[Bobpantax]

Way off topic. Should be a separate thread.

 

[GRANGER73]

Jeez Granger...what are you gonna ask him next: "Do you have identification with you" ? "Have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor"? "Do you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse"? "What did you do to prepare for this deposition"? "Could you provide your complete employment history"?

I'll have to think those recommendations through.

 

[ViperJeff]

Way off topic. Should be a separate thread.

Off topic to the sale, however VPA related

 

[Bobpantax]

OK. So here is a relevant piece of data if you wish to keep this issue, which has nothing to do with the sale, in this thread which is meant to be a positive thread not a vehicle to debate Mr. Dobson's performance.

Mr. Dobson is not listed as a Director in the 2014 Annual Report filed with the State of Michigan.

http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/results.asp?ID=03028J&page_name=corp

I was under the belief that he departed as a Director in 2013 when the management of VPA changed.