Please see the attached document.
Membership of the ABVWC enables us to be covered by Public Liability Insurance when pitched together and at shows
If you have time for a new avenue in your life then maybe one of the roles would be of interest..... :bball
ABVWC CLUB BULLETIN 2021 YEAR ROUND-UP
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY. We hope you can enjoy the company of your loved ones over the festive period as we all reflect on another tricky year and look beyond into 2022.
The Covid pandemic has once again affected many of the regular events throughout the year, with most established shows having to cancel up to the ending of lockdown in June. Despite that, a flurry of smaller scale shows did spring up and run successfully at new venues during this time, organised by enthusiasts and new fledgling businesses specialising in the Classic VW field. From July, once they were allowed to organise or attend, ABVWC Member Clubs were involved with many shows & meetings that took place all over the country, in the knowledge that our Public Liability Insurance had been restored to its original £5 million claim limit.
The ABVWC’s Stonor VW show had to be cancelled for a second year due to the pandemic and, considering our 2020 experiences, it was decided not to reschedule in 2021 to avoid clashing with other shows that had rescheduled to proceed. Some of these shows subsequently had to cancel due to staffing and logistics issues brought about by the “pingdemic” and, also, escalating costs that were beyond their control.
Happily, the NEC Classic Car Show took place in November without incident, with Coventry Air-cooled at the reigns. We must express our gratitude to Coventry Air-cooled for representing all the ABVWC clubs at the NEC Lancaster Classic Car Show for the past twenty years. The application for next year’s NEC show stand is in hand, once again to be led by Coventry. We must extend our gratitude to all the clubs across the country who organise and host many of the notable events in the VW Show Calendar.
This raises three hot topics (at least) for discussion within the Association as a whole and the ABVWC Committee are requesting your closer involvement, as member Clubs, in any future decision-making process:
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1. Thirty-four years ago, back in 1987, John and Phyllis Daniel recognised that VW fandom in the UK had evolved. The 1970’s rift of air-cooled versus water-cooled was not healing and young drivers found their way in via Bug- In and the California Look. Golf GTi’s were perched high on the yuppie priority list, having dominated the Slick 50 racing championship and Saloon Car racing in the late seventies / early eighties. The VW engine was also the go-to choice in Formula 3. Thus, the VW scene was, and still is, a very mixed bag.
And so, The Association of British Motor Clubs was born, in an age before social media. Since its inception, this extensive network of local clubs, from all corners of the UK, have flourished under their own steam, no matter how small, or big, they are. Internet forums sprang up in the noughties and the ABVWC adapted to meet their needs - and more recently - to accommodate social media groups such Wolfsburg Bus Crew and VDub Social Club. The PLI enables your members to represent your club at shows, press gatherings and photo shoots on top of the usual club activities, such as meetings and social events (the Christmas party, springs to mind – as well as formal committee meetings and AGMs).
Since 2010, the ABVWC Committee has comprised of volunteer members from Air-cooled Konnection, VDub Social Club, Oxford, Herts and Suffolk – all, admittedly, very Southern centric. The same members have organised the VW show at Stonor in its various guises, merged it with the ABVWC’s very own VW Expo, which has now sadly been forgotten. None of the Committee are getting younger and some have expressed a wish to step down.
Behind the scenes, the ABVWC has supported the Association of Heritage Engineers - and The British Motor Show – in their efforts to highlight and showcase the enthusiasm surrounding classic cars – now referred to as “Legacy Vehicles” or “The Legacy Fleet” - here in the UK through Government lobbying, directly and indirectly. The ABVWC has publicly aired concerns and solutions on matters such as E10 petrol (and supporting the role out of sustainable fuels in general); concerns about the monopoly of parts supply and the poor availability of good quality replacement parts, and the preservation of traditional craft and repair skills, such as panel forming and basic maintenance skills.
Moving forward, the Committee is keen to ensure that the ABVWC remains topical and relevant; yet it is time to pass on the baton. In that respect, the Committee invites members from ALL Clubs, including current the officers, to come forward and join the Committee in the following posts:
a. Chairman
b. Treasurer and Membership Secretary
c. Secretary
d. Public Relations Officer, Webmaster and Social Media
e. Event Co-ordination and Publicity
f. DVLA Representative and Historic Vehicle Registrar
g. General Members
If anyone is interested in taking on any of these roles, please make yourselves known by emailing committee@abvwc.com. We will then schedule a Zoom Meeting to discuss and ratify the election of officers, and discuss the matters raised in this bulletin - and Any Other Business, of course.
The ABVWC wishes to ensure that the annual membership fee payable by Clubs on behalf of its members (of £1 per member) represents good value for money. This is for services that include Historic Tax Status applications, V55 and V765 Registration applications for imports (including the repatriation of modern vehicles that have been used abroad), rebuilds and restorations with the DVLA, as well as the familiar Public Liability (and Employers – for Show Organisers) Insurance.
We are also seeking opinions on all aspects of ABVWC provision – what we do well on and how we can improve, especially if there are any gaps not currently covered by the Association – i.e “Any Other Business”.
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2. The annual STONOR VW event. As already mentioned, several recent VW shows have had to cancel or postpone due to unforeseen staffing and cost constraints.
It is widely acknowledged that the 2019 Stonor VW show was a huge success, accurately reflecting of the breadth and scope of the entire VW Scene. You should know that this highly acclaimed event is organised by the volunteer ABVWC Committee – yes, the same people - in conjunction with the site management of the Stonor Park and Gardens, namely Stonor Enterprises, in Oxfordshire.
However, the organising Committee has, for many years, struggled to recruit assistance in running the event on the actual day - the behind-the-scenes preparation has well been covered, but on-the-day staffing has, undoubted, affected the quality of the show, and marred the Organiser Experience. As mentioned above, some members of the Committee would now like to retire. The roles they cover include the booking, supervising, and stewarding of the various traders and caterers, managing the concours competition and judging (air and water-cooled / unmodified and modified), club displays, car parking, auto jumblers and campers attending the show.
The member clubs in closest proximity to Stonor park are VDub Social Club and Oxford, members of which have expressed their desire to keep the Stonor VW show going. VDub Social Club is about to engage with conversations with Stonor Enterprises to that end. The ABVWC will revert to a supporting role, but other clubs are invited to help with the organisation and operation of this show. The Committee understands that these experiences are not unique to Stonor and we would like to extend our support to other show organisers.
This is open for discussion and is, perhaps, is the model that the ABVWC would like to encourage and nurture across the country as we move forward. With escalating fuel costs – that are likely to remain high, as Government subsidies of fossil fuels are phased out and wholesale prices are set to remain high (as yet, there are no guarantees that these subsidies will be redirected to renewables) – Localism and the Staycation could be the norms for the foreseeable future. The affordability of attending shows (let alone running a classic vehicle, any vehicle, in fact) must be high on our agenda. Prioritising car shows that are local (not just VW shows) is certainly worth consideration.
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3. The Heritage Sector and the part we play in maintaining the “Legacy Vehicle Fleet” – which we can now justifiably say that we represent - is key to supporting local businesses and employment, and propping up an important skill base, which will otherwise be lost!
Surrey Air-cooled have recently been in touch asking for updates of the ABVWC discount schemes. Like most clubs they can now access discounts with all the major specialist parts suppliers directly, rather than as part of a national organisation. Surrey Air-cooled have negotiated their own discount schemes with local garages and repair specialists and it strikes us (the Committee) that is being replicated elsewhere.
To re-establish the extra discount tier, one initiative that the ABVWC Committee has recently engaged with is to negotiate “kickbacks” from parts suppliers to the Association. These can be banked against the relevant club and used to offset against the following year’s renewal subscription or used to procure merchandising such as banners and flags. This is similar to the arrangements that we have in place with the Insurance companies, Adrian Flux, Chris Knott and Footman James. They pay commissions to the Association which are used to offset renewals. This has the potential for each club to be in credit, and effectively make them self-financing. At least one new supplier has offered to support such a scheme – more details will follow in the New Year.
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Please circulate this Bulletin among your membership. With the (over forty) Air-cooled VW Scene currently appearing to be in rude health, there is no doubt that younger Water-cooled sector is more exposed to future legislation, such as Clean Air or Low Emissions Zones and the escalation to E20 petrol, which is currently being considered. Put simply, there is no room for complacency as the future of classic motoring remains uncertain.
We are looking for clubs or club members to carry the ABVWC forward to a bright future for enthusiasts of all Volkswagen Group vehicle enthusiasts as well as offering support and contributions to enthusiasts of the wider “Legacy Fleet”.
Once again, please email committee@abvwc.com if anyone, including the current officers, is interesting in taking on any of the following posts:
a. Chairman
b. Treasurer and Membership Secretary
c. Secretary
d. Public Relations Officer, Webmaster and Social Media
e. Event Co-ordination and Publicity
f. DVLA Representative and Historic Vehicle Registrar
g. General Members
I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Committee to thank you all for your support over the past decade. As a group, we are definitely stronger standing together, rather than apart.
Merry Christmas, and we wish you all the very best for the New Year
Steve Neill
Association of British VW Clubs Current Chairman
Current Public Relations Officer Current Historic Vehicle Registrar
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Max SportsKombi - The Bay Racer 
@brazilianvwbay
