Car Club Corner – News

With clubs finding their membership is ageing and with worries for the futures of both their clubs and cars, Lancaster Insurance Services decided it was time to lift the lid on the secrets of setting up and maintaining a successful Young Members register within a main car club.

Joining us for a virtual cup of tea is Morris Minor driving, education whizz and classic car podcaster Becca Treston. A lady of many talents, Becca has taken over the running of the Morris Minor Owners Club Young Members Register and is helping breathe new life into the well-established club.

Becca sat down for a virtual cup of tea with Steph Hoy, Lancaster Insurance Service’s Head of Car Club Liaison to talk classic cars, young members and whether the myth of young people falling out of love with classics is really true or a myth!

Becca, tell us about your love of classic cars and why you picked a Morris Minor

I grew up around a wide range of classic cars – my parents had 2 1930s cars that were our show cars and then when I was young daily drove a range of 1960s-70s cars. I came home from hospital in a 1969 Singer Vogue when I was born, so I was literally born into it! When it came to buying my first car, something older appealed because of my choice of clothing, and love of attending car shows. A Morris Minor fitted the bill because of the parts availability and great support, even though it was probably the car my parents owned for the least amount of time when I was growing up!

What attracted you to join a car club and the MMOC?

Growing up around classic cars, you become very familiar with car clubs, the friendships they build and the support they can offer. Some of my parent’s oldest friendships are thanks to local branch meets of car clubs. On top of that they offer great opportunity for group adventure – I remember many summers were spent at various Clubs’ National weekends where the comradery of going around with other cars similar to your own, and the help you’d receive if something when wrong with your car was something that really stood out to me. Therefore, joining the owners club associated with the car I’d just purchased was a bit of a no-brainer.

Can you tell me a little about the MMOCYM (Morris Minor Owners Club Young Members)?

The Young Members register of the MMOC is designed to make sure the club offer things that appeal to younger owners, and younger enthusiasts. Additionally, being a young owners of a classic car has a lot of unique challenges – for you didn’t necessarily grown up cutting your teeth on the mechanics of a similar car so when something goes wrong, be it at home in your garage, or at the side of the road, its often the first time it’s happened to you so there’s a unique sort of panic that it can be supportive to hear others have experienced. Getting the absolute best quality [car] you can for often a much more limited budget is also something I think a lot of young owners can relate to so drawing on each other’s experiences and knowledge is vital.

What do you do to attract new members to the MMOCYM?

We love having a stand at the Lancaster Insurance Services Classic Motor Show at the NEC in November with other young owners as I think it’s a great window-shopping experience for prospective young owners and it gives use the opportunity to build relationships with other young classic car registers. We look to offer a bit more for the membership that our young owners pay so they get that value for money – so extra events and our WhatsApp group which offers invaluable, and usually instant responses to your problems.

What have you enjoyed most about being involved in the MMOCYM so far?

I think my favourite thing is when we go out for a drive together – a few of our events have been able to incorporate a convoyed scenic drive and there’s nothing better than looking in your rear view to see a trail of Morris Minors behind, then a trail out in front too.

What are the MMOCYM’s plans for 2023?

We’re celebrating the 75^th Anniversary of the Morris Minor with the main club this year, so have got some exciting events that we are attending and will have a presence at to support this such as the Morris Minor Day at the Great British Car Journey, the National Weekend at Chateau Impney, and the Morris Register weekend at Thoresby.

We’re conscious that as a national register, getting to some of these events is difficult for some members, and that there is some who have ongoing project they can’t get to events so we’re trialling some online meets where members will be encouraged to tune in from either their garage or inside their Minor to take part in quizzes and things like that.

Finally, we’re hoping to see the year out with what we hope will be a spectacular weekend event in the North to celebrate Christmas together!

What advice would you give to other clubs looking to launch a young members register or group?

I think it is important to integrate the register as well as offer it as a separate space for Young Owners. You can’t just set up a Young Members register and expect them to exist somewhat separately from the main club – you need to integrate them into the running of the club.

I have recently become the first person to sit on the committee exclusively because of my role with the Young Members and this has set up a succession plan of there always being a Young Member position within the committee. It means I can make sure the club are doing the best they can for the Young Members, but also offer a perspective on things different to some of the older members.

How can clubs encourage young people to get involved?

If you’ve already got young members, you need to make a space for them to flourish and contribute. Encourage their involvement with all aspects of the club, not just the young owners’ side of things, or just social media. If you’re trying to get them in the first place you need to give them ways to connect with the cars and their stories.

A lot of people online say young people aren’t interested in old cars anymore – do you think that’s true?

I think we’re in danger of this happening for sure – the interest is less than it was for a wide range of reasons.

The cars are more expensive than they used to be, the spares are more expensive, insurance isn’t always easy and on top of that, many of the older cars aren’t what young people remember from their childhood and have fond memories of. Clubs have got to work on engaging young people so that they connect to the cars and foster that interest.

We have young people in the register who have the cars because it is what their parents had, but we also have young people who remember a Morris Minor being owned by a neighbour who had it hidden away in a garage and being fascinated by the mystery of it so had to own their own.

Creating an interest and memories with cars can be as simple as inviting people of all ages to sit in the car or have a look under the bonnet, or as invested as having a club loan car that can offer a gateway and trial into classic ownership which will help young owners feel more confident in making the investment in their own car.

The MMOCYM can be found on Facebook or Instagram by searching ‘MMOCYM’ and for more details for young members or those seeking advice for the young members within their own club, please email Becca and the MMOCYM on mmocym@gmail.com

For Becca’s Podcast, please search Passenger Seat Podcast across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or your favourite streaming service to listen to podcasts such as Spotify.