I am going to try this again, since I posted earlier. Talking to Cris about setting up the R Gruppe on the East Coast is an interesting concept, but due to weather patterns and the lay of the land it is just not viable. The way to keep a club of this nature alive is to offer events that are scheduled or the club will die.
On the other side of this... forming an unstructured club of early cars and respective drivers doesn't need instruction or guidance... it is, afterall, unstructured!
My thought about a club on the East Coast allows for everyones involvement regardless of what they drive. The fact that people asked in this forum if they would be allowed in the club is a bit disconcerting. Of course you would be... in the EarlySregistry or RGruppe. Cris is, as are all of the guys in the group, a really nice guy and when it was stated that the egos were left at the door... it was and is expected.
When I was looking to start a group of this nature on the East Coast, it clearly had a little bit of structure, but only to keep it alive... especially in the Northeast. The events were to be educational in nature, as was the website. This was meant to attract guys like myself that store their cars during the winter months. This allows everyone to come to events to learn about the cars that are in their respective garages and go home and do repairs or restoration tasks after the classes.
The fact that individuals are seeking guidance in this is somewhat curious because this board has always been a wonderful venue in getting people together. I would say that we have had a quasi RGruppe here over the years through conversation and impromtu meetings in and around the New York area. It takes very little initiative to get this going through a forum, but rest assured it will take quite a large effort to form a club and keep it going in the Northeast. Again, weather is a major factor. If anyone really wants to form a club in the Northeast, please contact me at
marcw@pipeline.com. Also, please review my response earlier in this forum for more information.
I am not trying to be a hardass about this situation, but I do believe in doing this and have the resources to do it correctly. The RGruppe and Cris have done an amazing job in creating a wonderful, viable group in the West. They also have a year round environment that is better suited for this type of unstructured venue.
All The Best,
Marc Weintraub