So you want to go to a Rally (a local show, historic car rally or village fete)
During
the summer months you will hear members mention one or more of the many shows,
rallies, village fetes that are held every weekend around the county to raise money for local
causes. Some of our members support a local rally or two during the
summer, either in a nearby village or one supporting a favoured charity.
No doubt, you will be asked if you will be going along.
This is
a personal choice and it will not be a 'Club event'; the Club only has a display at
one major rally during the year. Once you get to know other club members
in your locality they will have information about the shows/rallies in the area.
The first requirement for most shows/rallies
is to obtain an entry form and send it to the organiser before the date
specified. OK, this is not a definite commitment; you may not be able to
attend due to some late problem or on the day the weather is not ideal for
sitting around in a field. (Entry forms warning, see below.)
What will you be doing?
Whenever you
are out with your 'Seven' throughout the year you will always be meeting the
public; and inevitably many people will be interested in your car and what you
are doing - a rally, a Club run? When you attend a show/rally you are
there to display your 'Seven'. In return for your attendance free of
charge, it is implicit upon you to form part of the event and attract the paying public to
view your car.
Most of
the historic cars present will be post-war and unfortunately
some
owners arrive at these events, park and lock their vehicle and that is it; no rally
number or details displayed; they go off, having gained free entry, to look at
the rest of the show. Sadly, some will sit near their vehicle all day and completely
ignore anyone showing interest.
You need to display your
Seven
At any event the public will wander over because they have some level of
interest in looking at historic cars. Of the few pre-war cars present our
colourful and distinctive shaped cars attract their attention; maybe because they often see a 'Seven' in their area and
want to view them a lot closer, or have read about CA7C in the local newspapers.
It helps if you are prepared to display your 'Seven' by opening the bonnet and
arranging your personal items inside so that as much of the interior as possible can be seen by
those peering in.
A
laminated A4 sheet, or two at the most, displayed with salient information is
really an essential. State the model name and year of manufacture; engine
size and hp/bhp; when and where it was first registered; when you bought it; how
many owners it has had; any major restoration work; any modifications from
standard; what your
main interests are - Club runs, holidays, rallies?
Talking to people
Some people will glance, perhaps take a photograph, and wander away; others will wish to talk
but do not know how to approach you. So, how do you engage their interest? Some owners now cringe and
say "I am no good at the 'PR'." Fine, we have not all had careers
where, through an official, or senior, position it has been incumbent upon us to
'break the ice', to open the conversation and put people at ease. Some of you
will say that you were not a 'rep' (meaning sales representative) but by your
very dress, behaviour and charisma you have been a 'rep' all your life for your
family, your school or university, your youth organisation, your company, and
when you go abroad on holiday you 'rep' for England and St George! So with your
car
you are a 'rep' for the historic car movement and, in particular, Austin Sevens
and CA7C.
By
being at an event, or driving on a Club run, with your 'Seven' you 'rep', like it
or not. In reality, now you are there and parked, you will have to talk to
people who come close to look at your 'Seven'.
Lacking in confidence?
But you own a 'Seven', and you know, without thinking, what model it is; how
much it cost; it's likely value; how long you have owned it; what has been done
to it; what documents have been retained; what it's performance is in mpg
and top-speed; what maintenance you have to do; where you can obtain spares;
that it runs on unleaded petrol and does have to have an MoT, display a road tax
disc and the cost of insurance, etc..
You
also know that CA7C offers members a choice of monthly runs, social events,
holidays, teach-ins, black-hand gang support, and you know about the
members who drive their 'Sevens' to up country events. The person
standing by your car doesn't know anything like as much, so you are in pole
position and now is the time to use your knowledge accordingly.
You
must have had a chat up line at least once in your life, so don't be self-conscious
about someone looking at your 'Seven' and showing interest. If you are sitting
in your car do not ignore them, but at least open the window and chat or, better
still, and being more polite, get out and talk to them.
Judging people's interest. By his/her appearance the person looking at your 'Seven' is either
too young to have owned a 'Seven', may be old enough to have owned one as a
student or had to sit in the back of one on the family holiday jaunt to the west
country, perhaps even old enough to have owned one and driven the family on the
holiday; even worked as a mechanic in a local garage.
Firstly, do not pounce or hover too close, let them have time to learn
something from looking under the bonnet and inside, and from reading your info
sheet. Whilst doing this they may well look around for someone to talk to.
Then, without delaying too long, and remember that a smile is both welcoming and
disarming, you have engaged interest and now for the opening line for the
conversation.
It
could be 'Did your father (grandfather) have a 'Seven'? Or how about 'This car
is now xx years old!'', or go rash and add 'It is a (year/model)
with a 747cc engine and 3-speed crash-gear box', but only if you have noted that they
haven't read your script. You could point out another car which is older or
a later one that has
a 4-speed gearbox with synchromesh or a bigger engine. You might tell them that
the principles of the engine and gearbox on their modern is no different,
just more accurately machined and that nowadays we have a better knowledge of
metals, lubricants and electronics; but of course our modern cars will never last as long!
Let them ask questions They should feel welcome to lead the conversation but you are in
control because you, on most occasions, will know more about the 'Sevens' and
your car in particular, and about CA7C activities, than they do. From then on
it is just natural conversation. Selling an interest, in this case info about
Austin Sevens and CA7C, is the art of making people feel special and that they
might be more interested, in what you can tell them.
Your wider knowledge
It helps to know the difference between the several 'Sevens' on display, eg.
which have 3- and 4-speed crash boxes and when synchromesh first appeared; that the
Mk1 Ruby has right angles at the base of the windscreen pillars and non-winding
rear side windows, the Mk2 has curves at the base of the windscreen and wind up/down
rear side windows; the Big Seven has a completely re-designed 900cc engine, and
you can point them out in the display area.
You know
that about 300,000 'Sevens' and variants, by specialist coach-builders, were built between 1923 and 1939 and that around 10,000 are known to survive worldwide.
You might mention that Datsun and BMW, Holden in Australia, Rosengart in France, and the American
Bantam Austin Co. built 'Sevens' under licence; that Jaguar was once the Swallow Motor Co.
established by William Lyons using 'Seven' chassis and engines; that the chassis
and engine has been an ideal base for specials for many years, the first Lotus
built by Colin Chapman; and also the Caterham Seven.
You are
winning, you are a great person and really interesting to meet, and you have
done your bit for Austin Sevens and the historic car movement, but above all for
CA7C, one of the most active and respected of Austin Seven clubs in the
country. Tell them that we have around 135 members with near that number of
road-legal 'Sevens', several others are being worked on, the oldest 'Seven' in
the Club on the road in Cornwall is a September 1925 'Chummy', and that two in north Devon were registered in March and April 1925. You might tell
them about the background of the 'Chummy' and why Herbert Austin designed a
small, low-cost, car for the masses.
If you
are stuck on some topic in the conversation through lack of knowledge or
information then involve another member with an interesting 'Seven' or someone
else displaying a pre-war car nearby.
There is so
much to talk about, once you have made that simple opening comment. But do
judge the interest of the person in front of you, don't get too technical, don't
hang onto them too long if the wife and children are fidgeting and wanting to
move on. But now for it - invite the child(ren), with the parent's
permission, to sit in the driver's seat and
have a little toot of the horn, let Mum and Dad take photos.
But be
prepared for the awkward moments. Mostly you will be chatting with people
who have a good knowledge of, or a real interest in, historic vehicles.
However, there are
always those who look but don't want to know or talk; but when
some people feel compelled to talk to you you will hear all sorts of
comments. The most common being 'My father (grandfather) had one of these'
and inevitably they proudly quoted the registration number followed
by much reminiscing of a young life squashed on the back seat for a long trip.
We would all love to have a £1 for every time we have heard those stories.
Some of the comments we have had are:
'My father had one of these, it was a Morris Ten.' "No, this is an Austin
Seven." 'They're the same thing, this is just a badged Morris.' Oh, dear he
was thinking of BMC in the 1950's!
'This is one of the best cars that Ford ever made'. "No, this was made by the
Austin Motor Company at Longbridge." 'No mate, Ford made 'em with the Perfect
and Popular.' "Sorry, that was the Anglia, Perfect and Popular.' Oh, well
why worry?
'You folk have ruined these old cars painting them in these gaudy colours.'
"They are all restored and painted in their original Austin colours.' "Utter
rubbish, all pre-war cars were painted black.' Oh well, he will not be
convinced so why continue the chat?
'You have got an incorrect registration, all pre-war marks were two letters
and four numbers.' "Actually this is the original registration as three
letter marks were introduced in 1932 when two letter marks had been fully
allocated by some Licensing Authorities." 'Cobblers, you've no idea what
you're talking about.' "Well, I only own the car." Another lost cause!
'Why did it take over 14 hours to do 350 miles from London to Helston on the
A30? It would have been quicker on the M4/M5!' "There weren't any motorways
until the late 1950's, just the old trunk roads." 'Are you sure?' Well, he
looked about 30 years old so he wouldn't know where we've come from.
'How old is your car?' "Seventy-two, built in May 1938 and first
registered 72 years ago today
(31st May)." 'So how old is it?'
"Seventy-two." 'Oh. Did you buy it new?' Who writes the script for
these teenagers?
'The engine fitted into this Ford Popular was one of the best
at the time.' His wife was most impressed with his knowledge as they
stood in front of a 'Big Seven' with a clearly headed information sheet;
'Austin' marked n the engine; an Austin Seven badge on the grill; in the
middle of the Cornwall Austin Seven Club display.
All you can do is to smile
and be tactful, let them pass on their way blessed in their ignorance - some
will never be convinced as their mind is already made up.
However, the real joy is with the younger generations; the little lad in a
pushchair who seeing the 1929 'Chummy' exclaimed 'Brum' (from children's TV).
The boy who realised the cars were older than his Granddad; the teenage girl
who came and talked to us in a car park saying 'They're kinda cute, real
cool.' Those who want to know how the engine works and are so sure that it
differs from their modern car. The lad who drew each 'Seven' on display, made
notes, and then visited a member to see some other models. The two lads who
were doing a GCSE project on old cars and went away with photographs, pages of
notes and website references.
Those moments are so worthwhile, and enjoyable, and a reward for our time
preparing for, and attending, the event.
Coming to the end.
If you have a really good conversation and the person seems to be very
interested in historic cars, even having asked about prices and availability,
why not be a bit cheeky and suggest that he/she might like to own a 'Seven' and that CA7C
(or their local A7 Club) helps people to buy and maintain their car; refer them to our website and the helpful
information about buying and owning a 'Seven'. Finally, when those who have been interested do depart
and offer their thanks for your time, please do make a point of thanking them
for their interest.
At the end of the day you will have enjoyed
talking to people who were interested in your 'Seven'; you will have heard, and
said, the same thing countless times. You will have met people who think
that they know more than you, and usually they don't!
After all that you may be given (not always)
a small plaque by the organisers to register your attendance at this year's
event. You are on their mailing list and will be sent an entry form next
year; if it was a worthwhile event then you might go again.
So, do try a show/rally, you will meet some interesting folk, enjoyed a few
chuckles, and have an enjoyable day, if the weather was good.
Entry forms - warning: The
following information appeared in the FBHVC Newsletter No:2 April 2007.
EVENT ENTRY
FORM INDEMNITIES
It came as something of a surprise at FBHVC to discover that participants in
some events are still being asked to sign entry forms that indemnify the
organisers against all claims, however caused.
FBHVC cannot emphasise enough
that no-one should sign such a form, as in doing so they are likely to be
breaching the terms of their own insurance policies and thus put themselves at
risk of invalidating their insurance. An incorrect entry form indemnity can be
worse than no indemnity at all.
Any entry form indemnity that
uses phrases like ‘howsoever caused’ or ‘notwithstanding that the same may have
been caused or occasioned by’ is likely to fall into this category. Such
wordings were made illegal by the UnfairContract Terms Act
of 1977 because they go against the principles of fair contract by seeking to
hold the organisers indemnified against claims resulting from injury or damage
that they may themselves have been responsible for causing.
[CA7C members should not to fall
into this trap and do check what you are being asked to sign. Do not hesitate
to strike out the words and write "Illegal
by the Unfair
Contract Terms Act of 1977".]
This article, written by Doug Castle, is based upon the one which originally appeared in CA7C Seven Focus in
July 2007 pp15-17.
