I am beginning to wonder why the people who have the interest of this club ever bother

seems very few other people can be bothered

yes i am talking meets here :
LOC organised meets
meets which certain people have put a lot of time and effort into organising
who for ??

jap performance : 9 members
japs: 4 members
xmas do : 7 members

in a club which has over 7500 registered members !

these events are held not only for the promotion of the club , but also for the benefit of the members,

everyone is welcome and always have been, yet people who live but a short distance cant even be bothered to turn up
these are good events, chosen with everyone in mind,
i see the same members on the forums adding their posts asking their questions
but fail to see most of them ever attending a meet
we all drive lexus cars, and i am sure that they are all capable of doing more than 10 miles from home !!

would it hurt to answer the meet posts, ask a few questions and maybe explain why they feel unable to attend

i can only see one thing happening here

no meets !!!

Here here

As you may of noticed recently I cancelled 3 meets because of this very problem

For what its worth I agree with the above....

A good example is the summer BBQ..........lots of moaning by members....subsidised BBQ organised in a venue agreed by all (Donnington) New BBQ purchased & towed 400 miles by Steve members from the south,north and..........aido from the midlands if i remember right...

total of 9 cars at most ...........pathetic.

So everyone extract the middle digit and start supporting the club

Off to bed

i am new to the club (april 04) i have tryed to go to every meet, club mini meets that i can, but i dont make them all, i have 4 kids and a wife ( dose not like cars ) and i work shifts, i get every other weekend off, but i do try to get to as many as poss, some i can not make, some i can, but i will continue to try and make as many as poss. thanks gordon. hope to see you soon

i agree too

I do try to get to most meets,
"gaydon,jae,santa pod,and some min/meets like bluewater, HIN london"


and i will be at santa pod on the 10th as well, i hear what you are saying Bazz we should get a lot more going to the meets, but out of all the members on here i would say only 20% of them like to MOD there IS, so the ones that are not in to it you are not going to get them at meets, i know its not just for moded IS,s but 95% of the meets are.

but i all so have wife & 3 kids at home, and as i work for myself i have to keep looking for that next job, as my job takes up most of my time so i can only get to some of the meets that are put on by LOC. i would love to come to all of them





I dont know about you guys but this is the only car i have and i have had it one year now and i have put 22000 miles on it

mines not modded

yes i no John but you do like Moded car

i know i do
i also go to meet up with everyone,
i have made some good friends on here through the meets, yourself included of course

is that a sports grill in your avatar mate?

i dont think meets are all about modded cars, i go to see the people mainly and have a good laugh with em all. its hard for people to get to meets sometimes as we all know and i personally do my best although its been a hard year this year with one thing and another.

im very disappointed at the reply to the loc xmas party thread though, i mean whats going on?

ok it is modded

ur a secret modder john!

ssshhhh dont let them all know

yea same here mate i have made some good friends from going to LOC meets as you know you are one of them , and i hope to keep on makeing them, i love going to meets just to see all the new mods that guys have put on there cars,


any way i will see you all on the 10th at the Pod may take it for a run as well to see how slow it is

I understand many people have other commitments, we all do inc myself.
I try and make as many meets as possible cause it gives me a break from the normal crap of a busy week plus I get to see many friends that I have made since joinin some 3yrs ago now.

At least you guys will say "listen I'm sorry I cant make this cause I've got to such and such"

What really narks me is I tried to organise several meets recently which only a small handfull replied to, even if it was just to say sorry I cant (i Understand) but theres another few thounsand members who will read the topics and not even bother to reply, now I'm goin to these meets on my own like I was at Trax.

Am new to the LOC scene, but have seen the 'few doing much for the many' in another life as a member of my football club commitee, and can acknowledge the frustration.

I look forward to meeting as many of you over time as I can, but will have to (at least to start with) leave my new IS in the land of the un-modded or risk the wrath of the company (whose money I gladly take every month to pay for it).

The next time there is anything setup within a sensible radius of south Bucks, I'll be doing my best to attend - even if it is just to find out what I can do to my IS after I have paid off the mortgage.

meets are not to do with modding

there about meeting others from the club
because without a doubt we all have a common interest , or we wouldnt be here

so many times i hear ....my wife doesnt like cars

well the xmas do will have very little to do with cars
just a bunch of us having a good time
when Steve takes the time and trouble to try and organise something like this and ends up with very few people wanting to go or even to say "sorry i wont be able to make it" , seems a bit of a joke
the same bloke who tirelessly spends all year keeping and maintaining the site for us all to use,
i have to ask myself why he bothers ??

i am not moaning at any one inparticular (certainly not marcus) but as a whole , i think 4 members turning up this weekend is a joke
a poor show by any clubs standards
we all read what the scooby club did for the young lad !!!
what chance would we have

i am also married with two kids, i run my own business, and part run another, so i am well aware and appreciate lack of time, i look on it as a chance to meet others , and most of all, its social aspect
why dont people bring wives along ?
why not suggest a family meet ?

I hear where you are comeing from Bazz i do mate, as for the XMAS doo! i dont know if i can make this but i will let you know soon

I like to come to every single meeting there is with the club, as that a way i can meet some of you guys, but unfortunatly i ran my own business, and is unfair to ask the rest of the family to work while im enjoying myself somewhere else, another thing is the distance i have to travel to some of the meet, so its not possible i can attend every single meet, as for the xmas party, i didnt reply as that the most busiest times of the year for my business, and if i cant make it, why post? i dont really want to post on a meet and not turn up, as you guys may think im taking the P***.....

only 4 of us at the motorshow northwest 2004 event at aintree race course a few weekends ago too. real shame cos we had a great pitch, loads of flyers went and we could've made a real impact.

thats definitely one peeps should make an effort to attend next year, and its a weekend thing so we can all stop over and go out and have a good crack. entertainment for the family there too, plenty of toilets, food places etc. it was the first time its been held this year and im sure it will grow and grow.

its a long way to travel for some of you but worth it for a weekend.

without meeting you guys and having a good laugh the club wouldnt be what it is so come on peeps, get yer fingers out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I read with interest all the replies on this topic.
I personally have not been to a LOC meet yet. Couple of reasons being I am 50 years old and think that the meets are for the younger guys(and girls) and also that most of them are down South. Which would invovle a stopover 'cos I like a pint! On saying that I must say that LOC is one of the best clubs around and ALL the Moderators and Admin put great effort in making it stay that way.The vast majority of the members on here are very friendly and offer advice at every opportunity,even if it is only a witty remark! I'm sure that if more members attended LOC meets then it would become an even better club. It would be nice to put names to faces. I can see why the people that organise these events think that it is a thankless task, when so very few turn out.
I am going to promise myself that I will attend a meeting. If only to say a personal thankyou to the people that organised it and the many other events they endeavor to arrange for the sake of LOC. Such as group buys, Gold discounts etc. Which I am sure we all take advantage of. and take for granted.
But don't despair I am sure that I speak for a lot of members on here that this is a great club and fantastic knowledgebase for Lexus owners and that it is enjoyed by many that are silent.
Regards Terry

Terry im 41 (on thurs) i try to go to meets, your car looks fantastic mate, when i go to meets its 99% is200 so please do come to a meet mate coz i would love to see your car.

Hey - keep going with the meets - I try to go to as many as possible but like many I have other commitments too - I don't respond to posts of meets I can't attend to save clogging the posts and boring everyone (ie Xmas meet clashes with company do) ...
Andy.

i agree too,i live the furthest away up here ,every meet i go to it costs me 60 quid just for fuel but i still come along ,i travelled 6 hrs for jae,two and a half hours on sunday,3 hrs at the liverpool meet ,need i say more chappys.

Well I for one wont be organising any more Midlands meets

well, i try to come to meets when i'm able - sometimes though i cannot commit in advance because of work - this is the case with the xmas dinner..

I do remember an official southern meet (which Chris drove for several hours to attend) that had a total of 3 members turn up, one of which was a newbie!

I don't think it's quite time to start disparing just yet though Barrie, I mean look at the JAE turnout - and lets be honest, I mean its not a perogative to attend meets if your a member of the club is it?

Yes I remember that Ian, Somerset wasn't it and there was just me, you and a newbie with a Soarer

Took me over 3hrs to drive there too.

yeah that was the one - we were kept entertained by the Ibiza's bouncing off tyre walls for a while..

Yes I stood there while everyone ran for cover

generally Chris, that is the accepted response when you have a seat Ibiza skidding towards you at 40mph!

not disparing ........
thinking more of the club
dont think any of us want to see any part of it dissappearing

but if the organisers were to say that they wont bother any more , who could blame them

the meet this weekend and the one next weekend are both about three hours drive for me !

and you are right , its not perogative to attend meets , its not perogative to post posts or answer any problems , but it does all go to maintaining a nice friendly club

all the meets i have attended , i dont think there has ever been any age or race issues at all

take the chelternham meet , all ages, all colours, all had a great time !!

can anyone say that they havent enjoyed a meet ??

I'm with you on that Barrie... i have enjoyed most meets i have been to.


One thing I would like to bring up though, is there seems to be less 'bread and butter' meets, and more 'drive to europe/scotland' or 'xmas dinner' meets - and the additional cost of accomodation and/or food could be putting some people off..

just a thought....

Sid, I'd say these are one offs and not the subject of barries rant

It can be frustrating organising meets to little or no visible interest - hence why the monthly/bi-monthly meets stopped. We were organising visits to places like Beaulieu <sic> with no one ever being that interested. Meets were then just kept to car themes like JAPS and to a lesser extent (every few months).

Guess the thing is for you to all actively feedback on what you want from meets, and if what's currently on offer is the type of meet you'd like to attend. As the Club changes, we need to make sure the meets do too to some extent.

Personally, I'd like to thank the 'hard-core' who attend meet after meet, the ones that do make efforts despite other commitments, and those brave enough to attend as newbies (as I did when I first joined, petrified no one would want to talk to me as I had a standard car and came with baby in tow!).

I think I am one of the guity here!

I did come to gaydon, but that is the only meet I have been to.

I was very new then, and although everyone was more than friendly enough, I still am shamed to say I really don't 'know' that meny people in the club.

All I can say is Fair point guys and I will make a real effort to attend more meets and actually get to know some of you all!

At least I've had the guts to stand up here and admit I'm guilty as charged!!!!

See you soon then, Just gunna go and check at whats comming up!!!

P.S. SORRY!

Point taken guys. I am guilty. Attended only the Toyota Factory tour last year.

Where's the next one? Anyone fancy a mini-meet in the South East? Perhaps a repeat of the one in Blackheath last year?

Ok Guys (& Gals)

As far as I see it........everyone who owns a Lexus loves their car...quite often more than they should
Over the last couple of years I have met some great people, made some good friends (not sure they see it like that though ) and read tons of positive remarks about all things Lexus.
Meets are a fun & interesting way to interact with like minded peeps and talk about your favourite subject (or you could just talk about your car)
You get to see new faces and build up an even better relationships which in turn improves the way we all interact on the forums.
I can understand if financial, work or family commitments get in the way and it can be hard when your partner accuses you of loving your car more than them
Luckily I am as happy as a pig in poop looking at all bits car, but remember not all meets are 'all car' and have plenty of other things to do & look at (e.g. Chartwell 17th October) so......bring the family and lets have some fun days out and get the meets calender back on its feet.

Ok thats my 2p worth....shoot me if u wish

Update!!!!

After reading this and feeling very guilty I am now going to the Santa Pod meet on the 10th and hopefully many more after that too!

Unfortunaltey I most Week Ends, all the joys of having 2 Jobs.

My excuse is that travel to and from the Isle of Man with a vehicle is expensive - £200. On one ocassion I managed to get together with a few members from the club in an unofficial meet in Manchester and I didn't even have my car with me (fly and hire), the experience of being able to put faces and speech after having conversed on this forum with them was a good experience and one I would like to do again.

It's just the dosh that keeps me away!

im new will do the big meets if poss would like to meet some of you guys but night time meets are a big problem with work commitments my first time santa pod would like to see good turn out for the big shows

guess im guilty aswell

i been to gaydon this yr and last yr, and been to couple mini meets, (derby and stafford)
gaydon is generally the meet i go to and i know its only one main meet a yr.

I would agree with all of the above, though I've not been a member long , I do notice when members do try and organize meets, the drop out rate is ridicuous !

Oh well .... what can we say ?

I see what is being said here, and i have to say i agree. From an organisers point of view, it is incredibly frustrating when you spend all that time putting something together, getting some interest, and then having to cancel coz you've lost the majority of your numbers.

This is not a dig at anyone in particular, and i can only apologise to norkep for the mis communication regarding the last meet i organised, and i do appreciate that there were genuine reasons attached to others, but i have to say that i don't feel i can be bothered to do another one.

That may change in the near future, but for now, it ain't gonna.

Sorry guys, and please don't feel it's a dig, it's just my feelings on this issue.

Stu

The meets are a great way of making new friends, and thats the only real way of looking at it.........

there is a member of this club, who is now the Godfather of my first daughter
i have been to birthdays of other members, i have had on quite regular occasions now quite a few "members"(friends) fly/drive over to germany to come and see me, and i have done the same back.

even though we are all Lexus enthusiasts we should look a little beyond that, the Brand is the Catalyst, the meets the reason, and the rest is upto each and every one of us.........

I come to as many meets as i can get to, at considerable cost to me.JAE cost me over £1300, i come not just for the cars, but the comraderie and the friendships i have made over the 3 years the club has been going.

Well said Tony

I do try to make as many meets as I can, but like others time, money and distance can get in the way. I do my best to make the big south/mids meets and local mini meets. I too have made good freinds from the club and like to continue meeting more like minded people. As Bazza says age and race isnt a barrier, think the Cheltenham meet went from 21 (moi) to Dinosoarer... And less then 30% of the meet was about cars.. i think

And also it would be great to see something other then IS200s

Monthly/Bi Monthly Meets? What happened to these?

I try to attend as many as i can but to be honest i drive over 2k a week in my job and really the last thing i want to do at the w/end.....is drive.

Anyway whats happening this w/end then.?

Forgot to add....

One lonely lex(in black)seeks regular outings,would like to meet....


ANYONE

Used to organise them - meets at stately homes, car museums etc. Interest dwindled, one Southern meet attracted 3 members and I decided just to concentrate on the bigger meets.

That'll be the one..me you and bazz turned up too then