Speaking on what you mention below......the city of Houston offers
only one parade prmit on certain day, there are two fighting parade
groups that 'honor' Martin Luther King. They steal each others
bands, sponsors, and supporters year after year, and of course due
to the fighting between two groups that are 'supposed' to honor
King, few people attend, you can look at the clips on tv and there
is more police standing atound watching floats and bands than
attendees. So I see your point below. Unfortunately nothing has
changed out there in amc world thru the decades, I remember joining
AMC Squirrel Clubs, AMO and NAMDRA back in 1980s and was mud
tossing, name calling, animosity, trying to steal each others
members, vendors and what not. Some of it is about money, sometimes
prestige, other times bragging rights I guess.
There is a good side to AMC out there you know, individuals who make
a difference and drive their cars, race, show, and sometimes help
out another AMCer in need, those are the real people who keep hobby
alive and going thankfully.
Side issue is few people gave a crap about the Kenosha
Transportation museum, except I guess AMC, Rambler and Nash people,
politicians and people who could have made a difference sort of said
'eh ok, we will help' and while it got built, was about as big as
7-11 and didn't get the big money to make large site. Even Kenoshans
I still communicate with tell me that Kenosha is nothing more than
suburb of Milwaukee or Chicago, the new money in there only care
about how close Starbucks is and when next race is at dog track, not
concerned with Kenosha history like AMC or Snap On. You can buy some
neat little Nash and Rambler things from Kenosha History Center
http://www.kenoshahistorycenter.org/FORMgallery1.htm
However a few years ago it was mentioned they might build a
Wisconsin Civil War museum and politicians came out of all the rocks
to support it, pork flying everywhere! No shoratge of $$$ there. I
don't believe the Kenosha Transportation Museum even got built, I
know it was supposed to be located in a old water treatment plant
(thanks, I love sewers) but don't think it opened but may be wrong.
However you can go look at Islam curtural stuff:
http://www.kenosha.org/museum/
let me travel 1000 miles for that. Speaking of car clubs, there used
to be several Corvette car clubs here in 1980s/90s, they didn't like
each other and never co hosted meets, or attended each others
events, so not unique to AMC......
Eddie Stakes
713.464.8825
eddiestakes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.planethoustonamx.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Terry Atkins
To: BaadAssGremlins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2010 5:11 PM
Subject: Re: [BaadAssGremlins] Re: amc 'stuff that didn't
work' (was: mel gibson's gremlin) long!
It is not only AMC Eddie it is everything. In the Louisville
area we have a populations of less than a million people. We have
two Mustang clubs, three Corvette clubs. One of the largest clubs in
the city that had been together over twenty years broke up do to
infighting. One club broke up into two different clubs do to
fighting who controlled the sound equipment. We even had a chapter
of AMO here at one time but it is long gone. It is not only car
clubs I have found in my life time that the biggest fights are in
churches. That is why I don't belong to any of them except AMO and I
really don't count that. I have enough crap in my life that I have
to put up with I don't want to join something to get more crap.
Terry
From: Eddie Stakes <eddiestakes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [BaadAssGremlins] Re: amc 'stuff that didn't work' (was:
mel gibson's gremlin) long!
To: BaadAssGremlins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sunday, July 25, 2010, 3:43 PM
It sort of fell off map like many AMC "big" ideas out there. The
AMC landscape is littered with good ideas you know: AMC Unity
Council, AMC Council of Clubs, AMC Magazine (this one baffled me and
still does, the guy spent $10,000 of his own money to do glossy
magazine, everyone said 'oooh, count me in' or 'sign me up!' and few
did, then he had display at biggest AMC event in history in Kenosha,
he needed to sign up 250 subscribers to make magazine float. He had
magazines laying out, people walk by booth, pick one up and when he
would say $2, they gently put it back down in ultimate fit of
Rambler Mentality, needless to say guy went back to NY, closed up
shop and took major loss.) Yikes. Don't forget a 'All AMC Meet' with
all the clubs co-operating together on same field, this was tried a
few times, but ended up being like little roped off areas, so had to
choose your legion to Zod with who you went with, so if you went
with one club to have your car
judged, you pissed off other clubs for instance. Sort of like
having different restrooms for different peoples in 1940s/50s,
everyone has same color doo but have to go to different room. It was
like this unfortunately and created some ill will at what was
supposed to be largest AMC get together in history.
A case could be made for Mitchell's old AMCWC, at one time really
big before imploded due to all the darned vendors, businesses,
chapters and individuals leaving, so guess that falls into 'amc
stuff that didn't work' class. Or failures. Or going to the dark
side without light sabre, there is whole file on my site dedicated
to that cesspool failing:
http://www.planetho ustonamx. com/stuff/ good_riddance_ amcwc.htm
I'm sure some old soviet toothless ladies in Siberia are having
fond memories about Stalin too. Oh, he was dreamy with that big
mustache.... ..sure he only killed 20 million people but he looked
so nice in that overcoat!
http://wiki. answers.com/ Q/How_many_ people_did_ Stalin_kill
The amxfiles is another case in point, at one time was the place to
be on internet, occasional few wars but nothing that could not be
solved. No longer there, buy owner Jim Stone sold his AMX and moved
on. The site is still up, but most of the stuff on it consists of
abandoned files with dead AMCers on it. Created in 1996, died in
early 2000's finally domain name expired in 2009 so gone too. Go
google it and leachers will direct you to their site, nothing to do
with AMC just create traffic.
The original amc forum also had problems with someone threatening
to sue the forum owner, so he shut it down, there is file somewhere
on my site about that debacle. The scab, 'new' theamcfoolum. com
site no one goes to, (one guy on Car Craft was gloating he signed up
140 times at college computers, I guess that is like voting for your
favorite MLB All Star when they want you to plug ballot box!) and
Fran's site changed names but still comes up amcforum so confusing
to say least.
I could go on here, as it is hot outside, so decided to try to
answer a few emails. The last I heard it was shipped back to MA
where it originated from You know, the original intention was to
have it done and ready by 2001. Sometimes we are rambler slow,
sometimes rambler slow without rims and tires. But a number of
people donated things, and along the way, many places did great job
on it, as the donated car ended up being a turd to begin with (rough
car with frame/unibody damage if I recall) so tons more work needed
to bring it back to life. I think the original intention (gee was it
really a decade ago?) was to have different chapters take the
vehicle, and do work to it, might be big job, or small job, as long
as people contributed.
The problem with that was it bacame a 'rolling pick a part' and all
sorts of rare parts suddenly disappeared. The new in box mufflers,
nice tail light lenses and housings I donated never made it to
different city for instance. I did later sell them a set of new ram
air trim, but donated $200-$300 more new parts about 4-5 years ago,
no telling if that stuff was used or ended up on someone elses' car
or ebay, craigslist though. Frank Swygert of AIM magazine tried to
co-ordinate efforts but people got pissed off at him thinking he was
either taking over the project or profiting from it, whihc I believe
was neither. The backlash from that was no one wanted to get
involved with it anymore! It ended up in Kenosha, but no clubs would
take it, sort of 'who needs the bullshit' associated with it if they
had it too long, or something came up missing, or didn't tweet
updates daily like damned corpse flower here!
I think what bothered me personally about this project was two
things, one was the lashing Frank took years ago with it from bunch
of idiots posting anonymously on the forum of the week site. The
bigger thing was that with all these chapters out there......few got
involved. The car only been to handful of states
http://www.mattsold cars.com/ charityamx/ map.html
I would have though that people would have jumped at the chance to
help on this project. At one point I believe the car almost got
'evicted' from a shop as was taking up valuable space the shop could
have used to actually make money with customers. If not for making
stops in Houston at the aMO nationals in 2001, then onto San Antonio
where the Alamo AMC club did great job getting it running.
Will always remember the enthusiasm and smiles when it was driven
off the trailer at the 2002 AMC SW Regional. Update! Can add Alamo
AMC to 'stuff that didn't work' as the whole club cratered several
years ago. Now AJ is trying to resurrect it, and I wish him success.
Update! Hell, the big, successful AMC SW Regional meet cratered
after I quit sponsoring it and severed ties with local aMC chapter
after the national here! Google 'amc assholes' and well, even if you
in Nepal or Tasmania or hiding in rabbit hole in Fallauja, Iraq can
read about it. Too bad on all fronts.
I don't think that this old 'charity amx' falls into the 'amc stuff
that didn't work' class though. It's still out there, but has long
since fallen off anyone's radar for a variety of reasons. Maybe when
finished in Y3K great, great grandkids will say 'I remember that in
Y2K' perhaps. Like seeing those heads in jars of Nixon and
celebrities on Futurama.
Anyways, if anyone still reading, here is link
http://www.mattsold cars.com/ charityamx/ index.html
Eddie Stakes
713.464.8825
eddiestakes@ planethoustonamx .com
www.planethoustonamx.com
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