M-Spec's future: HI ppl, read.

[L8R]

Okay, as we all know, I apologize for being a terrible President. I can't even make any meets because of work or prior plans. I just want to get people's opinion on what direction to take the club. It seems there are Miata, Rx-8, Rx-7, Pro5, MS3 clubs out there and some people don't want to belong to two. Most people interested in Mspec have not even met anyone but already want a sticker or some sort of recognition with the club.

I love to see the club carry on, but it is hard when there are no rules or restrictions or even knowing who is in it or not. I am not saying that you can only have affiliation with a club, but more do we even need a club? We are a circle of friends and don't need a name to hold us together. I think the club should have closed shop when Lang and Mike left.

I have much to say, but don't know how to express it without saying the wrong thing or coming off with the wrong ideas.

I think if this club wants to expand, we need more definite members and a variety of Mazdas and if not, we just need to say goodbye to the club and shift over to Efren and Team Pro5.

Like I said, I don't know which direction to take this, but suggestions are welcomed. PLEASE POST SOMETHING ANYONE. Who is still interested in the club/wants to be in it?

Among other things, I personally feel, if we are going to consider this a club and not an open call to anyone, we need more guidelines as far as modifications go so we don't let any John-Doe into M-Spec.

Vern, thank you VERY MUCH for holding up the club all this time, it is very much appreciated.

Chris

PS. I was also going to suggest cruising more often, but that would be contradicting myself when I can't even make it. We all do have jobs, families, and other priorities so it is hard to 'cruise' on some nights when no one can really make it.

 

[BeNegative]

No interest so far? Sad. Well Chris, we may need to defucnt the club at this rate. I do not want to, but we may just have to.

I want a club that allows all Mazda owners on the island of Oahu (Big Island Chapter too) of all ages, race, gender, Mazda model, etc. to be able to chill together like one big happy family. I know this club was initally started with a bunch of friends, however, most everyone has moved away or on to other things. By the way, we all miss Lang and Mike very much. (Let us all pray for Mike's safe return home serving our country).

I concur that there must be some direction/rules if this club is to continue. I also concur with the fact that a lot of people are between clubs. I do not want to be passing out club stickers as well just because someone asks for one and never see that person ever again. I also concur that there may need to be a shift over to Team Pro5 for the remaining members since we are pretty much P5 owners and most of our events include Team Pro5 or vise versa.

And yes, Chris, you are battling your demons if you want more cruises. LOL Planning these cruises are very hard and I give Chris credit for making some pretty good cruises because you cannot please everyone or get a perfect schedule with everyone showing up. I myself have had a very difficult time making plans, but have learned much. We may have to just stick with this thing I have suddenly gotten involved in, an annual Mazda BBQ for all Mazda owners.

Please, if any one else has feed back, please post so we understand which direction to take M-Spec. Thank you for your time.

 

[hoindawall]

i think its cool to have the club, so that oddball members like myself (msp) can cruise too.

 

[EVADE]

Ok, since that ive taken over Team Pro 5 its been my goal to recruit more members because we have had the OG members Dave, Keola, and Lanson sell their cars and the other members before me have lost contact. So its hard for eveyone with losing members. I wouldnt want to see Mspec disappear and just have protege5 owners and leave everyone else out. I really want to have the club combine, but still have Mspec for other Mazdas and Team Pro5 for protege5s. If worst come to worst it will be only Team Pro5 left and the other Mazdas will either have start the own club or join someone else.

So far I havent got the 10 Team Pro5 stickers that i ordered from Advance Graphics yet, but some are spoken for already for the fee of $10 a pair. So maybe I need save some stickers for Chris and Vern if you guys agree on the matter?

My mind is made up though that ill be keeping my Pro5 forever, so Team Pro5 will never die. Its just later that others might join and others leave.

I might just have Team Pro5 chapters started since Dave have had thought about it before with other forum members. Hopefully others are intrested in this idea.

As for the cruises and meets i'm always down! but we need have it more planned in advance with everyones input to make it happen.

Efren

 

[PRO 5]

I knew I left Team PRO5 in good hands! Efren good luck with the club and you know I'll always be around for help on anything (got yo back dawg!). I remember in the begining before M-Spec was started when Lang asked me if I wanted to join up and make one club (M-Spec). What I had told him is a club such as M-Spec would be a very hard club to run due to the potential of members it could have (any type of mazda). It is a great idea and a great club but in order to run such a club it would take A LOT of time and effort as well as dedication. Not that I didn't dedicate my time to Team PRO5 but compairing a solid core of cars that everyone knew eachother compaired to a club that could have a well excess of 40 to 50 members easily would be very difficult to run.

I give you guys credit for keeping M-Spec alive this long and I really hope the club stays around longer. The main question that you have to ask yourself if are you doing the club justice if you can't dedicate the time and effort to the club that it deserves? I'm not saying anything about anyone I just know from experience how much time it took just to plan a simple cruise none the less a bbq or a big cruise! But good luck to Chris and Vern on keeping M-Spec running strong!

Dave

 

[Bigbaddad]

I don't know how to say what I want to say, so this might come out kinda funny.
I've been interested in your club for some time now, just because of how you guys feel that the club needs some kind of "structure", "rules", "guidelines", whatevaz......you kinda get what I mean (I hope).
I've gone on a couple of other cruises with some unknown guys that just meet up somewhere late at night and just wanna tear up the pavement, street race, and stuff like that. And I'm not really into that.
Sure I like to stab the accellerator one in a while, but these guys are just a bunch of punks, who want to recruit more punks and....well nevermind.
I really was happy to meet up with you guys/girls at the NEX with our little group of Mazda6's. Just like one big happy group of Mazda fanatics.
Being that our bunch is small, we were looking for a club to "take us in" so to speak, and like I said, asshole/punk/street racers need not apply.
There's a lot more I'd like to say, just not that good at expressing my feelings.
You guys seem like a great bunch of people. My youngest daughter will be getting her drivers permit within the year, hopefully......and I was kinda thinking of getting her a Protoge, just so if she decides to join a car club, she could hang with you guys, cause like I said.....I feel like you are a good bunch of people who care about friendship.

TAL

---Derek

 

[BeNegative]

Keep the responses coming! Thank you for those of you who gave us input.

-Lorin, thank you for your input.

-Dave, I remember that you mentioned this a few times. Having a large club is pretty crazy. I also remember Lang mentioning that he did not want the club to be so large. I concur that having a large club takes a lot of time and effort and that the club may not exactly be getting the justice it deserves. We will need to keep these things into perspective. Thank you for your input.

-Efren,you're doing a great job with Team Pro5! Thank you for your support.

-Derek, thank you for your input as well. I am glad to see that you want family to participate!

 

[Bigbaddad]

So what's next?
Is this the only people interested in the car club "MSPEC"?
Six people? If you want to keep the car club small; there you go.
Everyone else just seems to want to post "who they saw"
You guys are a great bunch of people, and I just thought there'd be more support for your car club. I'm not even a member of MSPEC, and I care about what happens to the club.

---Aloha

 

[L8R]

Thanks for the responses. I think some people don't want to respond because they feel they shouldn't/don't have much of a say in this.

I think we should have another meet to see who is really interested. Do you guys feel there should be rules to join as far as some modifications need to be made to the car? You need to win at least one trophy from a show? (butthump) haha just playing!!!

Glad to hear from you guys again, thank you. APPRECIATED!

 

[BeNegative]

Have a meet and not veer off the subject this time heh.

 

[EVADE]

i pretty sure whoever wants to join has the car modded or wants to have their car modded. but most of the time i talk to people who has their modded to join the club. i only know Gabe that has his car stock and he does scca solo2 but i asked him to be in the club, so stock cars shouldnt really matter right?. but the only thing is that punks shouldnt be let in. just remember that their aint to many Mazda heads out there to begin with. i dont know though its just my 2 cents.

Efren

 

[kura808]

i really wished that i could have joined cause i loved cars from the very beginning( when i was 7 my dad let me sit in his lap and drive lol) heh i dont really know any1 except for chris but one day i wish i could come to one of ur meets if ya have one. heh just got my license not too long ago so my parents arent really "trusting" of me yet lol..

i think it should be any1 who has a passion for cars like how we do, they should be invited. only mazdas of course lol. it shouldnt be people who just want a sticker and then they leave..i know it will take hard work and dedication to make this club live but whatever direction it takes, i'll be a supporter xD

btw chris ur not a bad president. ur an awesome dude!! we're just normal human beings that have other things to worry about. if u do plan meets, i'd suggest that it would be planned way in advance like how benegative's one was. that way every1 could make that day set in their book. xD

heh dunno if i was any help but just felt like saying something cause i have the same obsession like all of u LMAO

 

[Miques]

Don't forget that without a track there's not as much enthusiasm. Zack and I are still here and watching. We still have Mazdas, but M-Spec is pretty much about show. These are not the days of Justin and Wendy showing off boast controllers and injen intakes or Racing the other Alan at the tracks. Or even Dave setting up dyno meets. That's what lured me out of the woodwork. No real reason for this post just throwing things out.

 

[gun]

whew. i kind of saw this coming. chris, you're not a bad president. you're just a human being. no-one has the time to manage personal life, work/school, and a club. and it takes a lot of balls to be as honest as you have in this post.
i personally kind of feel as if mspec is slowly dying. it is very difficult to keep track of a really large group. i feel it'd be better to have a few large meets a year. like an all mazda meet. but not every single mazda should belong to the club. there needs to be guidelines. i know we don't have enough meets currently to have like an initiation period, but we should have something of that sort. i shouldn't be one to talk because like chris, my work scheudle has severely limited the amount of time i can contribue to attending meets/cruises. another possibility is making mspec more of a friend/tight group kind of thing, where it's mainly people who really cruise together and can represent the name well. and creating a larger all mazda club of hawaii that should be headed by the president of each respective club, pro5, mspec, mazda 6 club, etc. that would make it a whoooole lot easier to plan a single date that each pres. could relay to their own respective clubs and the word could spread from there. i honestly can say that i don't know some of the other members as well as i knew/know mike, lang, chris. and i didn't even know them that well. it'd be a bit easier to socialize if everyone i guess came on the boards more often or could meet more often. i know it's difficult and everyone has a life and work schedule but that's the only way everyone is going to get to know eachother.
this is only my opinion though, and i know i shouldn't be one to talk seeing as i haven't made a meet since lang left.

 

[808PimpCX9]

I agree with Kura and GUN, I'm late to all of this but it seems that the main problem is Hawaii itself. We all know what it takes to survive out here. (expensive) Work, school, and family should be first, cars secondary... now with that being said, I respect anyone who has the time to run a club and organize its events, that's hard in itself. Now increase your problems by making a RULES specific car club... most people with Mods pay for them themselves (some have rich parents lol) and have to work weekends, so getting everyone together is a b****! Then you have people who really love Mazda's for being... well, "Mazda's" and really don't care for Mods. Like tattoo's, its all preference. I just think your adding too much pressure on yourself. Announce a date, see who comes, and enjoy the company of Mazda lovers of all walks. (even the punks, jk)

 

[BeNegative]

Thanks for the input. For the people who usually just skim through here...mind responding to this as well?

 

[vodapas77]

Well,

Since I've been horrible about being in touch with any of you since I left I might as well take this thread as an oppurtunity to say hey and speak my piece.

First, hello all. Sorry, I haven't been in touch. As you might remember, the wife and I went through a rough strech around the time I left. I did some very stupid things and we ended up living seperately until last holiday season. Then about the time we got back on track, the Navy moved me down to Pasacgoula, MS for the next two years. So, it's been a little hectic. But, not so much that I couldn't have said hello. Vern, especially to you as you have tried to contact me on Myspace, sorry. I hope all is well with you.

As for this thread. First, of all allow me to clear up a few misconceptions. M-Spec was never just about show or go. The idea was that it was to be a club of Mazda entusiasts. No matter what direction you wanted to go or waht model/year you drove, you were welcome. The whole idea was we were there to help each other out with what we could and enjoy our cars and our company.

The only limitation I staunch about was that we were not going to be a group of punk racer Fast and the Furious wannabes. Remember, the club formed in 2003 when it seemed like street racing accidents everywhere were on the rise. I did not want M-Spec's name associated with that kind of thing. To that end, we did pretty damn well on that front.

Another thing to keep in mind is when M-Spec formed the Mazda scene itself was very different. Mazda had been pretty much out of the performance biz (in the US) since the death of the RX-7). The MSP was the first stab at capturing a piece of the sport compact market. That combined with the fact that most of us are broke-ass mofo's led to the majority of original membership being Proteges, MSPs and P5s. I remember taking a lot of crap (Forums Hawaii) about using a rotor in an old logo because we were a "Protege" club. My basic attitude: **** that and **** them. We were open to everyone and we were gaining more RX-8's and RX-7's all the time. But, the core membership did remain Protege based.

Now, one thing that I think has always hurt M-Spec is people's conception of what it was and should have been. Hate to say it, but outside of the local Mazda scene it was M-who? To me, that didn't matter. The idea was about Mazda enthusiasts. Not about how many people knew who we were. Honestly, there are very few clubs on the island that are known outside of their respective areas. Those that are are usually limited based on amount of mods and money spent on the car. That's all fine and good, but it isn't what M-Spec was about.

I was actually, towards the end of my car's time with me, planning on starting a club based on sport compact "show." The club was going to be formed with me and Mike as the original members. I was thinking Team Prodigy to show out roots in the Protege world, but it would have been limited based on modifications and the car's ability to show. This was because that was the direction I was going. But, I never had any intentions of turning away from M-Spec because I was going to form that group. My car would have never come as far as it did without the help of several club members.

So, what does any of this have to do with M-Spec today? Good question. I guess my advice would be don't forget where it all came from and what the original idea was about. Friends helping each other no matter what their background simply because they are Mazda enthusiasts. It's not about stickers to put on cars and how big a name the club is on the island. Just because it's hard to make it to meets doesn't mean you don't care about the club. You are just doing what you need to do.

I would love to see the club continue. Chris, if you and Vern feel like you can't do it. Turn it over. There's nothing wrong with that. Don't put such an emphasis on how many people show up and how modified there cars are. Just hook when you all can and shoot to s*** or make plans to help each other out. Members, quit waiting for the Pres. to tell you when to get together. Just say, "Hey, I'm grabbing pizza here who wants to meet up." You might be surprised how much fun it is to just hang out. Save the planning for bigger events. Maybe, only a couple times a year. If you look around you'll see that's pretty much what every other crew does. Lord knows day to day life is hectic enough. You can never plan an event that everyone can make.

So, if that's not the kind of thing some of the members are looking for. If they want more structure and visibility. That's cool, there are plenty of other clubs. Or form your own. There's nothing wrong with that. Just remember above all else just the love of working on your car should be the top priority. If you can find a group of people, whether it's 3 or 30, who want to hang out and help each other out than all the better. That's what M-Spec was to me.

Ok, my two pennies. Best of luck to you all!

 

[BeNegative]

HOLY CRAPOLA!!!! *FAINT* The Langster has spoken! Hey, thanks for your input Lang. We really appreciate it. Glad things are working out now on your side...MS now. Peas & Carrotz!

 

[hawaiian_msp]

Hello all from 130 degree Afghanistan!!!

Well I only have like 10 minutes on the computer and I spent most of the time reading this thread. I must say that I agree 100% with Lang. I would love to see M-Spec go on... Chris I know you have alot going on with school and work. Dave and Lang and I know how it was trying to find time to put meets and cruises together and its not an easy task and is very time consuming... BUT... I know you can do it but just keep your priorities straight... if it exceeds your limits then just pass it on. If you do, you'll always be a big part of the club and can still participate in all of the events.

I also like Efrens idea of the clubs semi-joining... if thats a word... but the two clubs have always cruised, met, and showed together and its always been a tight group of friends between both clubs helping each other out (and hiding secrets before shows... j/k) but I would love to see the clubs join and grow in the right direction. maybe that would help out the presidents of both clubs...

Also Vern I want to thank you for the well wishes and i have to give it to you for staying active with the club and keeping the forums (and myspace) alive lol...

I also wanna take my last few minutes of valuable internet time to say whats up to everyone Chris, Lang, Dave, Efren, Vern, Gun, Lorin, Keola, Rob(s), Ash, Kai, Alan, Zack, Justin and sorry if i missed you but im rushing... Take care and stay safe! Oh and i've been here for a month and 14 to go... without myspace so sorry if i didn't comment back lol oh and Joy says "HI" from Germany... Drive Safe everyone!

-mike

 

[BeNegative]

HOLY EVEN MORE CRAPOLA! *FAINT!!!* MIKE! Thanks for spending your 10 minutes on-line time on this issue! We appreciate it.

Damn...14 months to go...please stay safe. We're all praying for you. HI JOY!!! Okay.