Mercedes Benz ClubLounge

[71Beige280SL]

Did anyone get the email I did today from MBCA concerning the ClubLounge?

[49er]

I received it as well but not the e-mail containing user I'd and password.

John

[Bonnyboy]

Yep but I deleated it.  What can be better than this forum.

I actually got two emails - one from MB and the other from info mercedes benz clubs and one from mercedes benz clubs of america.  

I deleated both.

Ian

[hank sound]

It said to allow about 10 or so minutes to complete the enrollment - - nah , I'd rather spend that time here - with my Pagoda friends.

Cheers, Hank

[JamesL]

I gave up my membership of the UK club this year. Found myself not using the forum at all and only glancing at the magazine

I may miss the odd event (not that I went to many) but it was a too broad a church for me (and the message-boards were over politicised)

[Naj ✝︎]

I received it as well but not the e-mail containing user I'd and password.

John

Yes, I too did not receive the ID and password.

Access to the EPC is very useful and also the WIS if you have a more modern car.

You have xs to late car data cards too!

Naj

[twistedtree]

MBCA really seems to be struggling to find it's place, be of value, and retain it's membership (let alone grow it).  I maintain my membership more out of sympathy than anything else.  The magazine is fun to leaf through, but if I actually read one of the articles or columns that's a lot.

It would be interesting to collect thoughts on what they might do to be of more appeal.  To me, raffles, picnics, year books, and nights at the opera with strangers who happen to own a Mercedes just doesn't ring my bell.  It's like arranging a party for people with blue socks.

Having only though about this for two seconds or so, it seems that it's just too broad a group, and that "I own a Mercedes" is not enough for people to get passionate about.  I'm not able to think of any car brand where simple ownership has stimulated a vibrant car club.  Can anyone else think of one?  There is a very active and passionate VW TDI club in North America, but there's an example of a narrower focus, and group of people who have made what in North America is an eclectic choice in cars.  Perhaps that's the key - an eclectic, unusual choice of something, and simply owning an MB isn't that.

So with a mind to being constructive, perhaps instead of being organized regionally, MBCA should organize by groups of car models?  Maybe by age bands?  I could definitely hang out with people who own other models but of similar vintage.  We have a common passion for old cars and their preservation.  I could hang out with people who preserve old cars of other makes too.  But I feel nothing in common with someone simply because they drive an E320 or whatever.

What do others think?

[mdsalemi]

Just an FYI--

The MBCA is one of the only sanctioned MB Clubs not directly partaking of the umbrella-like benefits offered by MB Classic in Germany.  This email, with login and related to the MB Club Lounge, is almost like they have fallen in line, at least a bit, with the clubs in the rest of the world.

[twistedtree]

Is the "Club Lounge" anything more than a web forum?  And how is it different from the web forum that exists today for MBCA?

[Cees Klumper]

One of the reasons I helped form this club is that, for me, the Dutch MB (officially sanctioned) club was too broad a group number one to identify with, and number two to get any real benefits out of: whenever I had a particular issue with my Pagoda, they could not produce the answer because it's simply not possible to be all things to all people. Our/this club can be most things to Pagoda enthusiasts and even that is a challenge in some respects.

So after having joined the MBCA, UK MB club and the Dutch MB club, I found myself letting those memberships lapse and not care too much.

As I understand it, the root cause of why MB finds itself in this position is that it has chosen to use the national importer and dealership structure as the main driver/'vehicle' for how it structures its MB sanctioned clubs. That is then also behind why they encourage all clubs to also allow owners of more modern Mercedes to join. Anyway, this may have changed over the past few years, but was how I was explained how they work by a MB classic center representative. As others have pointed out, all having blue socks isn't enough to create a club spirit. In fact, I have nothing special with the Mercedes brand, my three other cars are not Mercedi. I have a love for the Pagoda. I think if MB would think about who they need to serve, i.e. the end customer rather than the importer/dealer, things might become a bit different. In the short run they may think: "if this Pagoda enthusiast does not care so much about Mercedes, then why should I care about him?" but the answer to that is that, everytime I take the car for a spin, I am a driving billboard for the Mercedes brand.

[twistedtree]

Interesting.  I didn't realize that the clubs were driven by the distribution and dealer network.  That really explains it all.  It's all about stimulating business for dealers, not about assembling like-minded car enthusiasts.  Sigh. And I just renewed my membership.  Oh well.

[douglas dees]

I received mine as well as the pasword. There are two e mails, one from the MBCA and the other from the Museum. I completed my information. I understand that for a long time MBCA was not part of the overall program of museum benefits including the Mercedes club card that was issued by the museum. The club card was too expensive but an arangement has been made that MBCA members get the discounts when they visit the museum
I did get kicked out twice when completing the information perhaps due to my PC. It gives access to the museum, the magazine and other benefits.

This is just another way of enjoying your car similar to interest groups so I am not going to get too excited about it.
From my perspective the geographic boundries of the MBCA never made sense and that member should have the option of joining interest groups. The business model as I have told the MBCA Board many times is from the 1950's and needs to be updated.
My thoughts
Doug Dees

[Tomnistuff]

Being relatively new to this group, and Mercedes life, in spite of having owned my Pagoda for more than 25 years, I don't have a good reference like most of you.  However, when I was a part of the vintage Ferrari crowd, I found that there were two groups.  The guys who drove many different colored, more than 35 year-old Ferraris and worked on their own cars considered ourselves the "old guys" regardless of our age.  The others, regardless of their age, drove only resale red, more modern Ferraris and wore black or red open-collared shirts with big gold chains.  They were called the Gold Chain Crowd.

I begin to believe those same two groups exist among Mercedes owners and "club" members.  I would describe this site as being more for the "old guys of the Mercedes world".  That's why I'm here.  I joined MBCA for the discounts and just in case something really spectacular is planned for the Pagoda's 50th anniversary.  There's also just a little nostalgia as well, since I'm retired from DaimlerChrysler and knew some of the DB engineering guys, mostly retired now.

Since I just got my MBCA membership confirmation yesterday, I didn't get the ClubLounge email.  I'm jealous, only because I don't know what it is.

But I'm really happy here anyway.

Tom Kizer

[Peter van Es]

...and just in case something really spectacular is planned for the Pagoda's 50th anniversary...

All I can say is... watch this here space / forum...

[Tomnistuff]

I just got a call from MBCA this morning.  The nice lady said she heard on the grape-vine that I didn't get the email about Club Lounge, but she'll contact Stuttgart and ensure that I'll get one in a few days.
Whoever did that, thanks.  Or maybe MBCA is monitoring the forum.  Anyway, my jealousy is declining.  I don't feel rejected anymore.

Tom Kizer

[Cees Klumper]

My money is on Michael Salemi ...   

[mdsalemi]

My money is on Michael Salemi ...   

It was not me; I knew nothing about this until Tuesday.  I received the email direct from MB Classic in Germany, a bit puzzled.  Registered, and that was that.  Shortly thereafter, I got the instruction email from the MBCA, but I had already navigated the torrid waters of a German language website and figured it out.

My guess is things are just taking a bit of time to happen.

Interestingly, a couple of us here at MBCA International Stars tried to make this happen a couple of years ago, but it was well above our heads because it required too many top level people...and some money, at least, at the time.  Glad to see its happened.

[wwheeler]

I registered for the ClubLounge and viewed the forum. While all the other areas on the site were in English (my preferred setting), the forum was in mostly German I believe. I could not find a way to change the forum language to English. Is that possible?

[douglas dees]

I just got a call from MBCA this morning.  The nice lady said she heard on the grape-vine that I didn't get the email about Club Lounge, but she'll contact Stuttgart and ensure that I'll get one in a few days.
Whoever did that, thanks.  Or maybe MBCA is monitoring the forum.  Anyway, my jealousy is declining.  I don't feel rejected anymore.

Tom Kizer

Tom: I did that . I called Lisa Juhl in Colorado springs and asked her to get you on the program.
Are you in touch with anyone in the Montreal section ? Pierrre Valiquette is the president. They usually have a cabane a sucre in April north of Montreal. I used to be the President of the Montreal Section back in the 80's  Gunther Mitsche in Dorval at F&H garage is a good mechanic and did my repairs for me.
Doug Dees
President Mercedes-Benz Club of America Educational Foundation

[Tomnistuff]

While an inconvenience for those of us who don't speak all the languages of Europe, it can still be quite interesting, with a little work.  Here's the Google translator site, into which you cut and paste an entire post.  It will translate the post to English, or anything else you choose.  You can do the same thing in the reverse direction - write it in English, then translate it, then cut and paste into your foreign language post.  You can double-check the translation by using the same software to translate it back.  At worst, it's sometimes amusing, and a little bizarre.

It takes a little time, but maybe we shouldn't expect the Europeans to always speak our language.  I have actually used it to type and translate an Italian Air Conditioning Repair Manual for a Vintage Ferrari.  It worked quite well, but took some effort.

http://www.google.com/language_tools

It translates: "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country."
to:
"Jetzt ist die Zeit für alle guten Männer zu Hilfe ihres Landes zu kommen."
then translates it back to:
"Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country."

I conclude that this translation is probably OK.  But I may be wrong.  I've had quite long conversations with this software, particularly when buying things on Ebay from foreigners.

I speak, read and write French and English, so I know it's not too bad in those languages.

When I get on ClubLounge, I'll probably use it quite a lot.

Tom Kizer

Hi Doug,

Thanks for making the connection with Lisa Juhl for me.  Yes, I've been in touch with Pierre Valiquette by email, and will probably do so a lot.  I've asked him to try to connect me with other MBCA members in my area (Quebec City).  I would like to participate in or even organize some local events.

Tom Kizer

[ejboyd5]

There is a brief explanation which appears on page 102 of the March-April The Star.  I had missed it while leafing through the magazine.  The ClubLounge appears to be legitimate offering from M-B.  You would think that this being a web-based product, MBCA would have seen fit to announce it on their website.  Perhaps this is just another example of the low appreciation level that MBCA seems to have for modern forms of communication.  As an aside, I have not yet received any electronic communication regarding this product nor any password for access to same.

[49er]

  As an aside, I have not yet received any electronic communication regarding this product nor any password for access to same.

 You might want to check your junk/spam mail folder. That is where I found mine however there was no "member id", just the password.

John