"MB SL-Club Pagode"

[kns]

I am sure that many of you will already be members of the officially sanctioned MB SL-Club Pagode; those who are need read no more. Those who are not may wish to check out the club website at  www.sl-club-pagode.de. It is daunting for those of us who do not speak any German (unlike our European colleagues, who all seem to speak a dozen languages fluently!) but I found that I could make some sense of it by using the “translate this page” option after putting the club name into the Google search engine. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the translator work on the membership form, which is a .pdf file. If anyone else happens to want a translation, it is attached: the numbers correspond to the marked sections of the membership form, also attached. I’m reasonably confident that the translation is accurate, but welcome any corrections by German speaking group members! Input might be a little trickier. I assumed (not rudely, I hope) that the English of the club Secretary is going to be better than my German (THAT won’t be difficult!). Still, one way to translate input into the host language is to use one of the online translators, such as those to be found at www.wordreference.com or http://dict.leo.org/.
[I had a hard time re-sizing the files for posting: email me offline if you have difficulty reading the attachments]

kns


Download Attachment: pagode form p 1resized.jpg
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Download Attachment: pagode form p 2resized.jpg
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Download Attachment: Club Pagode translation.doc
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[rwmastel]

KNS,

When we started our international group here, some of our European founding members met with individuals (maybe the president?) of the German SL Club Pagode.  Their official language is German and they did not appear concerned about gaining non-German members.  Regarding their "officialy sanctioned" status with MB, we hope to attain that some day as well.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone from joining any other Pagoda clubs or groups, I just want to let you know that you might not get much English out of their club secretary, web site, or newsletter.

We actually refer to the Yahoo! W113 group and pagoda113.com from time to time on this site.  Many members here are members of those internet resources and the German club.  I think a lot of people would like to have a single resource for their Pagoda information and enjoyment, but since there are many you might as well join them if they will benefit you.

Thanks,

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[kns]

Thank you for the background Rodd - I now see that it might have been prudent to run the post past the moderator first. I recently completed a restoration on another marque, and found precious little information in cyberspace. I got in touch with a couple of English clubs (it's an English car) and that helped. It was that theory that prompted this thread, but it is clearly a different story with the W113: the depth of knowledge available (and so freely shared!) in this group is breathtaking - all credit to the founders.

Cheers,
kns

[Cees Klumper]

One of the original founders and long-time president of the German Pagoda Club, Peter Ruehl, has been on the board of our Group since it started last year. He and I personally visited with Mercedes in Stuttgart about a year ago to properly introduce ourselves to the MBCCCI (Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Clubs International). From contacts both he and I have had with one of the three board members of the German club, it unfortunately became quite apparent that they are not interested in any cooperation with us for now. They explicitly discouraged me from becoming a member. So I did not but I was very surprised. The board member I corresponded with said they "are only in the German speaking countries" and are not interested in reaching out beyond that at all.

Depsite all this --- one of the important goals of the board is to, one day, engage in the kind of cooperation between our clubs that would benefit everyone. For example, collaborating on writing our Tech manual. There's of course a great deal of knowledge within the German club, but I am sure there is at least that much knowledge in the US alone, our single largest member country. After all, more Pagodas went to the US than to any other country, including Germany. We are working towards our goal of reaching between 3,000 and 5,000 members within the next 5 years and this would make us one of the largest Mercedes clubs in the world - not because we want to be a large club but because we feel every Pagoda owner can benefit from being a member, basic or full. It is our firm expectation that, by then, we will have gained formal recognition by Mercedes-Benz.

So - if anyone can further our goal of cooperation with the German club, for example by (gently!) expressing their support for such a cooperation to the German club, please do so. There's absolutely no reason whatsoever why we should not work together for the common benefit of our joint memberships.

On behalf of the 11-member board:
Cees Klumper, president of the W113 Pagoda SL Group

[114015]

Dear friends,

Unfortunately, I can only agree to our president's opinion about the German-based "SL-Club Pagode."
I have been member in that club since 1988 and find the info and help very, very usefull.
However, the club has some 1000 - 1200 members worldwide but mostly Germny-based; joining the club really makes only sense if you could understand at least some German. Otherwise it is almost useless. They (or may I say we, as I am member too) have a very nice quaterly club magazine, "Pagode", which is mostly colored on high-quality paper now.

Unfortunately, the German Club is not as much techical and tinkering-interested as we are. This is because Germany is much smaller than the States and distances to good dealers and repair shops are much shorter than within the US. On the other side, the MB dealer network is much tighter and almost always able to provide you with all necessary original parts.

Please don't misunderstand me. The German Club is very helpful and also interested in technical issues but not as much as we are - who are sometimes living far away from specialized MB help.

Up to now it really looks as if the German Club is very hostile against us and I hope that with Peter Ruehl's, Michael Egan's, Hans Stoem's and perhaps my help we can slightly smoothen their high waves against us. This is only because of two of the three long-time presidents of the SL-Club Pagode, who made the German club to what it is and stands for today. They really, really do an excellent job and I hope we can get and cooperate closer to them within the next years. But it certainly will take some patience of us untill we can reach this aim.
On the short term, I don't see any chance for that.

only my 2 cents ...



Achim
(Magdeburg, Germany)

[rwmastel]

A discussion of our Group and it's recognition by Diamler-Chrylser (or Mercedes-Benz, if you will), was brought up in the Events forum under the Ohio Tech Session.  A member saw our Group's event advertised in The Star, MBCA's club magazine, and asked if that meant we were getting special recognition.  Here is the discussion, reposted here because this thread is already started and relative to the topic.

Thanks,

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by Jonny B

Rodd, Joe, etal.

I have seen the event advertised in the Star magazine, and I got to wondering. Are we "officially" recognized as a group within the Mercedes Benz club? Is there an advantage to this. If we are not, and we would like to, what is required?

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by cees klumper

Hi Jonny. Being officially recognized has some advantages. Most importantly, it confirms that we are a serious undertaking that meets certain standards, like a "seal of approval". Also, DC would work with us to provide information, contacts etc etc. Finally, DC supports recognized clubs financially.

We have been in touch since the formation of our Group with DC in Stuttgart. Together with another board member, I visited Mr. Ritter, who is in charge of DC's club program to discuss the possibilities. I met with him on a few other occassions as well. Understandably, DC is hesitant to grant recognition to a start-up without a proven track record. Also, DC's interest is to limit the number of recognized clubs in order to be able to serve each one properly. Also to this end, DC has adopted a policy of only allowing one recognized club per country. Now because we are not based in any one country, this new policy need not affect us. But, so far, DC has not been willing to start discussions on becoming recognized.

My estimation is that, once we meet the following criteria, we stand a pretty good chance of being recognized:

- a steady flow of live events where members meet, such as the Ohio Tech Session (the first one actually was instrumental in getting this Group going in the first place)

- 500 paying members (we are up to around 300 or so at the moment)

- 5 years of existence

- governance that meets DC's requirements (this we already have in place, since our articles of incorporation follow almost ver batim the model provided by DC)

- a good rap from other recognized clubs, such as the International 190 SL Group (which is recognized)

I believe that gaining recognition could/should be one of the more important goals of the board and, more specifically, of the next president of our Group.

Cees, you humble current president!  
Amsterdam, some 400 miles from Stuttgart ...

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by Jonny B

Cees,

Thanks for the clarification. Should we have this as an agenda item at the 113 event in Columbus, so that we can keep this as a group goal? That is, what should we be doing, minutes, photos, reports, etc. to get to this status. Also, to talk with the group members present to see if there is a consensus to pursue this.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by cees klumper

Hi Jonny - actually I think it would be great if we could discuss some 'looking forward' topics for the group such as recognition by DC. There will be several board members present (Tom Sargeant, Rodd Masteller and I) so we can take things to the rest of the board for action.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by Jonny B

Cees,

And I believe Frank Cozza, on the board for MBCA is coming as well, for Friday evening and Saturday.

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by cees klumper

Yes, I know Frank also. But we are not affiliated with the MBCA in any way.

Cees ("Case") Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[rwmastel]

Jonny,

Don't get confused between these two things:

1.  Being associated with MBCA (Mercedes-Benz Club of America)
2.  Being recognized by MBCCCI (Mercedes Benz Classic Car Clubs International)

Frank Cozza, a very active and appreciated member of MBCA would have no power in helping us become a recognized Group by MBCCCI.  Actually, I assume (I've been told not to assume things) that most high level MBCA members would not want us to be an internationally recognized club by MBCCCI because that would have the potential to draw membership away.  Personally, I'm a member of both and very active in both.

Rodd
Powell, Ohio, USA
1966 230SL, Euro, Auto, Leather, both  tops
1994 E420

[Jonny B]

Rodd,

Thanks for the clarification. I did not realize the difference between the two. I think the upcoming gathering should offer us some opportunity to discuss this (I like the two drink minimum!) and see what happens.

Looking forward to the event!!

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[mdsalemi]

Note that our friend and 113 expert Pete Lesler is also on the National MBCA board.

Recognition is a good thing.  It adds legitimacy to your endeavors.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored