Local, Regional Or National Car Clubs

Deciding which type of collector's car club to join can sometimes be a very confusing process. After all, what is really the difference between the different levels and why does it really matter? While the differences in the overall club may be small between the different areas, there are generally some distinct differences in what the club expects from you, and also the number of members and the types of events that are organized.

People who are looking for a small, close-knit type of car club are going to find happiness in a local club typically. These clubs generally are very limited with members only coming from a specific area. While some areas are larger and account for larger clubs, they are still usually much smaller than the regional or national clubs could ever hope to be. Additionally, these clubs tend to meet on a weekly or monthly basis and also elect officers once a year. Another component to the local clubs is they tend to expect members to be fairly active because everyone lives fairly close together. This can include rides, shows, races and various other club related activities.

Regional clubs tend to be a bit larger and can often cover several states within the same region. Most regional clubs are lucky to meet once a month because of the distance in which people are having to travel in order to attend meetings. As with local clubs there are generally club officers elected once a year and there are often meetings held on a monthly basis or even bi-monthly. The exact location of the meetings can sometimes vary as the club moves the location around the region to ensure that everyone is able to attend at least one meeting a year. Clubs at the regional level usually organize and hold at least one or two car shows a year and several other great events as well for the members to enjoy.

National collectors car clubs tend to be the largest with the most members for each club. These are very large and typically do not have meetings on a frequent basis. Most of these clubs are lucky to meet once a month mostly because finding time for that many members to all meet together can be a large logistics problem for officers. The members in national clubs tend to come from all around the country and often members do not know each other and can only identify each other based upon seeing another member wearing the clubs jacket or shirt.

National clubs are also known for organizing several car shows a year. Additionally, depending upon the exact car style the club may organize a few races a year as well at locations around the country. Because members come from all around the country typically, meetings are not a requirement for members. To help handle the problems with members being located all around the country come officer election times many elections are held either over the internet, or by mailing a ballot into the club.

Picking out the club that is best suited to your needs and desires is based upon your own personality and desires. Many people join all three levels because each offers something that they want. You are free to join any level that you are interested in, looking around online you can generally find any club level you are interested and find out about their membership requirements easily.