OWNERS CLUBS

I was driving in the Lake District recently and all of a sudden I was passed by about 20 Mini Cooper S. They were all different colours, different body trims and being driven by a range of different aged drivers who were clearly part of some local owners club. Being a Mini fan it was a great sight to see.

I was en route to the Lake District car museum which had an excellent selection of cars and motorcycles on display. They also had a special shed dedicated to Malcolm Campbell and Bluebird which was very interesting.

Usually when I go to local car museums it is always worth having a look in the car park and previously I had spotted 2 Marcos Mantis’s in the car park.

I was not disappointed this time either as the local Caterham owners club had turned up and there 12 different coloured and specced Caterham 7’s lined up together in a corner of the car park. They all looked great.

Often when I am out driving especially in the summer I am always amazed at the array of various car owners clubs that are out and about or on the way to a show or for a meet up.

These car owners clubs are also a great source of information about their special interest cars including where to get spares ,repairs and advice for potential buyers.

So where will driverless cars fit into this in the future I hear you ask?

Driverless cars I feel per se will not have these loyal car owners clubs in the future.

Some of the early driverless cars might have an owners club. I am thinking here that of a Google Driverless car club, I am curious whether the cars might just meet up themselves without their owners!!

The only other exception will probably be the hybrid driverless cars i.e. classic cars that can be driven by owners or by a driverless car computer installation that allows a classic car to reach the true potential it was built for that is beyond your driving skill level.