Here's a link to the old official RCMC forum. All the information is intact and the forum is still fully functional:
http://www.huntsvillecarscene.com/forumdisplay.php?f=14

The forum list on Huntsville Car Scene now points to this as the official forum for the RCMC since the RCMC homepage points here as well.

 

Thanks! Looking at those old threads brought back memories.


Good to see you back, too. Welcome home!

 

There's some really good stuff in there too. I really wish my host didn't hose the site years ago. They messed up and damaged a database table and then kept insisting it was my site and I needed to upgrade to a 2x expensive plan if I wanted to turn the site back on. If there was a way to sue them, I would have. They cost me 2 years of work, and now I'm having to build everything back again. But it is good to be back. Working as a franchisee for a crooked franchisor (1-800-Radiator) wasn't my cup of tea.

The good thing is that the host didn't lose any information like this. There's some really good information about the history of the car culture in this area. Great reading.

 

Thanks for the link!!

 

Samir, I appreciate what you have done with your site... both then and now. I remember catching you in a restaurant with another gentleman and you were talking about the radiator business.

Thanks for your hard work!

 

It's crazy how much I've lost in the last few years. Not only did we get screwed out of about $60k by our franchisor, I couldn't work on Huntsville Car Scene, and now something that had a lot of potential sits at the beginning again.

My former business partner, Clint, and I are still great friends as we before, during, and even after the whole mess. The sad thing is that was we built a good business--all of our customers told us this. And the customers were big--every Joe Hudson collision center, Regal Nissan Body Shop, Diehl Nissan, the list goes on. We were a solid reputable supplier with top-notch customer service. And we figured out to keep from losing money, even when we were being cheated. There was just nothing we could do legally because of the franchise agreement. And the agreement itself wasn't any different than what you see in the hotel industry; it's just that most people are honest and genuinely try to do business ethically.

I get so frustrated when I look at all I've lost in the last 5 years--my cars sit waiting for me to fix them, the web site sits in the same state, my bank account needs refreshing. It's really a sad state of affairs that makes my blood boil at times.

The only thing that really keeps me working on the web site is because it worked in the past and because of people like you. I remember 2006 when everyone knew everyone else, the community became more tight-knit, people became interested in each others' interests, and we all benefited. I tell myself that it took 2 years to do it before, so it will take that long again, but I see that some things have also changed. Maybe people don't want synergy anymore. Maybe people would rather stay walled off in city-states than be a nation. I sometimes sense that.

 

I can understand how you feel. Personally, I have also gone through a lot of loss in the past two years. One day we should have a beer and laugh about it. :-)

As far as your above statement, you can sense that in a way. I do find there are folks that would rather stay in their comfortable environment without reaching past their borders. Yet, I do find that there are clubs and people that still want to pull together now and then and form new relationships and friendships - be it due to cars, trucks, motorcycles, whatever. There have been a few groups that have contacted me through the presidency that have ideas for folks to join in a single cause. These are the people that benefit the most from the service that you provide - a single place to determine all of what is going on in the Huntsville and surrounding communities.

So, believe me, while you may have a daunting task in front of you to build up what you once had, there are many people that are benefiting from such and are very appreciative!

You rock!

 

We'll definitely have to do that. Although I can't drink any beer because I'm diabetic now too.
I really appreciate the perspective from someone else that's in a leadership position. A lot of people don't know how much work it really is being in our shoes.

I think you've summarized the entire enthusiast scene very nicely. And it's good to see that you still see a need for what I do. Yes, it is a daunting task and I'll get discouraged once in a while, but I'll come back to this thread for inspiration. It's knowing that it's worth it so many that will keep me going for a long time.