Hi All,
On Friday, I had a very lengthy meeting with Gerry Southerington, who heads up Abarth UK!
Luckily for me I live about 20 minutes away from their Head Offices, which are really quite nice!
I went there to discuss Abarth UK and Abarth Owners Club working together, and Abarth recognising us as a legitimate owners club.
We also discussed partnering up for meets and events, as well as new cars, specs and touched on pricing - all of which was confidential between Gerry and myself, so dont ask!
Himself and the team for Abarth absolutely love the website and forum, and think its a really great community we have going here. We discussed in great depth being the official club, and both agreed that right now this wouldnt be beneficial to us.
In a nut shell, there are a huge amount of legalities involved, which would negatively impact the club. We would have to have rules for the forum, meets would suddenly become more difficult to organise and we would also have to become much more heavy handed in our moderation of the forum - as Abarth cant be seen to be allowing any, shall we say not quite politically correct discussions on here, or talks of speeding etc etc.
And I think we will all agree no one wants heavy handed moderation, as this is a place for enthusiasts to come together and enjoy their passion for Abarth. However, Abarth are very aware of us, love that we have so many meets planned and we will perhaps collaborate together - although this is all I a saying for now. Please do not come asking when where and what will be happening!
We also discussed the topic of merchandise. He was kindly passed it over to the legal department who are going to try and work something out for us, as they like us promoting the brand but of course I have to respect their copy rights and trade marks. As soon as I know more about it, I will let everyone know.
I will also be getting more Abarth dealers involved in the forum, and try to arrange meets organised by ourselves as well as the dealers. I also aim to have some group benefits for us from dealers, such as discounted merchandise and perhaps reduced servicing fees, but again this is something I have to work out between myself and the dealers, I will let you know how it goes.
Finally, Abarth will be at Brooklands in May, and AOC will be involved with their stand and car display. It will also be a good time for us to really show off the club and entice more members to join us. We should have some Abarth Owners Club sail flags to display , and fingers crossed merchandise will be sorted by then, but I cant promise this!
Id also like to thank Will & Colin for their continued support to the club, and effort into organising events and meets. And a big thank you to all the members involved on here, as none of it would be possible without you!
I hope you continue to use the forum and find it useful, helpful and entertaining!
Bertie
Topic: My Meeting With Abarth UK... (Read 19204 times)