There are a number of things that the club offers as benefits, that you don't have without joining the club.
1. The newsletter, NSX Driver. It has great articles, and it's very well done. It's the only NSX-oriented newsletter in print in the world.
2. Vendor Discounts. There are quite a few vendors (such as Niello Acura's famous parts man, Eric Milam) who are offering great discounts on NSX parts and services to club members.
3. Club Activities. There are NSX Club activities all over the country. Some of them are track events. Some of them are monthly dinner meetings. And NSXPO takes place every year, with 100 or so NSX's and their owners, all in one place, with NSX vendor booths, and seminars, and a track event on one of the greatest race tracks in the country.
4. NSXCA Logo Merchandise. These are quality items, and (unlike other offerings) are produced and sold legally, with the consent of American Honda, which owns the NSX name.
All of these benefits have one thing in common: They depend on the large number of members of the NSX Club of America for their success. There are almost 1000 members of the NSX Club of America (including 60 in Texas).
Yes, you can have friends with NSX's without joining the NSX Club of America - but wouldn't you like the chance to meet as many owners as possible, rather than only a handful in your area who happen to post on one of the bulletin boards? The NSX Club of America is an organization whose members are very much a community, every bit as much as NSXprime and probably more so, due to the frequency and size of the club meetings, and the fact that it is a legal entity (incorporated as a non-profit organization). NSXprime cannot rent a racetrack and hold an event that looks like this:
The NSX Club of America can, because of the effort and money put forth by 1000 club owners. A "bunch of folks" cannot just go out and rent a racetrack, or book a large block of rooms at a hotel, or have famous speakers like David Hobbs join them for dinner. These vendors agree to host events, but only with a club that is a formal organization with credit ratings and such, and with a track record of paying bills and behaving well. And that's something that the NSX Club of America has established on behalf of its members.
(some people are just too pretentious)
This sounds to me like something you're imagining. You've never been to a club meeting, right? So then how can you claim that some people are too pretentious if you've never met them? I would bet that every club member here who has ever been to a club meeting would state that the club members are anything BUT pretentious. Maybe that's because club members never have to worry about what people are going to think of you because of the car you drive - because everyone else is driving the same car.
I figured I'm also enough of a "club" member just by sharing a common interst in the beautiful NSX.
No, you're not a club member, so don't claim to be one. Maybe you're saying that you want to be considered part of the club, but at the same time you're not paying anything towards maintaining the existence of the club that you want to claim that you're a part of.
Part of the enjoyment of the NSX is the ability to get together with other NSX owners - and sometimes, with a
lot of other owners. There is no better experience in an NSX than watching 100 of them driving around a racetrack, with no other cars in sight. Or going on a group drive with a couple dozen NSX's, and
only NSX's.
The NSX Club of America depends on the support of its members to survive and thrive. Those who have joined understand this concept and are happy to pay $40 per year to be a part of the NSX community, and to be contributing their fair share towards supporting that community and the events and newsletters and discounts that all club members enjoy.
Those of you who have not yet joined the NSX Club of America are encouraged to look through the club's website
here, and to look at the descriptions of some of the past NSXPO's
here and
here and
here, and to consider being a part of the biggest NSX organization in the world. If this is of interest to you, you can join the club by clicking
here and following the instructions. And we'll all be getting together again, this year in DFW Texas November 6-10 at NSXPO 2002.
[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 28 February 2002).]