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I find the individual regions and members of those regions (both clubs) are typically really friendly folks that just want to drive and enjoy their cars and frankly don't care about the silliness of decades old pissing matches.

Kev, thanks for the fresh air, I have already started suffering from breathlessness.

ok. I give up. What's the age old rift between the two national clubs or any rift for that matter???

I would think in this day of internet use and social networking, holding on to old fashioned ideas and grudges will ultimately lead to the club's demise. I find that this site is more appropriate to suit my needs. I'll stay put and forego the old clubs drama and problems.

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I have to agree with bhappy, the I can do without. Like most big organizations, politics seem to worm their way into the fabric of life in some way, shape or form and ultimately cause division because one side disagreed or didn't get their way. Like Packard, I'll remain an independent until I'm forced to merge but for now, I'll cater to the local events where there's less competition and everything is !

As I understand it, PAC was established, in 1953, with the full blessing of PMCC, which even granted that club permission to use certain of its trademarks. I can imagine that the factory took that position in hopes of getting some people off their backs for discontinuing support and parts for the pre-war cars back then - in addition to a little good P/R. (These days, GM won't provide technical assistance to even its own dealers for vehicles that are more than ten years old.)

IIRC, it was 1963 when some members apparently had their fill of PAC and went off to form their own club. It doesn't matter what their reasons were - it's a free country! If they weren't getting what they wanted from PAC, why should they remain part of that club? Really, the situation is no different than what gave rise to PMCC in the first place.

Personally, I feel that the Packard hobby is bit better for having two separate national clubs. A little competition keeps things healthy, you know. Otherwise, we might not have had as much effort put into things like the "Packard Detail and Judging Guide" by PAC - oops, that was by PI!

Though I've never been a member of PI, I've probably purchased as much or more "merchandise" from them as I did PAC. However, I let my "subscription" to PAC lapse several years ago, for many reasons and with no intention of looking back.

Too many national clubs are run by too many social-climbing, status-seeking, control freaks; some even appear to have a god complex. Though the club's stated mission is usually one of preservation of vehicles, the organization is often nothing more than a bloated bureaucracy and petty plutocracy that is more focused on increasing revenues through more members, only to float the plankholders more and bigger parties disguised as "events", with a "let them eat cake" mentality WRT the rank-and-file.

In contrast, PackardInfo, the "un-club", provides - to ALL who enter - full access to a wealth of historical and technical information from factory original materials, donated by numerous benevolent members, and the experience of many hands-on owners in its forums. Moreover, there are no political hierarchies, no pecking orders, no ring-kissing, no boot-licking, no skull-and-bones, no tea-parlours, et-cetera, et-cetera, et-cetera.

Thanks BH. For those planning on joining a club they need all of the info they can get to make an INFORMED CHOICE. An informed choice is an informed choice regardless of popularity or unpopularity of the information.

I belong to PAC, PI, and CCCA mainly for the publications.

(o[]o)

I do see a possible outcome of too many sources for information and that is confusion (two heads are better than one but too many chefs spoil the broth). I find that this site has managed to compile knowledge, materials, and members capable of fulfilling the stated mission of those various clubs (preservation of vehicles). What else does a Packard enthusiast need, other than the obvious finances?

Too many car people are divas, not sharing caring adults.

The one that gets me most is the " I don't belong to any club because they're too much trouble" group.

As far as I know, every one of you had a mother. I do wonder if those people ever were part of a team of any kind, where you learn to trust and depend on the people around you and they learn the same.

Our hobby is composed of people who are getting older, with little effort at recruiting new folks. Half the people in our local club refuse to use email..... A recent proposal to get the club into facebook was greeted with hysteria over what might happen to anyone who participated.

Narcissus lives!