The Purpose of the Register of Unusual Microcars (RUM CARS)

[Jean]

Unfortunately, it would seem that the original purpose of the Register of Unusual Microcars has been forgotten in this electronic age.  We are not looking to discover bargins to buy or to act as a go between for other prospective buyers we just want to help  As Chris pointed in another topic RUMCARS is in the business of helping  people if they would only register their cars.  We have a large archive of information in the form of road tests, reports and experiences from the days when these cars were being made, as well as brochures and all manner of other bits and pieces.  We can also, with the permission of existing known owners introduce you to each other.  This is what the Register of Unusual Microcars was started for in 1980 and now has over 1200 vehicles registered.  Once a vehicle is registered it is kept on the records until we know it has been scrapped.  Each successive owner should notify us but sadly many of them don't.  If we don't know about you and your cars we can't help you.  So what ever kind of microcar you have we may well have some of the answers to your questions, the Forum is not your only port of call.    Many of the original cars that were put on the Register in the 1980's  have dropped under the radar and we suspect they are resurfacing now and we may well have valuable historical information about them but if you don't let us have your details we cannot help you. Let Alastair Lauchland, who now keeps our Register,  have your information so that your car can be added to it .  Find out how to do this by clicking on 'About the Register' on the Home Page of www.rumcars.org. We must have as much detail about your car as possible and your name but if you prefer to withold your address and just give us an email contact so well and good.. Come and join us    Jean

[bubblenuts]

Can hardly blame people for not offering up information on our cars unless the information is made publicly available. Consider for example traction engines which produce a register each year of which engines are out there, not necessarily showing the owners details.
at least then if someone spots a rotting micro they can see online if its registered or not.

The register as it stands only serves to seek out rare micros by those who compile it.

[Jean]

Can hardly blame people for not offering up information on our cars unless the information is made publicly available. Consider for example traction engines which produce a register each year of which engines are out there, not necessarily showing the owners details.
at least then if someone spots a rotting micro they can see online if its registered or not.

The register as it stands only serves to seek out rare micros by those who compile it.

I am sorry Bubblenuts but I think you are missing the whole point of our existence entirely, we are certainly not seeking out rare microcars for ourselves.  Over the years we have been able to help many people who have acquired vehicles that they knew nothing about with copies of  road tests, brochures and even where to get spare parts because they took the trouble to ask us for the information.  The more cars we have on the Register the more information we can ascertain about each make from the details successive owners give us.  We have got a centralised pool   of information available to anyone who seeks it.asks.  I will be interested to hear what other folk have to say  Do you want secrecy or mass publicity?

[Bob Purton]

I quite like the idea of a photographic on line album of cars that are on the register but I feel that if some are reluctant to register there cars now due to privicy concerns albiet unfounded,  then that would make them all the more reluctent to register there cars.

[richard]

publicity for me .  just a thought but i have wondered if the name being abbreviated to RUM is a good idea at all . i wonder if The Historic Microcar Club or something akin would sound a bit more interesting - i can see the objections but not sure a register sounds all that interesting - even if thats what it is  

like your point bob and most but not all i suppose would like their car featured wouldn't they ? but no lawn mowers please

[Barry]

I quite like the idea of a photographic on line album of cars that are on the register but I feel that if some are reluctant to register there cars now due to privicy concerns albiet unfounded,  then that would make them all the more reluctent to register there cars.

Publicity for me too.
I would like to see an on-line folder available for each car on the register with previous owners.  A master photo and another area for photos throughout the cars existence.  No need to make public the current owners details.
The on-line data would only be available to Rumcars members.
Also a photo of each type of microcar ever made, achieving a searchable list of all makes and models.  Perhaps a brief description of each - updated by members.   (oops - no need for a new A to Z book)
Denis in France has a small version - microcarfan.com 
Looks like a website job for Jonathan.

[Big Al]

Ignoring any other rules publishing information on other peoples vehicles is perhaps infringing data protection and certainly not what I want for my own collection. A secret is only a secret if you do not tell anyone. Part of security therefore is to not tell people what you have since they are unlikely to be motivated to attempt to nick something they do not know about.

Secondly it has now become important to protect the identity of rare and desirable vehicles from cloning. There has been discussion on the merit of replicas and fakes elsewhere on this board. One way a replica becomes a fake is to obtain genuine documentation of another vehicle and assume its identity. Dare I say this could be one reason for the 'low' values achieved by Coys for some of those cars in the auction. If I own a Peel now it has to have good documentation and provenance to quell any suggestion it is not the very original car that it is. If that information is not forthcoming then I am afraid top money will not be available from a wise investor. The microcar to suffer most here is the KR201 Roadster as it has no identifying chassis number from that of a KR200. Most Roadsters are not real and proving that a genuine one is real is extraordinarily difficult. Yet the production is less than that of Tigers and the car is most desirable and one day, as a collectors item, might eclipse undriven Tigers as a thing to own.

So RUM are between a rock and a hard place. The data is of great use but to publish it willy nilly is an offer to the unscrupulous to take full advantage of it. Clearly it therefore has to protect the car information.
The debate is what it does with this information. Certainly an offer of linking owners is good, as is pooling resource information for access to owners of types of car. Beyond that it offers a band of fellowship to owners of vehicles that can never have a club of there own. Sharing the experience and the odd page of a newsletter or website is far better than total obscurity.

Where I and others fail is that clearly the more resourceful folk tend to find out there own information irrespective of any organisation. Also those folks can often be busy, not least running there own club or business. The old adage 'if you want a job done find a busy man' was never truer. There is thus less motivation to be fully engaged in other peoples information gathering. Even more when there is an expectation of spoon feeding new owners who are not actually interested enough to even make the most basic of research efforts. I can only assume their purchase is related to expectations of future profit rather than enthusiasm of use or joy of restoration. I refer you back to previous comments and I, nor RUM, is here to research other peoples collections for its profitability. As a club it is a mutual in a world of small businesses in effect.

My own history is, of course, at odds with pure club mentality in many peoples eyes and it is a point of some contrast to find that while I still believe in real clubs, and always tried to play by those rules, most of the clubs I would like to belong to have succumbed to the effects of being small businesses with all the problems that brings when done badly. It makes me a very cynical viewer when I can see the miss use of position or information, at times by the very folk who cast stones at others for the same thing, sometimes years ago and on the flimsiest of evidence. Fortunately RUM is none profit making and sees fit to guard its information and there is ever more reason to do so, I think.

[Jonathan Poll]

Okay, here's my view of all of this.

First of all, I have to say Jean has sent me the only photos I have of my Nobel before I owned it, and even if there not old (1994), it's still great to have some photos, so I can thank the register for that.

Also, it's thanks to the register (I think!) that my dad found out his old Peel P50 (CKH 728B, currently in Lane museum) was a replica. The seller told my dad it was a replica. He was wrong!

I also love the idea of an online register of the cars. Maybe in the future, in the registration form, there could be a checkbox if you want your car featured on the website.

About the website? I will get to that one day At the moment, I have 4 websites to do for other people (I have to save up if I want to get more projects!).

Sorry Rich, my mower is already RUM'd Luckily I don;t think many non microcars are on the register !

I can understand that it can be frustrating if people don;t always register there cars on the register, but they use the register's forum! (I think my dad is guilty, not many of his cars are RUM'd!)

If I do end up making an online register, I will be needing all the help possible. If people could (nearer the time!) send me photos and finished documents, it shouldnt take too long.

JP

[Barry]

What web design package do you use Jonathan?

One of the reasons people don't register their cars is not the cost but the fact that they have to fill-in a form and send off a cheque.  This takes time and possibly they don't get round to it.

I noticed how easy it was to renew membership of EACC (East Anglian Cyclemotor club) - done in seconds using PayPal.
For NACC (National Auto-cycle and cyclemotor Club) you need to fill in a form and send off some money - I have only just got round to renewing on a last chance ticket wihich came with the magazine.

An on-line registration of a car with a picture and PayPal payment may be the way to go. 

[Jonathan Poll]

What web design package do you use Jonathan?

One of the reasons people don't register their cars is not the cost but the fact that they have to fill-in a form and send off a cheque.  This takes time and possibly they don't get round to it.

I noticed how easy it was to renew membership of EACC (East Anglian Cyclemotor club) - done in seconds using PayPal.
For NACC (National Auto-cycle and cyclemotor Club) you need to fill in a form and send off some money - I have only just got round to renewing on a last chance ticket wihich came with the magazine.

An on-line registration of a car with a picture and PayPal payment may be the way to go. 

I guess by package you mean website builder?

I enjoy using Weebly, since its free hosting, good customer service, and unlike certain website builders, mine gives access to ALL of the code, thereby it is not a "limited" site builder.

JP

[Bob Purton]

I think a photographic folder of members cars who tick the box for publicity would be good but with no other owners history of details included , not even having details viewable to members as anyone can join the forum and gather info for dodgy purposes. I would even blank out the registration numbers. RUMcars isnt the most inspiring of names I know but it does describe exactly what it is, its not a club and caters for historic microcars that dont already have there own one make club so titles like Historic microcar org etc could be misleading in my view.
Still its all academic at this stage, if we cant even get Jonathan to face lifted the website what chance have we of a project such as this? It would have to be put in the hands of a professional and possibly have to pay them to do it. I nominate Barry!

[Big Al]

It would have to be put in the hands of a professional and possibly have to pay them to do it. I nominate Barry!

What to do the website or to pay someone else to do the website? Mine's a pint.

Yep, Bob's pictorial plan is workable with the numbers blocked out. There is no reason why crevices cannot be documented without relieving the specific car info. There might be occasion to define type, age etc. It such a good idea that I notice few marque clubs creating a resource file on their websites to aid those restoring cars with access to original examples by the wonders of on line imagery. (Many clubs do not even know, or record, their few remaining unrestored good cars. A huge and valuable resource, but sadly not profitable if the parts you supply are not correct and such data rather undermines profits). On that basis perhaps RUM ought to once again blaze the trail ignored by those better financed and with only a few cars or models to cover each rather than a myriad of the weird and daft in RUMcar.

[Bob Purton]

Either!  Mines a cream tea please!

[Barry]

I think a photographic folder of members cars who tick the box for publicity would be good but with no other owners history of details included , not even having details viewable to members as anyone can join the forum and gather info for dodgy purposes. I would even blank out the registration numbers. RUMcars isnt the most inspiring of names I know but it does describe exactly what it is, its not a club and caters for historic microcars that dont already have there own one make club so titles like Historic microcar org etc could be misleading in my view.
Still its all academic at this stage, if we cant even get Jonathan to face lifted the website what chance have we of a project such as this? It would have to be put in the hands of a professional and possibly have to pay them to do it. I nominate Barry!

I don't do the websites but this is the sort of thing I organise.  (still under construction)

www.steptape.com

I could find out about a simple site for RUMcars with a gallery facility.

[Barry]

It would have to be put in the hands of a professional and possibly have to pay them to do it. I nominate Barry!

What to do the website or to pay someone else to do the website? Mine's a pint.

Yep, Bob's pictorial plan is workable with the numbers blocked out. There is no reason why crevices cannot be documented without relieving the specific car info. There might be occasion to define type, age etc. It such a good idea that I notice few marque clubs creating a resource file on their websites to aid those restoring cars with access to original examples by the wonders of on line imagery. (Many clubs do not even know, or record, their few remaining unrestored good cars. A huge and valuable resource, but sadly not profitable if the parts you supply are not correct and such data rather undermines profits). On that basis perhaps RUM ought to once again blaze the trail ignored by those better financed and with only a few cars or models to cover each rather than a myriad of the weird and daft in RUMcar.

Worth looking at the Moped Gallery for inspiration

http://www.icenicam.ukfsn.org/gallery/galindex.html