Originally posted by coyoteboy
There's also a general lack of people who would even consider building a car and that's becoming more common - practical skills, people with patience to spend a couple of hours a week on a long term goal - all vanishing.
Doesn't mean it's dying. [/quote
quote:
I know there are hundreds of Facebook groups for car builders. All those people who used to post amazing things on here probably find faster gratification on Facebook.
I've been saying for a while - this forum software/look isn't exactly user friendly and while I run another car forum that IS user friendly, even there they moved over to a facebook group which gets nothing but spam posts and random rubbish on it but gives them their daily update of nonsense. IT doesn't help to store answers, act like an info repository and allow nice browsing as a forum does. Weird though, because there's plenty of forums that DO still live on happily (thinking RC vehicle forums specifically).
snapper - 3/1/17 at 07:06 PM
Ah the post Christmas new year doom & gloom
Facebook serves the surface user and is not rigged well for what a Forum such as this does.
If people on Facebook get serious they will look for forums such as this IMHO
coyoteboy - 3/1/17 at 07:15 PM
You say that, but we went from ~2K members (200 regulars) and 5 years of history/info/learning about a rare type of car and with the creation of the facebook group the forum was utterly dead in 3 months. And I mean there's been 10 posts in 2 years.
Andybarbet - 3/1/17 at 07:21 PM
I must admit, I am on some other Facebook groups, not necessarily car related but if you want to search for info, you seem to hit a brick wall.
I like the fact that this is still very similar to when I joined over ten years ago.
I can find stuff relatively quickly, I don't have to scroll through days worth of junk to find out what I need.
This is actually my home page, the /today.php one, everytime I log onto my phone or pc, I get today's hottest locost topics, I love it :-)
gremlin1234 - 3/1/17 at 07:26 PM
another reason there may be fewer posts, is that so many of the questions have been asked before, and comprehensive answers given, all of which can
now be found with relatively simple searches.
I think this is probably a good thing though!
Slimy38 - 3/1/17 at 07:32 PM
There is also the seasonal dip when garages get too cold to work in, so less progress, fewer problems, so fewer questions to ask.
I tried to get out to mine yesterday and my fingers actually hurt after about ten minutes. Metal and a cold garage just isn't fun.
loggyboy - 3/1/17 at 07:45 PM
Without a doubt the nature of the content on this forum it wouldnt suit a group, as mentioned searching and keeping upnwith postings is harder on FB,
especially if the group grows.
It was mentioned a few months ago about updating the forum,nI used a few sites on Xenforo and the functionality isnso much more useful. (Tagging
users, notifications to replys when logging on rather than emails, great search potential.) I would love to see this place given a new lease of life.
With the collapse some other kit forums i would be a good to expand its appeal to all kit cars, which it pretty much is already, but wouldn't
help emphasising it.
ianhurley20 - 3/1/17 at 08:13 PM
I think this group and many similar ones are brilliant. I often had a problem when building my car and it was often solved by a search which gave me
the information I needed without looking an absolute plonker asking an often repeated question. I could never do that on facebook, its transient and
information fades into the past. Please keep this going, who cares if there is a dip - or rise - in posts - its enough to have this brilliant resource
and to be able to ask any question of the tremendous knowledge held by everyone who is part of this group.
As a person who is now contemplating their 5th build though - the powers that be have made it much more difficult to achieve - £450 IVA etc - and that
must put many off building a car - it nearly put me off my fourth one 
bi22le - 3/1/17 at 10:36 PM
I think the site is fine the way it is. As previously mentioned facebook feeds too fast so conversions disappear in hours. Sone of the best input to
topics had taken days to build worth people coming on here every now and then.
I don't think it is slowing down. The are no posts sinew days, granted but other days I have loads to read. Also, look how many cars have
been bought our sold on here recently.
The worst thing about this site is picture management. The steps to get a picture on a post is epic.
Take picture
email to laptop
resize
upload into photo library with name and location
open picture
Copy code
write post
paste code
If this site could make that easier i think more would be shared.
FYI this site is also my home page on my phone and laptop!
Hodor - 4/1/17 at 01:13 AM
Here is some data, courtesy of Google Trends
Description
I searched on the term "locost forum" then again on "locostbuilders"
Description
As you can see, they decline over the last 12 years. I think the scale is an arbitrary 100 units on the y axis.
Regardless, you can say that in terms of searching for this forum, activity is well under half of what it was 10 years ago.
pekwah1 - 4/1/17 at 08:37 AM
It is a shame, from a non-analytical view, i have certainly noticed that over the last year or slightly longer, the number of new posts seems to have declined... I would regularly miss a number of new threads as they were getting posted more regularly than i looked at them, but looking at the "new posts" bit on the front page, it doesn't seem to move quite as quick as it used to....
Hodor - 4/1/17 at 08:51 AM
My anecdotal observation is the number of cars put up for sale on this forum over the last 12 months has been significantly less than the previous 4 years I've been lurking. Not sure what that adds, but perhaps indicative that other outlets for selling a kit car, such as through the facebook groups, are more popular?
jps - 4/1/17 at 08:53 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Hodor
Here is some data, courtesy of Google Trends
Is that showing hits on the website - or searches for those terms via Google?
If that's an arbitary 0-100 scale it may be that 0 = 10,000 and 100 = 10,100 ? ( exaggerated for effect...)
quote:
Originally posted by ianhurley20
solved by a search which gave me the information I needed without looking an absolute plonker asking an often repeated question.
I think this must be a big influence - in some cases I have seen "use search" as the response to posts asking questions - so personally I read a LOT more on here than I post (and this is true for other forums too). I don't think that's a problem - but it will mean that over time the forum becomes more 'read' and less 'write'!
907 - 4/1/17 at 09:03 AM
We have in the past ( IMHO ) been guilty of shooting ourselves in the foot.
An example:-
New Member. I'm thinking of building a Locost. Where's the best place to buy steel box?
Replies. You don't want to do that. Buy a part finished off eBay that some poor sod has spent loads on, for next to nothing.
( That's actually shot in the foot with both barrels if you think about it. )
Another example:-
New Member. I'm thinking of going to the "Bla Bla" Kit Car Show. What's it like?
Replies. They're all rubbish. You want to go to Stoneleigh. That's the only one worth going to.
Guess what? It's now the only one TO go to.
Chris, (the other Chris) kept the Locost stand going from the money left in the Locost Car Club fund and when I last went,
in 2015 the stand had moved to the bottom of the field, and would have moved further if it wasn't for the river. 
Locostbuilders have no stand. No one to organise it I suppose. It's a shame.
If I were to build/restore something now it would be an MX5.
The local club does more per month than the Kit Car scene does per year.
Paul G
nick205 - 4/1/17 at 09:17 AM
Yes there may be fewer kit car builders around, but the value of this forum for me exceeds just kit cars. In general you can get responses to most
questions on this forum. There seems to be a core of people willing to share knowledge.
Personally the LCB format works well on my laptop, tablet and phone. Hats off to ChrisW for operating it - I'm sure there must be costs and time
penalties associated that ChrisW incurs.
Hodor - 4/1/17 at 09:36 AM
quote:
Originally posted by jps
Is that showing hits on the website - or searches for those terms via Google?
Google trends show what people search for on Google.
joneh - 4/1/17 at 09:43 AM
Here's my opinion:
Its the lack of a "Locost" book. What got me into this was stumbling across uncle Ron's face and car on the shelves at Halfords. I
wouldn't have thought of searching for the term Locost without finding the book. Whilst this site is a fantastic fountain of knowledge for all
kit car builds, its targeted mainly for self builds. i.e. not buying an off the shelf kit with an instruction manual and a dedicated owners forum.
I believe the general downturn is the lack of new comers to car building due to the lack of commercial advertisement for proper hairy arsed car
building.
nick205 - 4/1/17 at 10:08 AM
quote:
Originally posted by joneh
Here's my opinion:
Its the lack of a "Locost" book. What got me into this was stumbling across uncle Ron's face and car on the shelves at Halfords. I wouldn't have thought of searching for the term Locost without finding the book. Whilst this site is a fantastic fountain of knowledge for all kit car builds, its targeted mainly for self builds. i.e. not buying an off the shelf kit with an instruction manual and a dedicated owners forum.
I believe the general downturn is the lack of new comers to car building due to the lack of commercial advertisement for proper hairy arsed car building.
Well put! I too "found" uncle Ron's book in Waterstones. Bought it and was immediately hooked on the idea of building. Given my circumstances at the time I opted to build a kit (MK Indy) and personally enjoyed the build as much (if not more) than the end result.
The gaping mouths of family, friends and acquaintances when I told them I'd built the car were quite something - most people had/have no idea you can do such a thing!
ianhurley20 - 4/1/17 at 11:18 AM
Interesting thoughts Nick and Joneh. With me I had already built 3 cars before 1972, two from kits and one a rebuild of a Lotus 6. I had always
fancied another Seven but I am not the size I once was so started looking at ebay, visited Tiger and GBS and eventually became more familiar with the
various versions of 7 around. A visit to Stonleigh Kit car show with a tape measure gave me an idea what I could (or could not) fit into. Still no
idea about this forum. Internet research on build blogs threw this one up. The cost of buying and completing a kit put me off so I decided I had to
reduce costs and I decided to look for an incomplete Robin Hood 2B+ as one I could afford and fit into. Before that this forum led me to the Chris
Gibbs book. I bought it and eventually built a Haynes Roadster. Without this forum I would not have known about the Gibbs and Chapman books and it
has also led me to a future project, the Midlana.
Maybe in my case the books have come behind finding the forum but they, and more particularly this forum, have kept me going with my build together
with the less active Haynes forum. Perhaps together they are all inspirational.
I think there will always be a core of car builders but many must be put off by the number of incomplete projects around and doubt about their own
ability to build to a high enough standard to pass IVA (and perhaps the small matter of £450 for the test).
SteveWallace - 4/1/17 at 11:25 AM
I would suggest that the slow down in this forum (if its even real) is down to external factors rather than the quality of the site - which I find to
be still the best source of information available.
In particular, I think that the demise of the kit car show is playing a part. When I was thinking of getting into this I did a little bit of lurking
on here, but I really made the decision after visiting a couple of kit car shows and having a look for what I wanted 'in the flesh'. I
don't think that I would have got going without seeing what was out there and the buzz associated with the shows.
Why the shows have gone down in popularity is another discussion, but I think that we have had a run of bad luck with the weather in recent years that
has kept numbers down and made some of them economically unattractive to run.
No doubt macroeconomics has also played a part with people not feeling that they have as much disposable income to risk. This is exacerbated as scrap
yards where you can potter around for a day or two and get a lot of donor parts for next to nothing are getting thin on the ground (I know that e-bay
helps though).
I could also start sounding like an old fart and go on to say that they younger generation want a quick fix and may not be as prepared to spend the
time and effort building a car as in years gone by.
SteveWallace - 4/1/17 at 11:28 AM
A further thought...
In terms of this forum, there are a lot of people out there restoring old cars (me included with my MG TC), so perhaps this forum would benefit from a
'Restoration' section divided up into some popular models like the current 'car specific forums' section is.
Not only would this tap into a good sized interest group, but the demographic would tend to be people like me who are more comfortable with forums
than with Facebook and Twitter.
scootz - 4/1/17 at 11:29 AM
It's probably due to most of the questions having been asked and answered.
The search function on this website is a great source of info.
Irony - 4/1/17 at 12:32 PM
Locostbuilder/Locost/Ron Champion Cars are a brand without a owner/manufacturer, we have no source of leadership. No single person flies the
Locostbuilders flag. There is no manufacturer backup. There is no 'club' as such and as far as I know there never has been. Nobody
champions the cause and is willing to organise days out etc. No-one is out there drumming up support and shouting the name Locostbuilders to the
public. You might find that is because we are not interested in organising events because we are to busy in the garage. You only have to look at the
success of kit car companies across the UK. The ones with active marketing campaigns/customer support are growing the ones without are dying.
If we want to save the forum then we should probably ask for volunteers to start a Locostbuilders Owners Club. A group to organise meetups, to
organise stands at shows to officially be the champions of the forum.
loggyboy - 4/1/17 at 12:48 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Irony
Locostbuilder/Locost/Ron Champion Cars are a brand without a owner/manufacturer, we have no source of leadership. No single person flies the Locostbuilders flag. There is no manufacturer backup. There is no 'club' as such and as far as I know there never has been. Nobody champions the cause and is willing to organise days out etc. No-one is out there drumming up support and shouting the name Locostbuilders to the public. You might find that is because we are not interested in organising events because we are to busy in the garage. You only have to look at the success of kit car companies across the UK. The ones with active marketing campaigns/customer support are growing the ones without are dying.
If we want to save the forum then we should probably ask for volunteers to start a Locostbuilders Owners Club. A group to organise meetups, to organise stands at shows to officially be the champions of the forum.
The 'Locost' isnt the key to the site anymore though, it might have been the genesis, but targeting an old and near stagnant format is not going to help. This place has naturally evolved to cover a lot more and expanding this further is key. For kits generally, we dont need to expressly aim at covering all, or specific brands, but be as open and inviting to as many, by ways of expending the sections dedicated to types or brands, specifically for tech info or build diaries. Having regularly updated stickied posts to cover FAQ keeping links, adding more trader links and eventually get subscriptions when we can offer discounts and areas for paid members.
Im not suggesting a rebrand, we dont have to pin to the site naming source, the locostbuilders site has become its own entity, above and beyond the book chassis. There are few 'destination' forums that have names that arent 100% key to their content.
I completely agree on the regional meets, and this could and should be championed, but to do this we need to ensure a growing audience, this can be by tag on to other meets and groups, which will naturally entice new users
Benzine - 4/1/17 at 03:51 PM
If you look on the main forum list page where it shows all sub forums, the oldest post is only august last year. I'm on so many forums that have some sub forums that haven't had a post for over 5 years. I still see this as a very active forum.
Irony - 4/1/17 at 04:29 PM
Having read though the thread again I feel more and more is that we lack leadership. A committee to organise meets, ride outs, book show stands.
Even someone who has the time to drive sponsorship towards the forum etc. To raise awareness of the greatness of locostbuilders.co.uk.
I believe this is one of the greatest websites on the web.
907 - 4/1/17 at 05:13 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Irony
Locostbuilder/Locost/Ron Champion Cars are a brand without a owner/manufacturer, we have no source of leadership. No single person flies the Locostbuilders flag. There is no manufacturer backup. There is no 'club' as such and as far as I know there never has been. Nobody champions the cause and is willing to organise days out etc. No-one is out there drumming up support and shouting the name Locostbuilders to the public. You might find that is because we are not interested in organising events because we are to busy in the garage. You only have to look at the success of kit car companies across the UK. The ones with active marketing campaigns/customer support are growing the ones without are dying.
If we want to save the forum then we should probably ask for volunteers to start a Locostbuilders Owners Club. A group to organise meetups, to organise stands at shows to officially be the champions of the forum.
There is no 'club' as such and as far as I know there never has been.
Hens teeth have nothing on these membership cards.
Description
Hodor - 4/1/17 at 05:25 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Irony
Having read though the thread again I feel more and more is that we lack leadership. A committee to organise meets, ride outs, book show stands. Even someone who has the time to drive sponsorship towards the forum etc. To raise awareness of the greatness of locostbuilders.co.uk.
I believe this is one of the greatest websites on the web.
I don't know, it could be the start of a slippery slope as one can't please all of the people any of the time. One of the great things about this site is that there isn't any governing few or group, so there is none of the bullshit "elite" and cronyism bad feeling that can creep in, usually when people start taking exception as to how club funds are being spent on gazebos for the shows that not everybody can attend etc etc.
Sometimes, a place where all you get is a bit of chat and advice is best left at that.
loggyboy - 4/1/17 at 06:22 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Hodor
One of the great things about this site is that there isn't any governing few or group, so there is none of the bullshit "elite" and cronyism bad feeling that can creep in
I dont know about that, who has access to the shop???
Lol
Hodor - 4/1/17 at 06:38 PM
* that I'm aware of... I should have put that disclaimer in.
ste - 4/1/17 at 11:46 PM
quote:
Hens teeth have nothing on these membership cards.
Description
Do they do those cards without the grammatical errors too?
907 - 5/1/17 at 08:09 AM
I believe the club was run by Steve Gibbons (Locost car, Tangerine Dream) and the club folded in 2007.
Everyone was given membership for the next 10 years till 2017.
Anyone remember?
( There's somebody called Jenkins on the member list. 
)
Paul G
[Edited on 5/1/17 by 907]
nick205 - 5/1/17 at 08:49 AM
quote:
Originally posted by 907
I believe the club was run by Steve Gibbons (Locost car, Tangerine Dream) and the club folded in 2007.
Everyone was given membership for the next 10 years till 2017.
Anyone remember?
( There's somebody called Jenkins on the member list.
Paul G
[Edited on 5/1/17 by 907]
Wasn't aware of the club myself (not saying I'd have joined it though).
nick205 - 5/1/17 at 08:54 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Hodor
quote:
Originally posted by Irony
Having read though the thread again I feel more and more is that we lack leadership. A committee to organise meets, ride outs, book show stands. Even someone who has the time to drive sponsorship towards the forum etc. To raise awareness of the greatness of locostbuilders.co.uk.
I believe this is one of the greatest websites on the web.
I don't know, it could be the start of a slippery slope as one can't please all of the people any of the time. One of the great things about this site is that there isn't any governing few or group, so there is none of the bullshit "elite" and cronyism bad feeling that can creep in, usually when people start taking exception as to how club funds are being spent on gazebos for the shows that not everybody can attend etc etc.
Sometimes, a place where all you get is a bit of chat and advice is best left at that.
Interesting comment.
I belong to a few other internet forums, some motoring and some not. In general I find they tend to have a core of members on them and a number of hangers on. Unlike this forum however they can also be fairly judgmental in responses to (usually) genuine questions.
As before I find LCB a useful and active forum as well as a good source of information. As a means of bringing geographically spaced people together it seems to work well.
Irony - 5/1/17 at 10:22 AM
I'll not beat around the bush. This forum is a goldmine of information and I have met/spoken to some of the nicest and most generous people I
have ever met. I could never have built my car without it and I am very grateful.
However the 'interest' in the hobby is waining. People just don't know about it. If we want to keep attracting new members then
someone needs to starting driving it.
Irony - 5/1/17 at 10:55 AM
I have just been doing some research and I didn't quite realise how big Locostbuilders.co.uk is. According to Alexa.com its the 19th largest automotive enthusiasts website in the world!!! Thats huge. HotRod.com being number 1 and Pirate4x4 at number 2.
loggyboy - 5/1/17 at 11:23 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Irony
I have just been doing some research and I didn't quite realise how big Locostbuilders.co.uk is. According to Alexa.com its the 19th largest automotive enthusiasts website in the world!!! Thats huge. HotRod.com being number 1 and Pirate4x4 at number 2.
what are 1-18?
David Jenkins - 5/1/17 at 11:47 AM
This forum is a positive delight when compared to some others I've frequented - just try looking at some of the radio-control forums for a fine selection of sarcasm, rudeness, trolling, arrogance and petty-mindedness.
Mash - 7/1/17 at 09:40 AM
I decided to get a Locost (having sold my Cateringvan years ago to fund a new house and not having the HUGE stash of cahs available to buy it back
now) and saw one on Ebay....
It was only by looking on this forum that I was saved from making a massive and expensive mistake:
Mash nearly gives up his hard earned to a mugger
Thanks again to those of you that not only advised to not to buy, but gave me good advice on getting out of it.
I have since bought an Indy, and this site has been a massive source of advice, and I have SAFELY purchased bits for it from adverts on here,
something which can't always be guaranteed on Facebook sites (and certainly not on ebay).
The search function is invaluable, and I find interesting posts on here (not only about kitcars) every day.
As others have said, Facebook is fine, but if you want to find something from just a few days ago, it's hopeless due to the massive turnover of
posts and the inability of Facebook to store/search data.
My two main forums are this, and the Ford Transit Forum. I'd be lost without either of them.
02GF74 - 7/1/17 at 10:41 AM
guys - didn't expect this type of response. I AM NOT KNOCKING this forum in any way, it is a great place and long may it continue to run.
I was merely pointing out that to me it seems the interest in building kit cars is waning as it represented by the number of posts on here.
When I was finishing mine, 2005-7, every other member on here was building an MK Indy and SVA section was filled with question on how to pass, not
anymore.
minibull - 8/1/17 at 03:58 AM
I've no doubt kit car building has a hobby is declining, but whilst it is still legal there will always be some who want do it. For these people
this forum is the best there is. As to whether or not it is actually a locost forum any longer is a bit debatable but as I don't have nor want a
locost for me (and I imagine many others) that's no problem. What I do have is an idea of the car I want to build and the information contained
both already on the site and in the knowledge of members is invaluable. For instance I learned that I could dispense with the stupid handbrake bar on
english axle and replace with marina cable. Apparently this used to be a common mod, but I didn't know it and as disc brake conversions are now
the only thing that comes up on net searches so without this site I would never have known. This sort of thing that lot's of people used to know
will be lost as sites like this one disappear, particularly as the hobby declines. So maybe it isn't just locostbuilders, but it is the best
Kit/selfbuild car site that exists and I hope long remains so
loggyboy - 2/12/17 at 10:19 PM
Bumping this as really keen to see the site move forward and really want an upgrade to software. ChrisW what are our options?