The Model A Touring Club passed its eighth birthday in January of 2008 and is going
strong. For two years running, 1998 and 1999, a group of west coast USA Model A touring
enthusiasts, lead by expert motor touring guide, Lee Chase, took their Model A’s
on foreign tours to Europe and Baja California and enjoyed it so much, we thought
we should form a Special Interest Group (SIG) in the Model A Ford Club of America
(MAFCA). We incorporated as a not for profit California corporation and received
our Charter from MAFCA in 2000 with Lee Chase as our first president.
Counting the two pre-SIG tours, our members have visited The Netherlands, Belgium,
France, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Mexico, Canada,
Australia, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. This year (2007), we will tour Alaska and
the following year will tour the Maritime Provinces of Canada.
We don’t have to tell Model A Ford owners of the challenges and the thrills that
we get when we take our cars to places where Models A’s are seldom seen. In foreign
lands driving into town with 20 or 30 A’s with USA license plates is an invitation
to stop and talk—about cars, the scenery, the towns and the people. We could be a
gaggle of US tourists in modern cars and these fine citizens would not give us the
time of day! We are continually surprised by the number of people in other lands
that have such a strong appreciation of the Model A Ford and express a shared affection
with us.
We are an international club as our members come from the USA and Canada. About two-thirds
of our members are from Southern California, we have members from states that span
the continent. You might wonder how we can gather all these people from diverse areas
and arrive as a group at our destinations in foreign lands. Members fly from common
embarkation airports in their geographic areas. We set up three ports of embarkation
for the cars. These are situated on the Atlantic coast; Pacific coast and the Gulf
coast at cities nearest the majority of the tour members. A standard marine container
is just large enough to hold three standard-length Model A Fords, so our tours are
planned to take cars in multiples of three. Most tours comprise approximately 30
cars, though some tours are less. Our first tour as a newly formed club was to Europe
in 2001 and we had 50 cars! This large group strained our new organization and since
then we have tried to limit the number of cars in a tour to a more manageable size.
Most people are interested in the financial aspects of our tours, which are strictly
non-profit. They started in 1998 costing approximately $10,000 per car with two people.
Since then the slide of the dollar and inflation have raised that to an average of
about $14,000. This cost compares favorably to a two-week ocean cruise, but is far
more fun! For this sum, our members get a three-week tour with all hotels, over one-third
of the meals, airfare, car insurance and transportation, plus some entertainment
along the way. The major add-ons are fuel (overseas, more than double what we pay
at home!), the rest of the meals, souvenirs and all the things a wife can usually
think of to fill a car that is being shipped home by sea transport!
We are governed by a set of Bylaws, which provide for a Board of seven Directors
elected for a three-year term of office. Our Board elects the officers of the club
each year at an annual meeting and we have one Membership Meeting each year. Currently
these meetings occur in conjunction with the MAFCA Annual Meeting and Banquet. We
recently became a Special Interest Region of the Model A Restorers Club (MARC). We
are exploring ways to be more closely aligned with this organization in the future.
The Club is approximately 90 families strong, so that we have about 180 individual
members. Membership fluctuates as some members join principally for a specific tour
and then depart for other activities. On the other hand, we still have many Charter
Members who have made many tours with us and provide great leadership for the club.
We are always on the lookout for new members who would like to share our idea of
vacationing. If you would care to join us, please go to the page marked “JOIN.”
