JOIN THE CLUB: Retro Rides

Celebrating 15 years in 2019, the community has big plans, as David Murphy reveals.

When and why was Retro Rides formed?

We started Retro Rides in 2004 — March 16 to be precise. Inspired by the recently launched Retro Cars magazine and finding ourselves discussing a lot of non-VW cars on a large VW forum we set up our own little bit of the internet to discuss the type of cars we wanted to talk about. We then set off to Ford, Mini and Vauxhall forums to see if there were any likeminded folk hanging out there, too.

Is it open to all types of cars?

Yes, as long as they are retro. In fact, it is the very beating heart of Retro Rides, the embracing of all types of cars.

Do classic Ford owners make up much of the community?

The four main strands of the retro scene are classic Fords, VWs, Vauxhalls and Japanese cars. Our events and forum are often populated with a good share of Blue Oval representation.

What does Retro Rides offer to new members?

For a lot of people, it is a place to belong to a community that is perhaps a bit freer than some clubs and other communities. Cars that may get sidelined elsewhere are often admired, but equally cars that are super central to some scenes, a South London look Escort for example, are also appreciated. We are enthusiastic and just want to help people build and drive their cars.

How many forum members do you have?

The member count says 47,000, realistically though we probably have 8000 active members.

Can you describe a typical member?

Absolutely not — we’ve got members from across all social spectrums, race, colours, creeds, sexual preference, you name it, it is probably represented in our membership somewhere. We’re all here for the cars.

Do you have members from overseas?

Yes from New Zealand to Russia, to Malaysia, to Iran, and everywhere in between pretty much.

Do you host your own shows or meets?

We host a couple of modestly-sized shows. The Retro Rides Gathering at Shelsley Walsh is our longest running event having been going for the last 11 years, this year it is on August 18. Last year we launched the Retro Rides Weekender which takes over Goodwood Circuit for two days — that happened in May.

What other shows does Retro Rides have a presence at?

We’re often at Retro Show as a club. It is something we intend to do more of, given the size of the community we could field stands at various one make shows, too. At just about any show in the country you are like to find a Retro Rides car or two lurking around.

Any funny stories about the community?

I’m not sure how funny it was at the time, but we managed to lose our original domain name. I was on holiday and didn’t see the increasingly urgent emails to renew it. Or maybe looking back at the little feature we had in Retro Cars magazine in late 2004 where we were very proud of ‘over 700’ members. We’ve come a long way.

What are Retro Ride’s plans for the future?

So many plans, so little time! We’re looking to run a competitive hillclimb event on the Saturday of the Gathering in 2020, and possibly publishing a high-quality quarterly magazine. On top of which we have big plans for our online community!