Dwindling interest?

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:33 am

I'm kinda sad to see that activity on this site has dropped significantly.... I know a lot of time has transpired since I first signed up back in 2007, when it was still very active and conversations in threads were over minutes or even seconds, but I never expected it to drop this much.

Some of you may remember that I run another car forum, http://www.club-s12.org, which like this forum, supports a single generation of car badge: The Nissan "S12" chassis. This was the 1984-88 Nissan 200SX, also known as the "Silvia" and "Gazelle". They're RWD 80's hatchbacks with pop-up lights. Anyways, we started out small, and very under the radar. Since then, we've grown very active, and run a very advanced and trimmed-out forum software with a live chat window among other features, and we have to maintain an expensive server to handle the number of hits we get daily. We've been at it now for 11 years.

Still... our car is obscure. Niche. I know that Neons aren't Civics or Corvettes or VW Beetles, but I would have expected a more sustained interest in these cars. There are more of them on the road than the Nissan S12, and in far better condition due to less age, better build technology, and more modern comforts. I know that not every driver is an enthusiast, but the more drivers there are, the higher the number of enthusiasts within the number of drivers.

SO where did everyone go? SRTforums still sees modest but regular activity daily. My S12 forum has gone through periods of very low activity, especially in the winter, but the last couple years have seen year-round hustle and bustle there, and it looks like it will carry on like that for awhile longer.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

Midnight_Rider · Post by **Midnight_Rider** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:35 am

One reason IMO is that it is the dead of winter. Activity on the site will start to speed up when the weather permits local meets and will come to a fever pitch nearer to Carlisle.

mrsixstrings12 · Post by **mrsixstrings12** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:48 am

Neons are a small economy car vs the Silvia which are known to be drift machines. I figure people move on to better cars rather than spend their money on something that isn't worth it. I.E. They could put $10k in the neon to make it fast or could've bought an Evo and had a fast AND AWD car

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:52 am

I just don't remember this place completely dead in the winter. You have to admit it's gone considerably down in the last couple of years.

FormerlyREDRT_98 · Post by **FormerlyREDRT_98** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 12:04 pm

I'm a member of .org and here. This site is way slower, butane you mentioned its also just aimed at one generation whereas .org is all Neons. I was hoping this site was a little busier, I have some 2gen parts to sell but can't post them yet since I sfi don't have 40 posts

FAC3L3SS · Post by **FAC3L3SS** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 12:09 pm

^ Soon young Padawan. Contribute some and it'll come easier

As for the site being dead, people move on, with current economic status some people are working twice as much as they used to for 1/2 the money. People just can't afford the time or money to tinker on their daily car that they're likely making payments on still.

Plenty of us are still chipping away at their cars and have shit going on :devilfacethatIdkcodefor: but again it's winter and it's slow and motivation definitely lacks in these months.

r/tguy02 · Post by **r/tguy02** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 12:18 pm

yes its slowed down aerro, the neon has been out of production for 8 years, so a lot of the venders arent around anymore and new interest isnt being generated like it used to. you're eventually going to be left with the die hard enthusiest and thats pretty much it. i dont expect the neon to ever become a classic or iconic car but there will be a niche for it.
I came around the same time as you and i've noticed it on all neon forums including mine. We will prevail though

NEON PARABOLA · Post by **NEON PARABOLA** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 12:38 pm

I've just lost all the motivation to work on the neon, if I could trade it in tomorrow for a caliber or an avenger, I wouldn't think twice.

titansxt · Post by **titansxt** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:40 pm

You can't expect much with nearly every aftermarket opportunity explored and vendors ending their run of parts for a car that ended it's run in 2005. Still a good forum but activity is down no matter the season. Some of the nicer Neons are on to their third and fourth owner. Now it is all about repairs and quelling rust!

FormerlyREDRT_98, I might be looking at a CBR in Carol Stream this week. I could sell your parts for you if you. This way you don't have to spam for posts, not that you are... If the mods ok this.

NEON PARABOLA wrote:I've just lost all the motivation to work on the neon, if I could trade it in tomorrow for a caliber or an avenger, I wouldn't think twice.

Or you could not waste your money on those two options. Go get a BRZ or something exciting!

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 2:21 pm

LCA's on the Caliber were 10 times the PITA than the neon. Only because it was rust welded to the BJ stud, more than real difficulty.

Way less years than the neon, and even less miles, and the crossmember rust was getting as bad.

Plus you need a special tool to get the ball joints out, so for the average guy, it is cheaper/simpler to just replace the entire LCA.

You will be screaming like a little bitch to have your neon back.

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 2:23 pm

Yeah I can't understand the Neon<Avenger/Caliber logic problem.

Seems to me the inequality should be the other way around.

INVUJerry · Post by **INVUJerry** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 2:40 pm

I stopped posting as much since I didn't have time for my neon, so I didn't want to get depressed about it. Now I have all the time since I got laid off, and no money, so I'm not posting as much.

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 5:29 pm

Doesn't help that alot of members are on facebook and use that for talking

ThatKevin · Post by **ThatKevin** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 6:57 pm

I actually find 2gn to be pretty good, I come one a few times a day and there's always something being posted.

neons.org has more active threads, but I find half of them are just selling useless parts.

neoncanada is pretty much dead.. maybe 2-3 new posts a day

As previously mentioned, it's february. Not a lot is going on. Not many parts being put on cars, not so many meets going on, no tracks open. (this applies to anyone who gets snow :p)

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:09 pm

Yeah, I'm in southern California so I guess I take my nice weather for granted. It's 68 out today, and mostly clear.

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:32 pm

some of us are too busy HOARDING neons to actually post about them...

I agree it is slower more recently, but I do agree a lot of it probably has to do with it being winter. Members come and go but a lot of our most active user base has "grown up" over the past few years of me being on here and have moved on to other things... full time jobs, marriage, kids etc. and don't have time for the internet crew

LowNSlow · Post by **LowNSlow** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:51 pm

This site is always slow during the winter months.

Granted, in Texas, we don't have a winter.

INVUJerry · Post by **INVUJerry** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 8:25 pm

sidepipe87 wrote:some of us are too busy HOARDING neons to actually post about them...

I agree it is slower more recently, but I do agree a lot of it probably has to do with it being winter. Members come and go but a lot of our most active user base has "grown up" over the past few years of me being on here and have moved on to other things... full time jobs, marriage, kids etc. and don't have time for the internet crew

Joined in 05, married in 08, Jerry v3.0 in 2010, Clara coming in a few days, and I've been working the whole time. And my neon hasn't moved since December. I've barely touched it.

NyNeon0813 · Post by **NyNeon0813** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:45 pm

I've had my neon for years...still love it! Helps i didn't start modding it until 2 years ago. winter sucks, too cold to go outside, my job is crazy busy, but I'm stocking up on parts for spring! 2.5" exhaust, Camaro muffler, srt-d bumper, headlights,srt hood, and mudflaps.

I also think that as the years go on, srt4s get cheaper, and people go for them over regular neons!

I have faith in the 2gn community!

theColonel · Post by **theColonel** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 10:14 pm

Arro wrote:Yeah I can't understand the Neon<Avenger/Caliber logic problem.

Seems to me the inequality should be the other way around.

I own 2 Neons and 1 Avenger ... the Caliber is a sorry "POS" ... It's tall, heavy, and ugly and then you throw in the CVT to finish killing any enthusiasm you might have had for it.
My 2005 Dodge Neon SXT is still a great car ... it's equipped with ATX, cruise control, keyless entry, etc. etc.

The Avenger has all the standard amenities, but it suffers from the 'DaimlerChrysler Curse'. It's not as good as the Dodge Stratus we had before. It sits up higher ("command
seating" position) and is generally not as comfortable as the Stratus ... If I had never owned a Chrysler vehicle before, I'd never consider buying one now. Fiat 500 seems to be
the wave of the future. I strongly prefer my old Toyota Avalon to the newer Mopars

I think Chrysler's death preceded the bankruptcy by several years, and has a lot to do with our forum slowing down. Let the flaming begin.

stdlystdmufn · Post by **stdlystdmufn** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 10:38 pm

kind of agree but i think that the Italians have drastically increased the interior appeal. the quality of the new car interiors are miles above where they were 2 years ago. i like to think of it as a 2004 neon vs 2004 ford focus (neon being much better/more solid feeling) and the details go all the way to the little things like the width of the newer steering wheels in most of chrysler's cars.

yea i've noticed my own lack of interest on the boards recently as well.

Midnight_Rider · Post by **Midnight_Rider** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 12:52 am

theColonel wrote:I think Chrysler's death preceded the bankruptcy by several years, and has a lot to do with our forum slowing down. Let the flaming begin.

"Chrysler"s death"- exactly what Daimler wanted to do with the company (get ahold of Iacocca's war chest and the company's engineering and then milk Chrysler until it was dry).

Fiat is the best thing that could have happened to what was left of the old Chrysler (sales figures prove me right).

As to activity on our forum, I've noticed things speeding up and slowing down before over the years that I have been a member. Actually, things are going pretty well around here considering that our focus is on a car that wasn't very popular (or well-publicized) when it was being produced and has been out of production for eight years. What has been keeping things going around here is the members- you have to admit that we have a good bunch of people on the boards. I've made more friends through 2GN than I've ever had in my life.

theColonel · Post by **theColonel** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 6:59 am

Midnight_Rider wrote:
theColonel wrote:I think Chrysler's death preceded the bankruptcy by several years, and has a lot to do with our forum slowing down. Let the flaming begin.
"Chrysler"s death"- exactly what Daimler wanted to do with the company (get ahold of Iacocca's war chest and the company's engineering and then milk Chrysler until it was dry).

Fiat is the best thing that could have happened to what was left of the old Chrysler (sales figures prove me right).

I agree that Fiat dramatically improved the large cars, Chrysler 200 & 300, and Dodge Avenger & Charger with such things as Pentastar engines, and 8-speed automatics.
But to put 90 cubic engines in a car that is heavier than the Caliber, because it's like what they sell in Europe (where gasoline is $8/gallon) is poor strategy. Actually Chrysler
sales of trucks in the U.S. is carrying Fiat, not the "small car expertise" that motivated Obummer to give the company to the Italians. How many $120,000 Vipers can you sell,
compared to a $25,000 Dart SRT-4 ? (Price estimate based on the 2013 Mazdaspeed 3)

jckevns · Post by **jckevns** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 3:41 pm

Ive never been much of an active poster on here but recently my interest in my neon has dropped a little. Which is kinda strange considering I just upgraded my s20g to a s252.

Ive gotten to the point where the things I wanna do r harder n more exspensive. Doesnt help I left my job to finish school

I recently paid my spyder off n have started tinkerimng with that now, kinda enjoying the spyder at the moment.

Dont plan on getting rid of the neon any time soon just kinda in slow mood for the moment

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 4:33 pm

Arro wrote:Yeah, I'm in southern California so I guess I take my nice weather for granted. It's 68 out today, and mostly clear.

well it's a blistering 28 degrees here today and i'm still active

theColonel · Post by **theColonel** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:49 pm

Hudson_Neon wrote:well it's a blistering 28 degrees here today and I'm still active

It's 51 degrees here in the 'sunny south' and I feel cold

FormerlyREDRT_98 · Post by **FormerlyREDRT_98** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 6:04 pm

theColonel wrote:
Hudson_Neon wrote:well it's a blistering 28 degrees here today and I'm still active

It's 51 degrees here in the 'sunny south' and I feel cold

40 today in the Chicago area and it feels warm

Caraudioholic24 · Post by **Caraudioholic24** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 7:00 pm

I don't post as much as I used too but mainly due to time. . Facebook has become easier for me to post pics and ask certain questions lol... But once mega squirt starts to go into the car in a few months in sure I'll be on every day to ask questions lol...

I love this forum. .. being part of a few others in the past this is the most welcoming club I've been a part of. . It's basically my 2nd family. ... im a 2gn lifer

Alex Kurdian · Post by **Alex Kurdian** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 7:30 pm

I'm still here ...I read alota the posts going around...I Love U guys!....but ever since I sold the black beast I haven't posted as much....

...And like I said before this HANDS DOWN is the best forum out there...the new ones I joined for the Mazda have sucked! Except for the Toronto Guys they are ok...

...anyone know of any USA Mazda forums that are awesome?

jckevns · Post by **jckevns** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:11 pm

Alex Kurdian wrote:I'm still here ...I read alota the posts going around...I Love U guys!....but ever since I sold the black beast I haven't posted as much....

...And like I said before this HANDS DOWN is the best forum out there...the new ones I joined for the Mazda have sucked! Except for the Toronto Guys they are ok...

...anyone know of any USA Mazda forums that are awesome?

Its so true other forums dont compare to the people here.
The spyder forum im on is full of dbags, its really the only forum for the, mr2 spyder so what can yah do

2GN.ORG

Dwindling interest?

Dwindling interest?

I

Re: I