Like it or not, Toyota is about to release the best TLCA recruitment tool to hit the streets since 1983. After '83, each new model year had to be three or four years old before it became affordable to the likely TLCA member. Well, at the end of this year, Toyota gives us the best recruiting tool in over 20 years...
A quick read of the bylaws reveals that owners of a 2006 Toyota FJ Cruiser will be eligible for membership in the TLCA. So don’t use this thread as a forum to voice your opinions of the new truck, whether or not it’s a real Cruiser, etc….go to chat for that.
I think TLCA needs to make a concentrated effort to aggressively recruit new owners of the FJ Cruiser. We all know that this truck will sell like XTerras did during the first model year, and like H2s did when they were the hot new thing. Are these new owners the folks we want in the TLCA? Damn right. These will be young, active kids and men in mid-life crisis. These are the folks who will join the TLCA and local clubs and become as addicted to Cruisers as we are. A few issues of the Trails and they will be looking to buy an old stable mate to complement their new toy. They will wheel with us. The membership of TLCA could EASILY double or triple in one year if the effort is made to recruit these new Cruiser owners.
How? Well, that’s what this thread is meant to discover. Off of the top of my head, I’d say we need to provide dealers with application forms for both the TLCA and the local chapter to be included with each new FJ Cruiser sold. If you’re local chapter is big enough, with the right kind of relationship to the Toyota house, find a member that will offer a stockish FJ-40 for the dealership to display as the new FJ Cruiser hits their lot. Give them a chance to capitalize on the retro vibe of an old Cruiser while selling the new one and gaining us new members as they go.
Unlike the UZJ-100, that sold 8000-9000 units new (in 2004) to those less likely to join the TLCA, the new FJ Cruiser is being marketed to exactly the folks who will join and the truck will sell in significant quantities. It will sell to (positively speaking) young outdoor types who would love to show off their new Cruiser and hit the trails and campsites with other enthusiasts. Look at all of the H2 clubs that popped up after it's introduction. The new FJ Cruiser owner will say "Wow, coolest new vehicle going. I'll be one of the first to have one! What, there's a national Land Cruiser Club? I'm joining tomorrow!"
I know that there is a big membership drive afoot, and I know the guy in charge could sell ice to Eskimos. So let’s get the Toyota dealerships on board and get some of these FJ Cruiser owners in the TLCA. I can’t come up with a negative.
A quick read of the bylaws reveals that owners of a 2006 Toyota FJ Cruiser will be eligible for membership in the TLCA. So don’t use this thread as a forum to voice your opinions of the new truck, whether or not it’s a real Cruiser, etc….go to chat for that.
I think TLCA needs to make a concentrated effort to aggressively recruit new owners of the FJ Cruiser. We all know that this truck will sell like XTerras did during the first model year, and like H2s did when they were the hot new thing. Are these new owners the folks we want in the TLCA? Damn right. These will be young, active kids and men in mid-life crisis. These are the folks who will join the TLCA and local clubs and become as addicted to Cruisers as we are. A few issues of the Trails and they will be looking to buy an old stable mate to complement their new toy. They will wheel with us. The membership of TLCA could EASILY double or triple in one year if the effort is made to recruit these new Cruiser owners.
How? Well, that’s what this thread is meant to discover. Off of the top of my head, I’d say we need to provide dealers with application forms for both the TLCA and the local chapter to be included with each new FJ Cruiser sold. If you’re local chapter is big enough, with the right kind of relationship to the Toyota house, find a member that will offer a stockish FJ-40 for the dealership to display as the new FJ Cruiser hits their lot. Give them a chance to capitalize on the retro vibe of an old Cruiser while selling the new one and gaining us new members as they go.
Unlike the UZJ-100, that sold 8000-9000 units new (in 2004) to those less likely to join the TLCA, the new FJ Cruiser is being marketed to exactly the folks who will join and the truck will sell in significant quantities. It will sell to (positively speaking) young outdoor types who would love to show off their new Cruiser and hit the trails and campsites with other enthusiasts. Look at all of the H2 clubs that popped up after it's introduction. The new FJ Cruiser owner will say "Wow, coolest new vehicle going. I'll be one of the first to have one! What, there's a national Land Cruiser Club? I'm joining tomorrow!"
I know that there is a big membership drive afoot, and I know the guy in charge could sell ice to Eskimos. So let’s get the Toyota dealerships on board and get some of these FJ Cruiser owners in the TLCA. I can’t come up with a negative.
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