Mile 0.2 - the panhandlers
Car clubs are made up of groups of individuals that share similar interests in a particular brand or automotive styling type. Some clubs are formal clubs and members have to pay dues, follow certain rules or guidelines, and there is usually a heirarchy of positions to manage the club. Other clubs are loosely organized and members come and go, and its all about hanging out with no strings attached. Lastly, there are clubs that fall in between.
The Panhandlers started back in 2014 when Tom McIntosh had his VW fastback and I had just finished my VW beetle. We were hanging out, cruising to car shows and thought it would be fun to have some stickers made up. A pan refers to the chassis of an aircooled volkswagen and in order to lower these vehicles you have to modify (or handle) the pan. Tom's (now) wife Shauna designed the logo and after handing a few stickers out to my father, brother and uncle we jokingly considered ourselves a club. My brothers garage had most of our cars in there and we had pretty regular garage nights. Naturally, this came to be known as the Panhandlers "headquarters".
We didn't think much about it and it we never thought it would be something that people would want to "join". Our cars have all been built to our own styles and any time there are 4 or 5 of us cruising together it seems to bring some attention. Our idea of a good time at a car event is grilling, hanging out, relaxing and being together. I enjoy meeting and talking to new people and over time we started hanging out with some of the same folks at different shows. We decided to have a few more stickers made up. There is no checklist for someone being a panhandler, we just want people who are into the same things and have the same kind of vibe. I don't like to say we are exclusive but the only rule is that if you ask to be a panhandler you really don't understand what we are about, and probably wont get a sticker.
We were very fortunate to be featured on an episode of Driven. It was such a cool experience having the garage transformed into a studio for the interviews with some of us and my father. If you're interested in watching you can see it here.