Mc_Reatta

[DAVES89]

I don't know if anyone but me [or a couple of other guys] noticed but one of our friendliest, most knowledgeable [he is an electronics engineer] guys has not posted for some time. I am not sure what is going on but he was actually the basis of my post on "Lurkers". I will miss him not just for his knowledge but also for his pleasant demeanor and easy way about him. I had the pleasure of meeting him just a bit over a year ago when I located some parts for him and drove them down to Florida [where he lives] while on vacation from Wisconsin.

 At the time of our meeting I also brought along some 1990 switches [2] and 1991 switches [2]. He was to use the 91's to restore the 1990 ones which we all know as rare. Anyway after several attempts to reach him by PM and email I wrote him a letter to which his only response was to send me the rebuilt switches with no comment either in the box with the switches or email.

 I would willingly trade everything Mike has done for me over the years for Mike to come back.

 There are few guys on this forum like Mike and in my opinion he will be sorely missed.

 Thanks

Edited June 2, 2015 by DAVES89 (see edit history)

[Guest PontiacDude210]

I noticed he hadn't been around lately. He seemed pretty knowledgeable and helpful. I hope he comes back.

[2seater]

He certainly helped me a tremendous amount and stuck with me, through all the twists, turns and mistakes of the headlight wiring episode. That is not the only thing, and not to ignore the others that also added direction and support, but his diagrams were invaluable. I do miss his presence and I hope it is not a health issue.

[Ronnie]

I tried to contact Mc_Reatta via private message to ask him to participate in the forum. My message fell on deaf ears. He was a great guy and I will miss him.

[handmedownreatta]

he may have sold his reatta. i quit going to forums when i do.

[Guest Corvanti]

he may have sold his reatta. i quit going to forums when i do.

 i hope he is ok. sometimes when one disappears on a forum, it is serious health issues.

 

i sold my Reatta last July but hope to get another one soon. plus, if i can discuss problems i had on mine - i like to help folks. here and the ROJ forum, where i've made a good friend over the last few years.

[DAVES89]

he may have sold his reatta. i quit going to forums when i do.

 

He may have but I don't think so as he bought one for each of his two sons. I guess we move on and welcome him back if he does come back.

[Machiner 55]

Just so no one feels snubbed, I PM'd him about a month and a half ago and never received a response.

 

I did this myself some time ago. I dropped out for 4 or so years. (not that anyone noticed )

My Mother-in-Law passed away and we were mostly responsible for taking care of her "estate".

In the area where she lived, cell phone service was sketchy at best and Internet service was non-existent.

It kind of broke the "habit" of checking in daily. This in addition to getting a different vehicle which needed my love and attention well...

I just fell away from the fold for awhile.

This may (or may not) be what has happened with McR. Only he knows and he ain't tawkin.

 

John F.

[Ronnie]

I believe this forum is in a transition period now that the Buick Reatta has reached antique status. The discussions are increasingly more about collecting, production statistics, and showing a Reatta than about driving and maintaining it. That may be the normal direction a forum takes when a car reaches antique statues but those things aren't everyone's cup of tea so they lose interest in the discussions and move on. That might have been the reason Mc_Reatta left. From what little I knew about him he was a very knowledgeable Reatta owner who enjoyed maintaining his cars and enjoyed helping others solve their problems. I saw no indication that he was interested in restoring or collecting Reattas.

 

It appears to me that a lot of people who are interested in driving and maintaining their Reattas have turned to social networking sites. It is sad to see that happening. Even though I don't participate in them I do read them and I find the information they provide filled with inaccuracies and misinformation compared to what was once available here from people like Mc_Reatta. I can't see me posting on a social networking site so at some point I will probably just fade away like Mc_Reatta did. I hope Mc_Reatta is healthy, and is enjoying driving his Reatta.

[Guest my3buicks]

If that's the case Ronnie, that's sad. If I see a post or topic I'm not interested in I just don't read it or open it. And being one of the purists, there's lots of topics and posts that I don't have any interest in, so why if

that's not thier cup if tea can't they just do the same?

Edited June 6, 2015 by my3buicks (see edit history)

[KDirk]

I don't see why there should be less interest in discussing repair and maintenance even if this place starts leaning more towards collectors versus what I would call enthusiasts (and I consider myself the latter more than the former). Well heeled collectors still need to keep their cars decent and road worthy unless they are strictly immobile show pieces. Even then it is foolish to let a car sit and rot from neglect.

We (the core group of regular posters here for the past few years or so) have already fought and slayed many dragons with these cars. We know the challenges, tips and tricks for repairs and work arounds from experience. New forum memebers (especially if they are new or recent Reatta owners) still need the benefit of that cumulative knowledge for their cars. Sure, they can and should search the archives but new problems and now solutions will still be discovered and need proper airing-out here of somewhere.

Fragmenting the ownership between here and "social media" (what a joke by the way) is not helpful overall but those who have jumped off of here to go to Facebook et al will either come back to the roost for accurate and factual information or they will take their chances "over there" as the established expertise is largely in and on this forum. I think this is an age issue, with the younger owners largely going to facebook out of habit. Thing is, Facebook in general has become a wasteland and is increasingly intrusive on one's life and privacy in myriad ways that this setting isn't. It may be while coming yet, but I expect a backlash eventually as the product theh offer has been diluted and bogged down with so much trash that they are already losing domestic (US) users and many of their accounts are drones/secondary (i.e. away from the prying eyes of parents) and accounts people setup for their cats. Yeah, go ahead and inflate those user numbers, reality belies their bogus statistics. Point being, it is a fad (remember MySpace, anyone?) And it too will fade from relevance while places like this that have a specific focus will remain the repositories of knowledge even if new posts drop off a cliff. Who searches back 5 years for something on facebook, assuming it is still accessible?

In any case, any change in membership here shouldn't negate the need for discussion of repairs and maintenance as well as a place to buy/sell/trade cars amd parts. The need for parts willl be a bigger issue in the future anyway.

KDirk

[Bushwack]

Getting a little off topic, I'll chime in saying the next (or current) generation of car enthusiasts don't care much about cars past, present or future. The electronic age has grabbed the attention of under 30s.  As kids, many of use couldn't wait to receive the next edition of Car and Driver or Road and Track. Today's generation is more interested in music, movies, television and anything electronic.  The combustion engine and its attractive wrapping has been replaced by a 4x6 disposable handheld device with a memory stick and the latest processor.

 

Along the same thinking, various car shows I've attended the past few years there are fewer and fewer under 30 yr olds attending. The antiques at the show (referring to both cars and people) far outnumber kids attending.  At the recent All GM/Buick Car show (Reatta Rally), most of the kids I saw (i.e. under 12) were accompanied by their grandparents.  Their moms and dads were shopping for a smartphone, big screen TV or eating at the hottest brunch spot in town.

 

On a side note, Ronnie mentioned that the Reatta has reached 'antique status'. I don't think the connotation (or conception many have) of antique status' and the Reatta go hand-in-hand. Unfortunately, the Reatta still has a large distance to cover to attain respectability among car collectors (let's hope that Hemmings mention from a couple months ago helps).

[Guest PontiacDude210]

Getting a little off topic, I'll chime in saying the next (or current) generation of car enthusiasts don't care much about cars past, present or future.

Getting a little off topic, not caring about cars past, present or future may disqualify the use of "enthusiast." I see a lot of that though, people who repost a pic of a 70 Charger but won't or can't have a discussion about the pictured car due to attention spans equivalent to that of a goldfish. People my age and even a little older can't or won't turn a wrench, and don't want to learn. I feel the generation of "disposable commodities" is destroying cars because they can't see the value in them. I have saved two Reattas and an Rx7 from the scrapper for the price that my contemporaries buy one nice one and run it into the ground. Sorry, I'll end my rant here.

[Bushwack]

Getting a little off topic, not caring about cars past, present or future may disqualify the use of "enthusiast." I see a lot of that though, people who repost a pic of a 70 Charger but won't or can't have a discussion about the pictured car due to attention spans equivalent to that of a goldfish. People my age and even a little older can't or won't turn a wrench, and don't want to learn. I feel the generation of "disposable commodities" is destroying cars because they can't see the value in them. I have saved two Reattas and an Rx7 from the scrapper for the price that my contemporaries buy one nice one and run it into the ground. Sorry, I'll end my rant here.

  People collect art (whether sculptures or canvas) without ever having picked up a brick of clay or a brush. Indeed we live in a disposable society and while it was (is) old school to repair vs replace, the last couple generations don't think that way (unless you live in an Amish society).

[Ronnie]

If that's the case Ronnie, that's sad. If I see a post or topic I'm not interested in I just don't read it or open it. And being one of the purists, there's lots of topics and posts that I don't have any interest in, so why if

that's not thier cup if tea can't they just do the same?

 

I understand where you are coming from. I was just speculating on why Mc_Reatta might have left from my point of view. I'm probably completely off base.

 

There is nothing wrong with being a purist but it is much more logical to be a purist when you own a 5000 mile "instant show car" than when you own a 120,000 mile driver. An example would be if my accumulator goes out I wouldn't buy a NOS for $400+ when I can get a new Hydac for about $150. Spending a lot of money on a car like mine to keep it 100% stock is hard to justify to my wife with both of us retired and on a fixed income. Simply put I can't afford to be a purists if I wanted to be.

[Guest my3buicks]

KDirk hit the nail on the head on this statement:

 

 

Don't see why there should be less interest in discussing repair and maintenance even if this place starts leaning more towards collectors versus what I would call enthusiasts (and I consider myself the latter more than the former). Well heeled collectors still need to keep their cars decent and road worthy unless they are strictly immobile show pieces. Even then it is foolish to let a car sit and rot from neglect.
 

[KDirk]

You know, I think part of the reason we see fewer lengthy threads on repair now is that we used to see a higher volume of threads from new owners who bought a neglected Reatta cheaply thinking they got a deal. Then they found out they were in over their head and came here seeking help for cars with half a dozen major problems. This has changed, and there are two reasons in my estimation.

First, many of the beaters that could be bought for under $1000 are now gone - registration numbers bear this out - as they have been scrapped and parted as they likely should have been due to being too far gone. Secondly, these neglected examples being retired has coincided with a increase in the price of entry to owning a Reatta. This, in turn, has shut out many younger less mechanically experienced buyers who would buy and (try to) fix up such a car. Actually, that brings a third reason into play; there are many fewer teens/twenty-somethings now that will willingly take on a project car. This is due both to a lack of knowledge and interest. That's a shame, but it is where we are as a society in terms of everything being disposable, and no one wanting to put in the effort to fix something themselves. "Just buy a new one" is the prevailing attitude.

I enjoy working on things; cars, electronics, furniture refinishing, remodeling etc. This has put me in the position of having a lot of really nice stuff on the cheap so long as I put in some time and effort. Even among those my age (40ish) most cannot be bothered and everything gets bought new, or if repairs are done on something they are hired out. I know that having a full time job and kids makes it harder to do major projects for ones self.

I have no kids and am self employed so my situation is not so typical in terms of available time but most people I know waste inordinate amounts of time watching TV or socializing/drinking when they could be doing something more productive and still derive some enjoyment from accomplishing something tangible. Just a matter of priorities, and in a society that has reached the level of decadence and indifference we have now it seems the more trivial the pursuit, the more exalted it is. Self-sufficiency is no longer a virtue apparently.

Ah well, why rant about it? I have benefitted immensely from my resourcefulness while nearly everyone around me is miserable killing themselves to make payments on new cars and more house than they need and they don't seem to grasp that there is a better way. Since this trend grows with each successive generation, it is no wonder those between 16-25 now have little interest in fixing an old car, or much of anything else.

KDirk