Oh Dear ! Am I the only A.C. enthusiast who believes that The Badge means something ? I have nothing but admiration for those who replicate A.C.'s creations, but I draw the line at use of The Badge. I do not denigrate the cars from Gerry Hawkridge, far from it, but the badge they should be proud to wear is the Hawk badge. To pretend they are A.C.s is to devalue the original and demean the copy. It has moreover led to a general confusion over what an A.C. is amongst even 'car enthusiast' members of the public.
All of life is an experience and to to be introduced to an old soldier who can wear The Victoria Cross is a great honour. To find subsequently that the old chap was not entitled and that the experience was a fraud would leave one disillusioned. Hardly on the same scale, but every misuse of The A.C. motif reduces its worth.
The irony of the situation, in which A.C. have come to allow use of their trademark by anyone in the world who chooses, whilst rescinding the granting of this honour, by The Hurlocks, to The A.C.O.C., is obvious to all.
We all hope for a rapprochement between The Club and The Company leading to a united front against the flagrant plagiarism which is now the norm. This will not happen so long as Members continue to indulge in gratuitous insults to A.C. and the efforts they are making to get back in to production. Not every Club Member loves every A.C. model produced, but we surely tolerate each others tastes. That same toleration must be extended to The Company. That does not mean agreeing with every policy, but it does mean having a regard to The Company's wellbeing and choosing where and how to voice criticism.
We can all see the obvious disadvantages of 'badge engineering' and yet this may be a route back to healthy production.
We are The Owners' Club, not The Board of Directors and mutual respect will only be re-established if our criticism is constructive.
