Has anyone seen this new Airstream?

[osp6179]

I will post a thumnail of the pics included in the article as soon as I get them scanned in. Here's an article from Business 2.0 magazine:


Pimp My RV How do you pitch an old man's ride to the octane-boost set? By reinventing it, natch.

By Andrew Tilin, September 22, 2005 The average RV buyer sets sail in his land-yacht at age 49 -- and then gets so hooked that he turns into a repeat customer. This statistical pearl gave the folks at Airstream a bright idea: Why not get him hooked earlier? Thus was born the BaseCamp, a 16-foot trailer aimed not at retirees touring Yellowstone but at their kids planning to hang-glide off the Tetons.


When development began in 2003, designers quickly decided that the camper needed basic sleeping accommodations for two and room for toys like surfboards and motocross bikes. It also had to be light enough that it could be pulled by any car. And, most important, it had to look way cool. But producing a camper shaped more like the sensuous fender of a Porsche than a slab-sided motor home isn’t as simple as it sounds. “It’s easy to make flat parts,” says Airstream CEO Bob Wheeler. “But get into compound curves and it’s a whole different ball game.”


To make those compound curves, 75-year-old Airstream had to ditch its usual aluminum skeletal structure in favor of more malleable fiberglass. The fiberglass frame -- made possible by 3-D modeling software and computer-controlled milling of tooling parts -- gave the BaseCamp more than a pretty look: It also helped to cut Airstream’s labor costs by 40 percent.
Though the BaseCamp doesn’t go on sale until next month, Wheeler is already considering coming out with a bigger version. After all, there’s a gap in the lineup between the $20,000 BaseCamp and the $30,000 Bambi 16 -- and plenty of 20- and 30-somethings left to hook.

[Rog0525]

See this thread for photos and a discussion of the Base Camp:
http://www.airforums.com/forum...22base+camp%22

[yukionna]

Yes, I have seen this Airstream. There is quite a controversy swirling around with regards to its inclusion in WBCCI membership. I think it was voted out at the last International Rally.

[Bradjun1]

Why would the WBCCI exclude owners of this unit from membership? Aren't they losing membership every year? Don't we need some new young members to revive the membership ranks. And we wonder "what can we do too attract new members?" I think Airstream is trying to help us here. Will excluding potential new faces help recruitment? Isn't the WBCCI even changing the club name in an effort to gain new members? I guess I have too many questions and no answers. Maybe the Touring coach and Westfaila should be exculded as well.Or how about Dr. Holmans 1935 homemade Airstream? I started RVing with a pop-up, then went to a pick-up camper, then to an Airstream. We were 26, my wife and I both had jobs and we had one child when all this started. Had a unit like the Basecamp been available in those days we could have been 30 year members by now. Our children would have grown up seeing the Airstream lifestyle and they could be potential new members. Maybe someone can help me understand the WBCCI's rational. I'm not trying to be a radical. I just don't understand. Show me the light. By the wat I am an eight year WBCCI member.Thanks, Brad

[Rog0525]

Originally Posted by Bradjun1

Why would the WBCCI exclude owners of this unit from membership?

Brad, refer to post #47 of the thread I mentioned.

[47WeeWind]

As reported on page 7 in the September 2005 issue of Blue Beret, WBCCI membership increased by 15 members from 2003 to 2004, a positive change in the previous membership trend line.

The WBCCI Board of Directors on July 5, 2005 voted to defer considering the issue of, not deny, membership to owners of the new Base Camp until after the Base Camp actually began production. Many Board members wanted to see the trailer itself before voting, instead of voting based solely on a proposed design drawing. That certainly seems reasonable to me. The Base Camp membership issue remains open for formal consideration in the near future.

[Bradjun1]

I checked the thread and thank you for your direction. Thanks Brad

[Bradjun1]

Fred,
Thank you for getting me up to date on the WBCCI process in the decision. I agree that a concept drawing and a finished product are 2 different things. What I don't understand is why the WBCCI would alienate a potential member before they even have a chance to join? We bought our first Airstream in 1997 and joined the WBCCI. Since then we have the older members say things like "the unit isn't half the size it used to be" or" I can remember when there were twice as many units at the International" Can you imagine what this Basecamp could do for growth? I'm not a Basecamp customer but I hope it gets a fair shot. Thanks for you informative response. Brad

[bobechs]

I suppose if the Basecamp is excluded from the WBCCI (an organization to which I do not belong) it won't be likely to break the heart of the typical Basecamp owner.
I speculate many of them don't care to belong to an RV club that would (or wouldn't) have them as a member.

If excluded, I expect that the criteria for exclusion will operate more as a rationalization to keep the demographic as it is than as a reasoned choice. Folks have already noted that the "self-contained" requirement has been waived for vintage units. The "hard-sided" requirement is even less sensical. By its literal terms it should oust any coach with a screen porch add-a-room awning, making it a hybrid softie like the Basecamp.

Does anyone who is a member know if the hard-side rule is enforced?

[47WeeWind]

Originally Posted by Bradjun1

What I don't understand is why the WBCCI would alienate a potential member before they even have a chance to join? Brad

Brad: My understanding is the BaseCamp will be introduced late this month or early next month at the Salt Lake City RV show and that none presently are available for delivery. I don't believe there presently exists any actual BaseCamp owner who could possibly be alientated as potential WBCCI member, since trailer ownership is a prerequisite to membership. Once the trailers are being sold, I could see their new owners might then become alienated. But as soon as they become owners, the membership issue will already be on the agenda for consideration at the next WBCCI BoD meeting.

I'm not saying BaseCamp owners won't eventually be alienated, but I can't see how they are being alienated today if they don't yet exist. I just don't see where the WBCCI BoD has adopted a policy of pre-emptive alientation, as opposed to simply waiting until material facts come into existence.

[pyanke]

Brad,

If I am not mistaken, the MN unit voted overwhelming to have our delegate to the international vote in favor of including not only the vintage units but also the basecamp.

Pete

[Bradjun1]

Fred,
When will the BOD meet again? I hope they give it a fair shot. I really think most basecamp owners won't be much interested in the WBCCI but I view it as a stepping stone for some and that can help the club. Brad

[dwightdi]

I have been a member for 11 years and attended 9 Internationals. I never saw anyone preventing anyone from putting out their "add a room" walls to the camper but most do not do it at the International because the units are parked so close together that the awings (if extended on both sides) almost touch. The locals are allowed to have two buddy rallies per year and anybody with anything are allowed to attend. When you hold a bunch of the rallies in state parks you frequently get some SOB's (Some Other Brand)in the mix. We frequently use our 25 X 25 FT canvas dining tent in the middle of the group when we have an off site rally. There still are a few old stick in the muds around WBCCI that think "only Airstream aluminum trailers are "true" Airstreams". Most members are very tolerant.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by dwightdi

I have been a member for 11 years and attended 9 Internationals. There still are a few old stick in the muds around WBCCI that think "only Airstream aluminum trailers are "true" Airstreams". Most members are very tolerant.

dwightdi,
I fully agree with you, we we were camping at Myrtle Beach sans Airstream in our Coleman popup...(the AS is still undergoing its "120 step rehab") when a string of Airstream Generals pulled in, I went down just to see, introduced myself as a vintage owner and was invited to Happy Hour, a great bunch of people!(one of whom is a national officer) Some of the people we met had been in the WBBCI for over 40 years! They were telling us about the China tours, Alaska tours, etc. Once couple had pictures of a trailer just like ours, but had upgraded to a newer one. They encouraged us to make sure we make at least one International and to enjoy it. I am convinced that a lot of the Senior Airstreamers have discovered the fountain of youth...

Aaron

[Tin Hut]

When you consider the thousands of new AS owners (new and vintage) I was disappointed, but not too surprised that there were only 15 new members for an entire year. With the explosion of new owners and vintage owners, that represents a poor percentage so current WBCCI marketing plans are not hitting the mark yet to drive recruitement.

Originally Posted by 47WeeWind

As reported on page 7 in the September 2005 issue of Blue Beret, WBCCI membership increased by 15 members from 2003 to 2004, a positive change in the previous membership trend line.

The WBCCI Board of Directors on July 5, 2005 voted to defer considering the issue of, not deny, membership to owners of the new Base Camp until after the Base Camp actually began production. Many Board members wanted to see the trailer itself before voting, instead of voting based solely on a proposed design drawing. That certainly seems reasonable to me. The Base Camp membership issue remains open for formal consideration in the near future.

[RivetED]

Originally Posted by Tin Hut

When you consider the thousands of new AS owners (new and vintage) I was disappointed, but not too surprised that there were only 15 new members for an entire year. With the explosion of new owners and vintage owners, that represents a poor percentage so current WBCCI marketing plans are not hitting the mark yet to drive recruitement.

Actually there were quite a few "new" members, the net gain is only 15 because of attrition...

[desi arnaz]

you would think that airstream would give away memberships with each $70,000 trailer......... the $60 bucks it would cost them would goa long way in the goodwill dept.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by desi arnaz

you would think that airstream would give away memberships with each $70,000 trailer......... the $60 bucks it would cost them would goa long way in the goodwill dept.

Desi,
IIRC they were doing that at one point a year or two ago. There was a long thread here on the board about it.

Aaron

[RivetED]

Before jumping to conclusions I took a look at the empirical data. In 2004 there were 908 "new" members, in 2005 there were 1042 additional "new" members. The skewing of net-gain memberships is due to natural attrition, in many cases death or serious illness that precludes further activites in a very aged population. The 'new' wave of Airstreamers has only just begun, previously it was the sixty's & seventy's retirees that formed the core of the Airstream Club, WBCCI...I hope they change the name! The numbers do show that 'new' members are finally balancing &/or exceeding the attrition rate.

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Desi,
IIRC they were doing that at one point a year or two ago. There was a long thread here on the board about it.

Aaron

I joined WBCCI in 2002 and received a free International membership that year.