This Maxi and its occupants were snapped as they made their way to the club's AGM held at the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust's museum at Gaydon, Warwickshire. Details of the proceedings held on the 23rd April 2006 are summarized below.

Chairman's report
Club Chair Ernie Jackson opened the meeting by recalling last years successful event to celebrate the Austin Car Company's Centenary. He said that over 30 Maxi's attended Cofton Park in Birmingham last summer, making it the most successful as well as the most memorable event in the club's calendar. Many of the Maxi's attending had not previously been seen at classic car shows. Ernie went on to say that in the last year he'd noticed how the car and club were being taken more seriously by the classic car fraternity. This was to some extent mirrored by the marked reduction in criticism leveled against the Maxi by classic car magazines such as Practical Classics. Finally Ernie expressed his gratitude to members for their loyalty and contributions during the year.

Secretary's report
Club Secretary Christine Jackson told those present that the club had suffered a deficit in the last financial year and expected to do so again in 2006/7. For this reason she proposed to raise the subscription by £2 per year (to £20 per annum). The proposal was unanimously accepted by those present. Christine informed the meeting that whilst membership continued to decline, new members were still being attracted to the club. When asked why membership was declining, she said that one possible reason was that as members got older, many found it increasingly difficult to maintain their cars and so either scrapped or sold them. Club Chair Ernie Jackson stated that little progress had been made to date in holding talks with other like minded clubs with a view to merging and or sharing costs.

Spares reports
Spares Advisor Morry Cook reported that spares were becoming increasingly hard to find at autojumbles. In a written report to the AGM, Morry said that Internet sites such as ebay were becoming a much better source for Maxi spares. Club Chair Ernie Jackson however issued a warning about prices on ebay when he said that some parts had been going for ridiculous sums. His advice "shop around".

Exhausts continue to be in short supply. Club Chair Ernie Jackson stated that whilst exhausts could still be found, this situation would continue to deteriorate. He said that members requiring new exhausts should consider having one made. The price for such an exhaust he suggested would be between £200 and £400, depending on whether it was made from stainless steel.

Editors report
Magazine Editor Mark Pacey reported that the clubs magazine's new format had now settled down and a good relationship established with its printers. Last year - he told those present - there had been 6 issues of the mag, one of which had been edited by guest editor Anthony Hall. Despite lack of contributions, Mark said that he still managed to compile at least 20 pages for each issue. Topics in the mag ranged from maintenance tips to reports from various classic car rallies held around the country.

Webmasters report
Webmaster Charles Lees stated that the site was now 4 to 5 years old. Whilst much work had been done, he said that there was still a great deal to do. He told those present that during the year he hoped to complete the Parts Database and those pages describing how the Maxi is constructed. He also said that he planned to move the site to a web hosting service in the next few days. This would provide the club with a more secure site and 20 times more webspace, allowing short films and sound to be added to the site.

Events
Anthony Hall (Club Events Officer) gave a brief account of the club's showcase events last year in Birmingham - to celebrate the Austin Car Club's Centenary and to take part in the International Classic Car Show at the NEC. He said that the club had again applied for a stand at this years International Classic Car Show and details would be made available when more was known about the event. Anthony appealed for volunteers to man the club stand in 2006. He also said that he hoped to announce the venue for this years Maximeet in the near future. He said that this would almost certainly be in the Midlands.

Local Area Reports
Local Area Organisers reported back about rallies and pageants that they were responsible for in their area. Local Area Rep for the South East - Morry Cook - appealed for cars and their owners to attend this years Enfield Pageant. He said that last year the Pageant had not been very well attended - on the sunday there had only been 3 cars on the club stand. An additional Local Area Organiser - Jonathan Harding - was appointed for North West England.

Federation of Historic British Vehicle Clubs and Austin Federation
Phil Marrison reported that the Austin Federation continues to act as a forum and vehicle for protecting and promoting the name of the Austin Car Company. This despite the fact that its original remit - to organise the Austin Car Company's centenary celebrations - has long since passed. Phil said that one of the things it's currently engaged in doing is monitoring the Longbridge site and in particular Lord Austins Office and its contents ..... Which it fears may be shipped to China by the site's new owners, the Nanjing Car Company. As far as the FHBVC are concerned Phil said that the club continues to benefit by being a member. In recent weeks the Federation have assisted the club in dealing with fake claims made in advertisements, which might have brought the club into disrepute. They also work tirelessly he said, to ensure that any impending legislation does not have an untoward affect on the Classic Car Movement.

Technical Officers report
Brian Winn the club's Technical Officer told the meeting that the club had recently extended its public liability insurance (covering the giving of advice). Whereas the club had previously had to withdraw its Technical Advise Service, it could now continue (albeit only for members). Brian reminded those present that the Technical Advisory Service did not cover sourcing spare parts.

Rule changes
A number of rule changes were proposed at the meeting. These were :

Rule 5 b COMMITTEE There shall be a Core Committee responsible to the Club Membership to manage the day to day running for the Club's affairs. The Core Committee will comprise. Chairman, Membership Secretary/Treasurer, Events Secretary, Magazine Editor, Regalia Secretary, Public Relations Officer, Webmaster, Spares Advisor and Technical Advisor. In addition to the Core Committee Regional Representatives of Club Membership are entitled, but not required to participate in all Committee Meetings. A member may hold more than one Core Committee post and Core Committee Members may also be Regional Representatives but no person attending a Committee Meeting will have more than one vote, irrespective of the number of posts held. All full members if the Club will be eligible to serve on the Committee and all Core Committee members will retire annually and be eligible for re-election.

Rule 6 ATTENDANCE AT COMMITTEE MEETINGS. Any members of the Core Committee failing to attend or provide reports for three or more consecutive Committee meetings will be deemed to have resigned from the Committee.

All the changes were voted for unopposed.

Election of Club Officers
All Club officers were re-elected on a show of hands.