A 10 Year Anniversary

[needfordspeed]

G'day all,

I had the idea to look up my records recently, and sure enough it is almost 10 years to the day since the original "ford.i8.com" web site was first put online. To be precise, it was around April 18, 2001. I'd bought my first car, the EA Ghia, just several months prior. I had planned to write an article about the EA's restoration-of-sorts for a general automotive web site I'd been running for some years beforehand, but found I had enough material to make a small, dedicated web site just for EAs.

Despite the huge effort I had poured into my previous web site, the EA site quickly surpassed it with increasing numbers of visitors and many suggestions that I eagerly took on board. This included the original 'Discussion Board' of June 23, 2001 that quickly attracted many legendary contributors such as jbolger, Kenaz and Rmyers who are still around to this day. Though I have no way of knowing, I believe that in its heyday, the EA Club (later EA-ED, then EA-EL via a merger with Sundeep's EF-EL site of the time) was the largest series-specific car club in the country.

A controversial merger with the juggernaut FordForums.com brought the upside of increased exposure and thus many new contributors, but the downside of 'higher ups' breathing down our necks and often treating us as second-class citizens. Just as my plan to turbocharge my car hit a variety of financial and organisational problems, the forum became increasingly politicized and unrest over its organisation - including my being accused of having a dictatorship over its affairs - eventually led to the demise of the Club's structure not long after FF members migrated to AFF.

I walked away from the whole thing and admitted defeat on my EA project, but the talents of Mr EFFalcon and the tireless enthusiasm of Sundeep meant that a spiritual successor to the original ford.i8.com had been born. I redirected my eseries.com.au and e-series.com.au URLs to the newly created boostedfalcon.net and have felt great pride ever since to see the legacy continue even in my absence.

The oldest archive is below, might bring back some memories for the veterans out there.

http://replay.web.archive.org/200105061 ... rd.i8.com/

Cheers to you all for keeping the original vision alive.

[Sunboost]

I signed up around September 2001 I think. Ahh, those were the days. Here's to the next decade

[EFFalcon]

Theres a brief history linked to on the home page.
certainly shows some colourful changes

[nstg8a]

wow, 2001 is like a lifetime ago...

who can remember what they were driving then? (for the ones that had got past puberty anyway)

[InfernalTyrant]

wow, 2001 is like a lifetime ago...

who can remember what they were driving then?

Tonka trucks in my sandpit.

[EB_Ghia]

wow, 2001 is like a lifetime ago...

who can remember what they were driving then? (for the ones that had got past puberty anyway)

it feels like it at times..

um i was on my learners driving my old magna. was mine too not the rents.
got my p's early "02", didnt join till i got the ea s pack in "04".

[pedrobta]

ford laser FTW!!

[sexyr6]

wow, 2001 is like a lifetime ago...

who can remember what they were driving then? (for the ones that had got past puberty anyway)

ha ha ha, same thing I am now

[Dezza]

That's awesome seeing how it all started. In 2001, that was the year before I got the EA! I was on my L's driving both an EBII manual wagon and an 89' Rodeo diesel (non-turbo... slow as hell). I've been with e-series for a while now but I didn't join up till the AFF days.

[BROCKYB8]

Thats good to see that its nearly been 10 years . Club has come along way from its early stages.

[Kyle the ED4LTR]

Man that feels like ages for me, i remember still only being in Grade 5 and dad just bought a Toyota Avalon :S

So congrats for a successful 10 years and more to come

[LTDHO]

wow, 2001 is like a lifetime ago...

who can remember what they were driving then? (for the ones that had got past puberty anyway)

A black LTD...

[holmsy]

i was 12.
so a datsun 200b wagon

you **** are old

[nothin suss]

ford laser FTW!!

Same here. A 2000 model KN Laser I purchased as a first year apprentice.
Damn I feel old right now.

Congrats to the key people keeping this place alive.

[pHaT`eL]

Has been a while!!

I was in year 10 playing with my Escort Pano, although I knew about the club seeing Nudge in the white EA alot wearing club stickers.

I signed up in 2004 when I bought the EL

[LUXO_8]

had a neat XF ute back then which was my first car... SVO type paint, XF Ghia interior and ZL Fairlane front
sold that in late 02 when i got my NC

[Rollin]

That's so long ago the pictures I have of the car I was driving are actually on film that I had to get developed...White manual 92 EB GLi, non body coded bumpers with red strip, ED XR6 interior, superlows, konis and EB XR6 wheels, looked great until I smashed it into an excel

[SNR]

I signed up for the i8 discussion board shortly before the transition to FF, shortly after I was given the family's EA Fairmont (3.9 CFI 4spd Auto) which eventually turned into the AU motored, turbo, t5zed machine that it was when it threw a rod.

[Another_ef]

I was 11/12 and was being driven around in an moricious blue ef gli waggs,

Congrats on growing a great site and a wealth of knowledge for everyone to share

[Commando]

Prior to ff.com I think I'd poo-pooed EAs as a "guest"

10 years ago I had a Legoman haircut & was punting around in a 3.3L XE, Faggot Beige in colour. Then I got the EB in 2002 & thought I was top shit for choosing it over an XBGT that was the same price. Joined up on ff.com in Jan '03 I think.

lol @ here in 2007, I was sooooo bored at work, I think I managed 9,000 posts in a year & the other 1000 or so have been since then.

[turbo_nut]

man u guys and this site have come along way congrates on the aniversory heres to the next decade or more me is still hope falcons will survive this decade

[EFFalcon]

2001 i started hunting for my EF

[galapogos01]

Ah, my old EA. Those were the days. Is it bad that I remember the old days like they were yesterday?

Big congrats to the group of guys (and girls) who have poured so many hours into making this community what it is today. I don't think Jack would have ever envisaged TV appearances or huge donations to charities when he set up the i8 forum! It's great to see so many original members still around, and it's always good to see troutman pop up from time to time

[NickosEL]

Man Back in 2001 I had a 76 Merc 280 SEL...Pimp mobile! Could keep up with my friends XD crossflow manual, so It moved alright, did a good standsstill tho!

[old_mate]

my old user name was sikEA and back then i was punting around in my EA S multipoint weapon haha. Was a good car for a first car, big stereo, loud exhaust, good to root in and so forth. 2001 was the year i got my license, joined the i8 forums, had my first root, graduated high school and so on. Good times. EA was stolen in 2003, replaced by the EL. EL sold in 2007 and enter my non ford period of life.