If you are an active club member, you can click on Login in the upper right corner of the window.  You will be prompted for your User ID and password.  If this is the first time you have visited the site, your User ID will be the email address you have on file with the National Business Office (NBO) of the MBCA and your password is your MBCA membership ID number (see your membership card).  The password is case-senitive and the first letter of your membership ID should be entered in upper-case(Shift + letter).  If you don't know this information the call the NBO at 1-800-637-2360 during normal business hours Mountain Standard Time.

Once you are logged in you can change this information and other information in your profile.  It is strongly suggested that you change your password to something you can easily remember after the first time you log in.  See FQA:  How do I change my profile information?

  A password is a security feature used on computers very much like a PIN (Personal Identification Number) used with your banking card at an ATM.  This website authenicates, that you are who you say you are, by matching your user id and your password, which uniquely identifies you.  Your user id is not secure and in fact will be displayed all over this site as you explore and utilize its features.  Your password is private and will never to displayed.  You should safeguard it like you do your PIN.

  A password should be chosen to be easy to remember, but not widely known by anyone else. Passwords should be at least 6 characters long, the longer the better, and contain both upper and lower case alphabetic characters along with numbers and punctuation.  But, remember you have to type it without making a mistake and it will not be displayed as you type it in.  Six to twelve characters is a good compromise.  When you are changing your password the website will indicate it strength.

  Passwords may contain any letters, numbers or punctuation marks except the period (.), comma (,) and piping character (|).  Upper-case letters (Shift + letter) and lower case letters are different characters in a password, so “banana” and “Banana” are different passwords.  If you are experiencing difficulty entering your password and believe you are entering it correctly, check your Caps Lock on your computer's keyboard; this is a common problem.

  For more information on choosing good passwords, google “good passwords examples”.

You can reset your password by clicking on Login and selecting the Request new password tab.

  Before you can change your profile information, you must be logged on.  See "How do I log on?".

  The easiest way to change your profile information is to click the "My Profile" button in the upper right of the window, in between the Welcome banner and Log out button.  Selecting the "Edit Profle" tab along the top of the resulting window will display a page of profile information which you may modify.

  Your Account Information is displayed first.  You can scroll down to find the information you wish to modify, then select the field and edit it. 

  It is strongly suggested that you change your password to something you can remember, when you first log in.  As you type in a new password the site will display a rating for it security strength and hints to make it stronger.

  Other tabs displayed in the upper portion of the window allow for the display and modification of Member Information and Additional Information.

  While you are reviewing your Member Information, take a few moments to add your nickname or preferred name, if you use one in the social environment of the Club.  Your mailed correspondence will still to be address with your first name but your nickname will be used on this site.  This way we can identify you as your fellow club members know you, while using your more formal name for correspondence which may be sent to your office.

  When you have compleled modifying all the information you wish, click on the "Save" button to update your profile information.

  Both offer the means for the Mercedes-Benz community to communicate with each other. They are general web chat rooms but are structured differently. Although most subjects can be handled by either format, their structures make some subjects better handled by one rather than the other.

  Forums, as its name purveys, is an open gathering of many users with diverse ideas. Any registered member or visitor to the MBCA website can navigate to the Forums and participant in the Forum community voicing their views on a number of vastly different topics related to the Club and the Mercedes-Benz automobile. They can also start a new forum on a subject not yet covered to discuss it and hear other's opinions.

  Interest Groups are more focused on a specific interest in the Mercedes-Benz community. The purpose of the interest group is to allow members with a common interest to meet and discuss the interest. To facilitate this all related information, such as Star Articles, Forum Posts, news items, etc., on the specific subject or interest is gathered into a specific place and interest group members are allow to discuss the interest. Anyone visiting our website may view the activities of the interested group, but only members of the MBCA may join a group and fully participate.

Thanks to member Michael Shea for providing these instructions.

1) Click the "Image" button as shown in the picture below:

2) Select the "Upload" tab and your screen should look like this:

3) Hit the "Browse" button and select the picture you want to upload from the folder on your computer in which it is saved.  With the title of the photo now showing in the field, click "Send it to the Server".  (The gray bar shouldn't appear - I just wanted to censor personal info.)

4) It takes just a minute for your photo to be uploaded to the server and once it is, the next screen you'll see is the one below.  Follow the instructions typed next to the red arrows below.

...and that's all it takes.  The Drupal software will automatically take you to your post.

Note:  If you are embedding an image into a forum post and want the image to fill the width of the forum window, set the Width to 720 and leave the Height blank.

  Downloadable Resources are accessed using the navigation button, "Our Community", then selecting "Resources".  This results in a list of available documents being displayed.  They are documents used by MBCA members usually in leadership positions, but some of the documents have more general content and may be of interest to the general membership.

  Selecting the "Download" button to the right of each document title will display the document in your web browser.  Most of these documents are in a PDF format so you will need a reader on your computer which can read that format.  If you don't have a reader, you'll get an error message from your web browser.  To get a free PDF Reader, see the upper portion of the Resources page and select the "Adobe Acrobat Reader " link  This will take you to the Adobe site, the company that developed the PDF format, for a free download.  Read the page carefully and uncheck any promotions or other program download you might not want; then just click the "Download" button. 

There are so many easy reasons to become a member of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America.  For a modest membership fee of $45 a year—about 12 cents a day—Club members receive an impressive return on their annual investment.

Have a suggestion for the MBCA web site.  Please let us know.