The problem is the old days are gone for Usenet, now it's just a place for spam, flame wars, and other unsavory stuff. When I started lurking here there were no forums, now there are a million of them, and I suspect the other Jeep forums are where most of the old timers are. Forums have advantages that Usenet can't even dream of, like posting pictures, splitting threads, moderation, etc. Really Usenet is from the days when a 14.4k modem was considered fast.
If I thought for a second it would be worth my time to setup a forum to provide a place where this group of people could be a real group again, I'd do it. I've setup and currently moderate several forums so for me it's really no big deal to do another. I'd even agree to pay to have it hosted on a reliable server. (if it would be ok to put discrete advertising on the forum to pay for that hosting.) If advertising would be a no-no then maybe a PayPal link to cover costs, or heck it could be like public radio with an annual fund drive to keep it on the air. I know of a forum where the founding group created a governing council to make sure the forum was run in a manner acceptable to all and to ensure the forum would keep going as members of the founding group came and went.
If we could attract back some of the guys from the old days it could be one of those places that was cool to hang out in again. I know I enjoy some of the other forums I lurk in, but none have that feeling of camaraderie that this one used to have.
Anyway it is just an idea, don't know if it will gain any traction, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there.
Dean and Mike I remember those shirts and hats, I never got one, dang. (well I did try to sell some but that's another story )