Bye bye Cal-look website

[Alp]

seems they died today....
http://www.cal-look.com/thats_all.html

[beetlemandan]

 didn't niel young sing "better to shut 'er down than fade away"?

[Geoff]

Sad to see.
The Cal-look lounge has been the place to" be at" for the past few years since the other site started to decline. Link below.

http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php?board=1.0

[vwshawn]

They have started a Facebook page, www.cal-look.com
Lots of nice Vw's!

[owdlvr]

I offered take over the hosting & maintenance of the site, for archive purposes. I would have just hosted the articles and 'main site' information (not the forum) in an effort to keep the information available for the next generation. We'll see, but I suspect if they reached a decision to close the site completely I won't be taken up on the offer.

...I'm not even a 'cal-look' guy!

-Dave

[70's Looker]

I was surprised about it folding too I remember being at ontario shows and seeing john and dave handing out the stickers and cranking the mark herbert video all day they were the guys that sparked the cal-look bug in me!

 I sure hope that the same bug don't hurt the asf! Let's all have a goodtime and learn to laugh again

[Alp]

I hate FB so if it goes there I won't follow it.

[Trevor P]

Too bad. I became a member when it just started and used to log into it daily. I must admit it hasn't been a relavent site for me to visit for a few years now.
Does this mean my Cal-Look.com merch will be collectable in 30 years?

[silas]

very sad and unfortunate that we lose another acvw resource, but i'm not surprised they shut it down. that site has been a ghost town for awhile. like others here, i used to log on regularily and read and enjoy and get inspired, but as it slowed down i got bored and didnt visit it as often. plus like geoff said and jim and i were talking about today...the cal-look lounge is great and the europeans (and all the other folks that hang out there) really seem to have their s#!t together!!

i find this part of the send off kind of amusing...

Our hope for the future is that VW sites will strive to be more than egocentric blogs;

sounds kind of bitter, imho. the www is what you make it. everyone can be a hero and know everything, and you're bound to read or see something you dont like...so you have the choice to hit the "off" button and not pay attention to that kind of thing.

Let's all have a goodtime and learn to laugh again

lol...sound like a mash up of the trooper song "we're here for a good time" and the foo fighters song "walk".

I sure hope that the same bug don't hurt the asf!

i think the asf is fine and dandy and in great shape and a very important part of our community!! i think our biggest hurdle will be in the future as we all get older and as these cars that we love so dearly become harder to find...will be helping to keep our local youngsters as involved and excited as we all are! but i dont see that  being an issue we'll need to address for a long time...plus i think we're on the right track because we're all doing a great job representing and promoting the cool, fun and healthy hobby that is acvw-ing!!

[aircooleddave1965]

I just heard yesterday that AVR has been sold and will have no more aircooled parts at all (at least in Kelowna) they are going to be a water pumper only parts wholesaler selling only to those with shops and accounts! I think it is sad, it was the only place left around the Okanagon where you could buy the odd thing with out waiting a few days for shipping, The whole aircooled Volkswagen scene continues to get smaller.

[beetlemandan]

yes, the acvw scene is definitley getting smaller, but i find that those of us who keep our rides just get more hardcore. i know i don't cruise mine as much anymore, and the kids keep my finances and time from having the beetle i want. but i think a lot of us 30-somethings can say that.

i think the biggest challenge for the acvw community is not membership but people who know how to repair them. all those factory trained mechanics aren't getting younger, and the regular mechanics don't get the experience cause they don't see them very often, and thats even if the shop will let your acvw on the property. so we're left to fix our own rides, which makes it so if you don't how to gap valve lash and set dwell, you ain't cruising!

 the fact that that cal-look just completely shut er down so no-one can access the info is pretty bitter. my 2 cents...

maybe the future of our group is gonna be like those studebaker guys?

[ray]

Smaller ? Seems the Langley show gets bigger every year . So many great VW's out there , yet never see them on the road . Guess mine is one . Rarely leaves Vancouver , driven Jul & Aug only . If it wasn't for the few guys like Geoff , Bruce and Mike G. , my car would be a flower pot by now .

[beetlemandan]

smaller as in outside the gvrd. i can remember the days of waving at other acvw drivers in the winter out here in the (j)okanagan. now if i see one a week in the summer, thats a lot!

i get guys asking me still "when am i going to get a real hotrod?" after i stuff their small block with a 1641!

[72vwtype2]

I think to make our "local" VW community stronger we may want to start considering amalgamating the various VW websites. Pooling resources and having a strong central website may strenghten our community and make it more efficient. I can think of many VW aircooled websites (1 - Okanagan, 2 - Vancouver Island, 1 - Bellingham) of various sizes. Perhaps having one would bring us closer and make us stronger.


my 2 cents.

[Geoff]

I think to make our "local" VW community stronger we may want to start considering amalgamating the various VW websites. Pooling resources and having a strong central website may strenghten our community and make it more efficient. I can think of many VW aircooled websites (1 - Okanagan, 2 - Vancouver Island, 1 - Bellingham) of various sizes. Perhaps having one would bring us closer and make us stronger.


my 2 cents.

I agree, a while back we added a club section here on the ASF to try and keep everyone informed as to where they can contact other clubs etc. It's not a area that get's many posts but hopefully it gets people in touch with the club of their choosing.

Facebook has taken it's toll on the forums (I think) many forums don't see the posting numbers as they did in the past as many connect with others worldwide in the VW scene. I think it's great we have Facebbok as it keeps us in touch with our friends abroad but it would be good to get those who post on facebook daily to post a little here and on other forums.

Not sure how we can make things better here and in our local comunity but I do know the DVKK are working hard to bring you more swap meets, a spring event and the GCVWS again for 2013.

We would like to have some casual all club meets at the beach during the summertime, if you have any ideas please feel free to contact us or better yet post here oon the ASF!

[72vwtype2]

I agree there is a lot of hard work that goes into keeping the GCVWS and other events going on throughout the year. But unfortunately I think there are many that try to ensure they can attend these great events, but often times family (for this that have kids) activities do not allow attending these events. This kind of keeps us disconnected from the VW community.

One idea that I have that I think would perhaps bring the VW community together is a "VW clubhouse". One of the (many) challenges of our hobby is it is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain our rides. The days of picking up $300 running beetles and the vast amount of cheap parts to keep it running is long gone. Also shops to fix our cars barely exists. So finding mechanics that can fix things that we cannot is challenging. Of course for those that has growing families and/or have busy lives time is also a significant issue. Unfortunately, the result of all these factors is that many our rides are off the road. 

If we had a "clubhouse" or more specifically a shop we may be able to pool our resources. We could bring our cars in and get assistance from whoever is available and recipicate with you own talents (or just hard labour). This would not only get more of our cars on the road but give those with aircooled interests a place to hang out all year round. Of course this is a "pie in the sky" idea and would be difficult to manage and maintain. But if such a shop could exist on a break even basis (i.e. gather enough membership fees), I think we would have a pretty cool VW shop!