The Cal-look Lounge

Reading the magazines has been and still is a big part of my hobby, I keep a subscription on both the english ones and read the American one from time to time. On the German and Frech I'm down to looking at pictures, or the drawings when it comes to SuperVW. I remember reading every word in every magazine I got hold of for a long time, but something has changed I don't know if its the style of writing stories or whether its just me. I seem to remember there being more background info stuff before? I guess I'm a sucker for build pictures and pictures of the bodywork (in other words LEARN). Maybe thats why I LOVE the pages in the pages called "Our projects" in Volksworld. BTW that Pye car is going to be GREAT when its finished! I have been into VW's 18 years now, could that have something to do with it?
How about you, what do you like about the magazines, and how long have you been a VW reader?

I'm sure this won't be popular

Back in the day, I always disliked the magazines and consequently never bought a lot of them. I always found them full of misinformation.

I always like to look at "special" cars, things that come from left field or are amazing build quality.

Today with so many mags fighting over pictures, I think there are two many ordinary cars.  And I hate RAT LOOK.  Its not clever, finding a rusty car, just about making ir road worthy and sticking an old suitcase on the roof! WTF.

Oh and i mustn't forget the VW trends Bikini Issues :)

I think I buy my first vw magazine back in 95 or so. I was 13 years old.

But only magazine I subscribe is Ultra VW. Good choices of car, nice to read. A great one.
 I don't buy French vw magazine any more. I no longer find what I'm looking for in it   :-\

I subscribe to both the UK mags. I used to have more of a preference for one of them, but now I don't. They are both very good and I wouldn't like to choose one over the other. Like Lids tho, I hate ratters, they take no imagination and are generally unsafe piles. I'm not a fan of buses either, and to see a third of an issue devoted to a vehicle which already has it's own magazine from the same publisher seems ridiculous. But, if it's what people are building...  :-\

Yes, I think you are right, tha standard has been lowered to the point that you get a lot of "also ran cars" in there.... in a pack of show cars they wouldn't stick out. There are may cars like that in the magazines today, all the right parts, but no soul/ personal ideas. But it's those cars breaking the mold that keeps me subscribing.
 

I started reading vw mags in 1995. In the beginning I only knew the german mag "VW Scene" which had features of both aircooled cars and waterpumpers. A year later or so, I discovered the french Super VW mag. It was so different and just so much better! Besides of being "aircooled only", there were reports from vw shows in California and I discovered the california look. I read every issue until some years ago. I also used to have a subscription of Ultra VW, but I haven't renewed it. I still like both of the UK mags and I check them out frequently as some of my friends have them.

But at the moment, I don't buy any VW mags anymore. There are several (some personal) reasons for that:

- The internet is faster. You have seen most of the cars online, before they're featured in the magazines.
- Same stuff everywhere. Some cars are featured by several mags.
- Too much uninteresting stuff. I don't like buses after 1967, nor 1302 oder 1303 beetles. I generally don't have a big interest in stockers, either.
- Same style of photography / layout. Most of the mags (especially the french one) always have the same kind of photography. The shots are mostly static, one from the front, one 3/4 view, one from above, some close-ups of the engine and the interior etc. Hey, why don't you go one step beyond? I absolutely LOVE photos of rolling cars, why are the shots always so static? Or how about cool photo locations. The quality of the layout is sometimes questionable, too. It doesn't have to be the VW version of the Rodder's Journal, but you get the image... The "Type" magazine was a good try, does it exist anymore, btw?
- And finally, I simply don't have the space anymore to store all of those mags.  :)

I can't really spend too long on this as I am trying to write a book chapter today!  ::)

All I can say from a personal point of view is that all magazines are damned if they do, and damned if they don't. If you write about stockers, they hi-po guys complain. Write about drag racers and the vintage crew get upset. Write about Buses and everyone else complains. Rat-look? I complain! The thing is that, at present, Buses and 'patina cars' sell mags. It's all a fad, and in a few months (years) it will probably all have changed.  :D

Also, one of the most common complaints levelled against magazines on both sides of the Atlantic is that they "only ever show perfect, high-dollar cars". We try to publish a broad cross-section of what's out there, but obviously not every car is going to appeal to every reader. I don't like some of the cars featured in Ultra VW, but then I'm sure not everyone likes cars I've owned over the years (especially my Ford Zephyr...).

As for the Internet being faster and already seeing cars online before they appear in print, well, if all people want is a pic or two of a car taken at a show, rather than detailed pics and the full story behind it, then fine. I believe magazines such as Ultra, VoksWorld and Hot VWs have a duty to give the reader more info about the cars. And I'd personally rather sit in front of the fire reading about a car than staring at a computer screen all night (which I do anyway! :(). But that's just me.

I began reading VW magazines seriously back in 1974 and boy have they changed for the better...

I read English mags and French Super VWs.
That's true, I don't enjoy reading them as I used before. I thought that it's just me. As for the features, you can read the same one in few mags (thanks Stephan ;) ) but that's better then not being able to read it at all.
Still, reading something in internet is a totally different thing than on paper. I like receiving a new mag, opening it etc. Takes more time, you focus more. I like when there is more text, not just photos and a short article that seems like a template with owners name, car's color and year changed.
Oh, and I don't have a computer in a toilet ;)
Of course not all the cars featured are of the kind that I like the most. But I'm just one of many readers. I can't effort hiring staff of people doing one copy of magazine just for me.
What was not mentioned here is supervw's VW Tech. Something different, but still - my favorite.
I regret not knowing German - they still seem to have a slightly different approach, and you can see that in their mags.       

I don't think that the VW scene wouldn't survive without the magazines. Internet doesn't replace magazines, I should probably know, having spent 13 years maintaining my boring old Cal Look / Resto Cal site :) I subscribe Hot VWs, Super VW, Volksworld and Ultra VW and much rather sit back and relax with a magazine or Keith's next Cal Look bible than have a laptop in my arms heating up.

Like Rick said magazines have errors, the UK ones are better and more informative. Same cars have been in most of the magazines, but Ultra and Volksworld avoid quite nicely not to feature a same car. Yeah, they feature lot of shit boxes that I couldn't care less and somewhere is someone who thinks exactly the same about the cars I like. I would rather read in features would be more about the specific car and learn from it, not about VW production figures or recapping history of certain model once again. The commercial aspects like pleasing large variety of readers or having huge number of ads (like Hot VWs) is just something no publication can be free from.

Well, how many other magazines have you ever seen in that level  ;) But who would do magazine like Dice but with Volkswagen content  :D

I subscribe to HVWs, mainly for the tech articles. Still the best tech in the business. I pick up UVW and VW when they have a car that interests me. Of the two, I probably buy UVW more often. Due to size, format & paper quality, I think the Euro mags have better feature articles. You can take a car that has been featured in HVW and UVW, usually by the same author or photographer, and the UVW article will tend to be more visually appealing.

I like a variety of cars from restos, to cal-looks, buses, T3s, buggies and bajas. Pass on the trikes and hoodrides. It keeps things interesting. As far as the quality of cars, I think they have gone up greatly in the past 15 - 20 years. Go back and look at some of the HVWs, VWTs & VW from the late eighties to early nineties. A lot of the cars featured would barely be considered today. Over all detail and presentation were much worse. I may not be a big fan of the GFK cars or some of the resto-cal cars being built today, but you have to admit they have raised the bar on what is considered a quality car.

I really wish that there was another VW mag in the US. There have been some half assed attempts, but nothing has lasted.

--louis

I buy everyone I can get my hands on, the more the merrier !!!........they are the lifeline for me, internet is something I use at work  ;)

Subscritions can work out very expensive due to living in Spain so I get friends to bring them over (sometimes free, sometimes not  ;))

I have an obscene stash by the john.........I really should get out more  ;D

Given the support I think Type magazine could fill that gap :)

I'm a bit of a magazine addict so buy what is out there and try to have complete sets of the old ones, not doing too bad ;)

All I can say is that today I feel the reader is far, far better off than back in 1988 - you are now able to get focussed input from a number of magazines written by dedicated fellow enthusiasts from various countries. I enjoy every new issue of every VW magazine, I crave input virtually as badly as Number 5, or Johnny as he was later known, from the film Short Circuit.
No one has mentioned the Japanese mags - I can't read any of them, except the odd random English word, but I still love seeing every copy.
I enjoy reading thoughts on Rat Look - and agree with some people's views, but I can remember the response when I decided to throw the rulebook out of the window for the January 2000 issue and make Mark Herbert's Super Shit Box the cover star - with the cover line Dung Beetle. The pics were by Keith Seume.
I knew I had to do it - even if it meant having to stand my corner and fight for it... And it created one of the most memorable covers we've seen. I my opinion, doing so probably helped to promote Rat Look as 'accepted' - and if so, who really cares?
The beauty of this hobby is that there are so many sub-divisions of interest and whilst you might not personally like stockers, bajas, buggies, coachbuilts, Resto Cals, Buses or whatever - the next man or woman may well love them.

I say celebrate diversity, the fact we have so much choice, and the internet for making our world so much smaller and faster.     

The best magazine I've seen for photography? Has anyone ever read EVO magazine? Now I know that they fly all around the world driving Ferrari/Porsche/Pagini, but they take some awesome photo's! How about some of the editors buying a copy for inspiration?  ;)

Front cover - VolksWorld Feb'08 and March '08 - photographer works for EVO as well as us.

OK to close the stable door now James?  ;D

Not enough sideways shots in snow covered locations Ivan  ;D

Seriosly though, they're the best cover shots I've seen in any VW magazine for a longtime. You should keep him on the books my friend  ;)

Of the 'other' car mags I'd have to say apart from RJ my favourite at the moment is Garage, since Jesse James took over as publisher it's a great read. Octane seems to pretty good at the moment as well, seems to be taking over from Classic and Sportscar?
Oh and Rolls and Pleats for a little read :)

I think the key to the magazine deal is diversity.  I subscribe to Hot VW's and I'd be miserable if that was all I looked at every month as it's the pretty much the same every issue...much like a McDonald's cheeseburger.  Not that that's a bad thing (same as the cheeseburger)...I feel that I'd be sort of out of the loop if I wern't reading it.  The other mags I look at are Hot Rod which, even though it's V'8's, still inspires by telling stories of people who spent very little to achieve BIG horsepower or featuring stories from the halcyon days of drag racing.  Another is Rodder's Journal which, to my eye, has the best photography of any magazine on the market...not to mention the stories from the early days of car clubs (which can be seen today in our VW culture).  I like Ultra VW and Volksworld, too, and seek out issues that feature cars I'm interested in.

Rodders Journal, Volksworld, and UltraVW are my mags of choice.

When it comes to burgers, I can only envy the choice you have. But I'd drive past 10 McDonalds with a grumbling stomach to get to In & Out burgers if we had them here in the UK. :D

Sadly, we don't! :(

Go Keith GO!!  ;)


I think that's true.

Can we keep this focused on VOLKSWAGEN magazines???   ;D ;D ;D

Double Double grilled onions, please!  ;) ;D

Now I know where Im going for lunch today, thanks!! ;)

Now you're just teasing me because you can!

Usually the first thing I do after getting a rental car at LAX is head for In & Out - the one down near Huntington Beach on Beach Blvd.

Oh, and before anyone starts moaning like a little girl about this thread going off topic - no one said you can't read a VW magazine while you're munching on an In & Out burger, did they?

Ok, before things get out of hand, let's get back to the subject. We all have styles/cars we don't like, and yes the photos could probably be done more cleverly, but how about the TEXT/stories?? I think you are far off Keith when you say the magazines are way more detailed than on the net, take the most popular project threads for instance... True you cant tell a story like that in a magazine, but considering how popular project threads are in general I would say people are interested in the steps... not just the freshly painted result. I say this with all possible respect for you magazine workers.

While the Rod magazines may not really compare due to the number of readers and titles, but it raises a interesting post, they specialize on different styles...  Why are the VW magazine all the same? Not enough readers?

We try to provide the best tech features possible. And the current feature on a turbo engine build is an example.
Stay tuned - we've got a lot more really good material waiting to be published.
You will be happy!

i like magazines old and new. i like to think up stuff and go and dig up the magazine and reread it. find out different little things about cars. know more insight through netsearches and complement the articles in magazines. type magazine has a nice layout, and looks different for now, but they just started so they have the benefit of the doubt. in a good way i mean.
the only thing i personally regret is seeing the same pictures in different magazines. but i can understand the thinking behind this and if you know how much a photographer earns a lot of people would. but it takes the 'magic' a bit away of owning a mag. i cherish them and keep them as something special. that is the reason i still have Ultra Vw and not HotVW's anymore. they had the same features of cars that really do it for me and i had to cut down on subscriptions (both VW's and skateboarding) so Ultra remains, but i got the feb issue of Volksworld and i liked it a lot. i might try to pick it up on a more regular basis.
anyway all things and opinions aside a big thank you for doing magazines, if not for the fact that Speedwell would have a lot of free time that he wouldn't know what to do with, it would be for the fact that are magazines are our collective memory and not the net.

I was referring to car features, not tech stuff, but it is true to say that the more detailed (or complicated) tech stuff gets, the fewer readers it will appeal to. It's a fact of life, I'm afraid. I won't turn this into a "Buy our magazine because it's better" thread as that isn't what this forum is all about, but I will say that, in my 36 trips to SoCal in recent times, I've found that In & Out isn't the be all and end all of burger joints. It's good but there are better...  ;)

jack in the box

White Castle  ;D

--louis

Sorry about the cheeseburger anology, guys...I swear it'll never happen again, promise! ;D

[gimme!]FOOD[/gimme!]

Are you sure? I mean - yes, this is a fact of life, but still, you are making a mag appealing to small group of readers already. Do you think that this rule works in this small group the same way it works "in general"?. I think (a may be wrong, you know it better) that a lot of your readers know a lot about VW's allready and they may be interested in "detailed and complicated stuff".

Remind me again, you work for "Modern Bride" or is it "Glamour"?
 :D ;) :D ;) :D

I am personally very happy with the technical features, what I'm getting at is the car features, more build pictures and detail pictures.
Or just more about "our projects"

Same kinda thing with HotVWs/Sand Sports. Why they gotta do that?? Keep the sand cars and bajas in Sand Sports and leave the real VWs in HotVWs.

We do make an effort to include build pics and as you have mentioned the Our Project section is a regular every month. I am glad to hear you enjoy it.

Oh, and we'll see if we can give you more fo what you want  ;)

I think all the magazines are pretty good in their own way. One thing I have noticed though is the increased amount of adverts. I know this has always been the way over in the USA , but in the UK we used to have more content than ads. One popular UK mag has over 50 pages of adds in a mag with approx 120 pages.

I know that ads bring in a valued income and probably ensure the continued existance of the magazine, but I think we need to be carefull to balance this out with quality features. I have all issues from day one of both the UK magazines but I have been through times where this was down to keeping my collection complete rather than the quality.

Dont get me wrong as I ,sadly do read the adverts too  ::) Just need to maintain the quality and balance .

Just a thought.  ;)

Oh and another thing...  ;D ;D

I have noticed a thing that all the magazines do, and that is the three-quarter front picture. More often than not it's the first spread of the article, and it presents our cars from a flattering angle.
I looked through a small selection of last years magazines form the island, and then I noticed something I found funny. If the car has the narrow beam decease, the the front wheels are at absolute full lock.
That way the fender looks "filled up" and you avoid seeing all the fender bolts. But who does this decision, is it the photographer that don't like empty wheel houses, or is it the layout/desk?
Or is it subconscious? Either way it looks so much better...  I imagine Reliant Magazine have the exact same challenge.  ;)

Talk about a hot topic.... After reading all the above I have come to the only real answer is to do a magazine about burgers...

It was said earlier in the thread that there's no way to keep every reader happy all the time in the magazines, and I fully agree with that.

An example from a few years ago of poor public relations, IMO, was an incident in which SuperVW featured a restocal (I know, I know, this is a Cal-Look site, but it's an applicable example! lol) with a phony GFK rear window. 
The magazine editor at the time did a pretty poor job of answering the club's concerns, as nowhere in the article did it indicate the window was a tribute, nor was any kind of note published informing readers that the car was not a true GFK car.  The latter, in my opinion, would have been completely appropriate, as the car's feature context was completely under false pretenses, in a manner of speaking.  I know a Google search will reveal the exact details of that incident, and the word got out pretty quick.

A lot of guys thought the club overreacted with its concerns, but IMO wrong is wrong; a simple editor's note or clarification or whatever would have gone a long ways in smoothing the waters.

I continue to support Hot VWs as I've been reading it since childhood... my roots in VW-dom are firmly implanted with the lone U.S. mag.  If I had it available with greater ease or I could afford subs, I would likely get Ultra VW and VolksWorld too, but sadly I just can't afford them.  They're great mags, though, no question.

I'm going to have to show you the in-n-out just north of LAX -- within 15 min of putting the key in the ignition of the car you can be chowing down.

As far as magazines go -- -- I picked up a HVW a couple of months ago (the one with the V8 notch) for the first time in about 15-20 years and after reading it, I was left just feeling .. .. .. well, nothing. I guess, to me, that there wasn't anything in the magazine that I hadn't read or done 30 years ago (ok, 40 years ago), I'm not really into show stuff, but I can appreciate someone spending 5 hours wiping on a car (not that you'd catch me doing it though). Occasionally a really wild rat rod will catch my eye, BUT, I'm into the really high performance VW stuff, and a hundred pictures of VW's with the front wheels flying through the air just don't add up to being there, standing at the track FEELING the Baron go by just once. I don't think my heart starts beating until the 400HP barrier is broken and that just isn't something that can be put into text or a picture, and when is the last time a magazine got down and dirty with BIG INCH engine and mapping out a turbo and FI system so it can make 900HP.  What are there -- maybe 100 of us out there willing to spend the $$$ to reach 400 + HP -- be hard to justify doing a magazine for that.

Besides the price of one magazine equals (almost) one gallon of racing fuel and the track is where my heart lies.

One thing I forgot to mention was the magazines provide a permanently etched record of history... stuff on the internet eventually goes away due to bandwidth and what not, but the mags provide snapshots in permanent print of each era.  I still enjoy reading old '80s magazines and seeing all the "Maui and Sons" or "Corona" tank tops with mullet hairstyles...lol.  And let's face it, when was the last time a VW event was sponsored by a beer company, like Stroh's used to do with the Baylands events, if I recall correctly?  Miller too, I think?  Ah, the good ol' days.

I don't know why i'm writing this. Years ago i wanted to have an affordable 2 seater/convertible and build a Speedster (for heavens sake). During the build i bought every Taiwan part out of the catalogues and also started to read VW magazines. First VW Scene, wich sucked after i subscribed to VW Trends and later HVW's. I got hooked, and bought a KG after the 3 year Speedster build, so to speak to restore and build a "proper" (Cal look ) car. I got so frustrated on my speedster build versus the real thing i read about in the magazines (also Super VW's), that i bought another Bug and cut the Speedster in half and collected 250,00 guilders (100,00 EU) for the scrap. The mags influenced me to Cal-Look but the high buck cars seemed always out of reach, but motivated to raise the bar every winter a little higher. After a couple of years all "perfect" callookers, germanlookers, frenchlooke...etc. looked more or less the same to me and i did want to do my own thing. Although influenced by all these looks/styles. I know there are people out there with the same feeling, because some folks get comments about theyre choice of colour, engine looks etc. here on the forum because it's not callook. Please mags don't dictate the old style but "support" our thinking away of the old, without respecting the old. Still influenced/inspired by the mags i'm sinking alot of money (again) to reach the highest goal for myself and i don't care (anymore) what other people think about my project. Nowadays i only read Volksworld and HVWs just to have a feeling what's going on and see new products. It's like you can't understand Oasis without knowing The Beatles and go from there.


Then again, i'm still learning.

I've been buying magazines since I got into our hobby in 1986, starting with Custom Car for the few articles it carried on VW's and then VW and HTV and VW Trends.  I also collected back issues of HVW back to the June '69 issue (when I was born).  I buy less magazines now because of the internet but do keep up my UK subscriptions as I can get them delivered cheaply here.

I've mentioned this in the past, but what I would like to see more of, is a more in depth story of how the car drives.  I understand a Rat Look with a 6 inch narrowed beam, no shocks and a 3 spline drop at the back isn't going to be that comfortable, but a lot of the work done on Cal Look, German Look, Old Speed is to enhance the driving experience, whether it be acceleration, handling, comfort or whatever.  Some of the VW product comparison tech articles recently have been the best I have ever seen in that respect.  UVW was the first to show a car spec sheet, I think, which is also a great way to compare cars.  Maybe it is because the owners don't want their cars tested, but I feel this would be of great interest to many readers if the journalist delved deeper into the "go" and not just the "show".

I do enjoy the magazines and will continue to buy them.

I suspect a lot of the cars with the aforementioned modifications probably see very limited driving time on the street... if someone build's a car to win car shows, they'r less likely to put many miles on them, I would guess.  Not being critical or judgemental, just figuring this to be the case... to each their own! ;D

I got to wade in on this. I've bought HotVWs since the '75 Cal-look issue(still have it). I grew up in So Cal, cruised Whittier Blvd, and read Hot Rod, Car Craft, Pop HR and others. Yes trends change, and peoples tastes change as well. I think that Deano, Kieth and company put out great product and inspiration to those of us who no longer live near or particepate in the California show/race/offroad sceane. I buy HVW on a regular basis. Kieth sorry but I'm not a regular for your mag but I have bought the books. Thank you. They will only publish what will sell or what they see as a trend.
Deano is cringeing as I type this though. Could we please have a new up dated engine book? The last one was in the fall of '97 and the tech has changed. Even if it's just reprints of the last decade, it would much appreciated. Thank you for all you do for our hobby.

Brian, I am working on Engine Book #3 as we speak... On-sale date is sometime this spring... Okay?

I know I'm not supposed to use this area of the forum for promotion, but as this thread is all about magazines I guess I might just get away with it...

We launched Type magazine a few years ago. Inspired by the likes of DiCE, Octane and Rodders Journal we wanted to tell great Volkswagen stories... period. We put out two issues then life got in the way. For 2011 we are back and plan four issues this year.

If you haven't yet heard of us go to www.type-magazine.com

Or join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Type-magazine/108034132595577

I feel the same about our national mag.

It was interesting up to a few years ago and now I don't buy it anymore.

The one I really appreciated was Volksworld when I was in England, best time I ever had attending Bug Jam and other meetings.

Once in a while I get my hands on HotVWs.

However I'd like to have a look at Airmighty and/or Type as they seem pretty much in tune with our passion

Yes, a lot of the news, the cars and US events of this mag can be seen on the internet or other mags weeks before it's published. And sometimes the cars are really ugly...  Then remove ads, classifieds, meetings schedule and there's not a lot left to read.
Each month I say "this the last issue I buy" but until now I'm still buy it, maybe because I started when I was kid (the first issue I bought was #76 December 1995 I was 8 year old, there was a car on the cover driven by a surfer/skateboarder working at Vans, it was a dream for me  ;D).

Now I enjoy reading mags like Powerglide, AirMighty or Type. I also buy VW Tech, but I feel a drop in interest in this one too...

::)

Hahaha...I for one like the direct approach Type!

 ;D

Kind of true to the moniker on your car...

Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

I always remember one of the things I used to love about going abroad on holiday when I was yong was coming back with a handful of the Euro VW mags - evn though I couldn't read the language it was always interesting to see how different much of the scene was in mainland Europe, where the scene in the UK seemed/seems to reflect very much whats going on stateside. Not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.

ANd you can't beat the inspiration a mag gives you to go out and get in the garage and do something, especially during these cold winter months!

Lol, well I like the direct approach too.

I tend to think that in recent years the magazine world has been in the doldrums. Most publishers like to blame the internet (I should know I've worked as a journalist for 20 years and heard all the excuses for why a magazine doesn't sell).

Certainly the internet has had an impact, but when it comes down to it story telling is story telling no matter what the delivery system. The magazines that fail tend to fail because they aren't any good any more.

Airmighty has been a breath of fresh air, and I hope Type has too.

www.type-magazine.com

::)

hmm.... threads vs signatures...

Perhaps you should both use the donate button :-D

 ;)

 ;D

i look forward to this edition, greatly.  I'm wrapping up my 2017 build, which is near identical to the 1995 Hot VWs Cal-Look engine build, only running 42x37.5 Steve Tims heads rather than Fumio Fuykaya heads, and 1.25 rockers rather than 1.1's; also 45 Dells rather than IDAs, but the engine was dyno'd with 45 Dells also.

Though this engine is wrapping up, I'm already looking ahead into the future for additional projects...

I agree.

Deano, What can I say but thank you!!!!!! :D You've made my day on a crummy Monday ;D. Sorry to be such a nagg, whinner, and anything else you want to put in here. I'll take it. I have hopes for reprints of past builds but I'll take what I can get.
For those who don't know I've been a pain in the a$$ to Deano for this very book, needleing him every chance I got.
Thanks again Deano.
I'll shut up now
 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Even though a huge amount of my VW information has come about because of the introduction of the internet to the forgotten wastelands I call home, my roots have been buried in hard copy magazines even before my first car. I'm old enough to remember dreaming through pictures and the written language in books and newspapers and, of course, magazines. I will find myself fascinated in things from a long ago issue that, when new, held little to no interest at all.  I keep them all and continue to subscribe partly because of nostalgia, partly because of respect for the art of journalism, and partly because of the fact that I have yet to fail in getting at least one idea or learn something in every issue I pick up. All that being said, I have watched as the magazine racks that used to be in every store are replaced with racks of gift cards to Applebe's or Trac-phone. My local town of around 10,000 no longer has a book store. Meanwhile, the growth of multiplex theaters, electronics outlets and almost constant handheld communications gobbles up the limited free hours anyone might use to sit down and read anything. Next time you are invited into the home of most under 30's people, look at what's filling their "book shelves".

You are right on target... Wal Mart tells US if we can raise the cover price.

Iowa Mark you are spot on. You only have to look at what iPods and MP3s have done to the music industry to see where magazines/books could be in a few years time. But the thing is we are enthusiasts with a real thirst for info/learning/inspiration which should help us make the future work for us, not destroy what we have.

www.type-magazine.com

This is slightly off-topic, I'm sorry but what exactly has the iPods and MP3's done to the music "industry"? All I see is people who used to make billions on the back of people making music now whine because they don't make as many billions, while bands have more people going at their concerts than ever (thus making money) and bigger music festivals each year (money again) etc..

I believe that this is all part of a big change going on right now. Our relationship to information and what we pay and don't pay is changing. Poeple who want to make money with information need to think about new ways of doing it. Who's going to be the first to make an iPad VW "mag". And not like a pdf version of a paper magazine. Something really created for that kind of support and that will use all of its possibilities in a clever and fresh way.

And don't get me wrong, I'm still under 30, but I have about 1000 books at home, so yeah, I read.  :D

I think Mark hit the bullseye from 100 yards with iron sights. The younger generations do not read for fun or care for that substantial thing in thier hands they can refer to time and again. The demise of print media was predicted in the 60's SF stories of the day. I've uncluttered my life of books and mags (except my Hot VWS of coarse). That is what a library is for. I attend that on a weekly basis. Referance books and manuals are nessesary but most vendors now put thier manuals and schematics on a CD-ROM. Mostly say it  for greener but it's cheaper for them as well.
Deano and Kieth and others, Thank you again for all you do for our hobby.

I might be wrong, but I still consider myself (pretty) young at 34  ;D

And I can assure you that I have a lot of books, so many they will probably capsize my boat if I ever get to fill my library in it. The library will be filled with a combination of Magazines, Comic Books and Strips, Picture Books and Reading Books. I read most of them.

As for Magazines, it has been said before, the difference with the online reading is they put their contents in a time perspective. This is lacking on the world wide web. When you perform a search you're likely to get hits both on pages written yesterday as well as 10 years ago, except for the layout the difference would be hard to tell. It is also very hard to cross reference to other information of about the same time, whereas in magazines, you would be looking at adverts of stuff actually sold at the time of publication. It's not called a paper trail for nothing ;-)

My conclusion is: Print still rules!

I agree!
(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t318/Photokernow/DSCF0255.jpg)(http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t318/Photokernow/DSCF0259.jpg)

Digital images and websites come and eventually go – books live forever…

There's nothing that can beat a beautiful book or a quality magazine. Aswell for the music, when I like the artist I love to go to the shop and get the CD or DVD, feel a beautiful/collector artwork, read the booklet, have something real in the hands that I can keep. And when I have an album in my computer, I like to copy it on a CD, print and cut the covers and put it in a case.

It'd be sad if one day books, CDs, vinyls, etc dissapear. :-[

Yes, it will be a sad day when I have to give up my turntable and vinyl... NEVER! >:(

(http://www.dnfa.com/webpic/max/431555-2.jpg)

Wow, what a lovely turntable. Does it play MP3s?

Or, until the roof leaks....

I'm more concerned about the floor giving way under the weight of all those dead trees! :D

I refuse to give way to all the BS modern technology toys.  I laugh at some of the tools I see wandering around, noses buried in their cell phones or wearing their designer sunglasses while seemingly talking to themselves (hands-free or Blue Tooth or whatever the most contemporary version is!)  I didn't buy a cell phone until I took my job here in rural southeastern Oregon almost six years ago, and all this nonsensical technological crap is, IMO alienating our societies into a bunch of inconsiderate, self-absorbed boobs.  Just my thought, of course. ;D

I'll always enjoy prefer print over online reading, that's just the way it is for me.  :)

You're double as old as me ;D
but I agree, I like reading in magazines more than on the net.  ;)

You know, with that kind of thinking, in 1900 you'd have been like "I refuse to give way to all the BS modern internal combustion engine. I laugh at some of the tools I see wandering about on their stupid automobiles. I'll keep my horse!"  ;)

Lol... I dunno, I've always liked engines.  Just not electronics! :-)  Well made point, though! ;D

WOW, After being back into VW's for just a year now, I was going to subscribe to Hot VW's but having read
all these opinions I guess I shouldn't even BUY another issue!!!! Hey just my .02,  but I guess the varied cars,
busses, off-road coverage and columns, appeal to me. I am "new" to the scene --- having bought my first
issue back in '72 when I had a 69 autostick. I imagined one day turning my car into a 1/4 mile screamer !!!
That mag along with Vw Greats, & later the Auto-Haus catalog / VW Trends were standard reading. When I
purchased the Feb '75 issue I KNEW what I had to do to my first car.!! The rest is history, preserved in my
memory & SPEEDWELL'S archives......I never got the screamer, but I did have a 14 second car once and I
drove it everywhere, much like the car I still have, I just drive it !
Oh by the way - make mine double-double grilled whole onion with mustard 8)

Being technicaly challanged, I'm unable to post pics of my Harmon Kardon turntable. What brand and model is that Kieth?
 They will take my vynil, 1911Colt, MIA Tellecaster, and HotVW when they pry it from my cold dead fingers. Most likely from a double pastromy burger with everything. Gotta have onion rings. Vitamin "G" ya know.

It's a Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference turntable with SME 3009 mkIV arm. The deck features 19 minutes into the film 'A Clockwork Orange'!  :)

By the way, are MP3s anything like EMPI fives?

It's a Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference turntable with SME 3009 mkIV arm. The deck features 19 minutes into the film 'A Clockwork Orange'!  :)

By the way, are MP3s anything like EMPI fives?
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Sure, but MP3s are only for Citroën 2cv ? :)

"people who want to make money with information" = Apple with iPad http://www.mondaynote.com/2011/01/23/apples-bet-on-publishing/ (http://www.mondaynote.com/2011/01/23/apples-bet-on-publishing/)

I bought one of those new digital cameras a ways back, but I haven't been able to locate any digital film for it. Do you just jam the film strip end into that tiny slot? And the only image I get on that preview screen on back is I Love Lucy reruns...

Where can I get digital flash cubes for my 10 mega-pixel instamatic ?

Record players and vinyl will never die at my house!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqQrAKom0ek

Good for you, Ivan! :D

Old-tech rules (sometimes!) 8) 8)

Interesting... Ivan, next time you're in CA, look me up. I might be able to make a donation to your collection....

Sounds like a plan! Thanks