Customer Reviews

California Look VW

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I think Jay Tucker Jr is an a-hole who has no idea about why people modify and drive VWs. Perhaps he should stick to Hondas...

If you are one of those people that prefers to see a vw with a set of nice wheels and some nice trick bits, then this is the book for you. It captures the essence of the california look perfectly and could quite easily transform a hardcore vintage enthusiast into a cal look lover. It features several very well written sections covering different areas of influence on the scene. One covers the originators of the look, one the major companies involved with it, and another on the clubs that helped form the scene. Keith Seume has also managed to include a large amount of rare photos of early development taking place, right through to photos of clubs still alive from the heyday of the california look. Once you get this book you will be forever converted to that slammed, agro look of the cal lookers.

As a coffee table book of flashy pictures of Volkswagens done up in the classic "California Look," this will fit the bill with recent and period photos of the style; the features of which repeated until you expect a quiz from the author. Seume, who has a fixation on these particular period vehicles bordering on the, shall we say, unhealthy, writes as though he is the only one that can possibly appreciate what was basically a short customizing "craze" in late 60's Orange County California. Like many males with automotive fixations, the creators of this style sought to gain individuality through customizing their cars in a nearly identical manner. As with many things weirdly American, Seume notes with pride how this particularly narrow and short-lived styling look has recently gained a near fanatical following internationally, with Finns, Germans, Japanese, and other young men looking to belong and now affording what was basically meant to be an extremely cheap, throw-away automobile taking this style to near-worship in car clubs that approach the rivalry of street gangs. In Europe, the "Cal Look" as it is known in the States, is refered to as "Old School," with current auto part manufacturers mass-reproducing copies of the styling pieces for instant consumption at outrageous prices. Seume loses himself in his writing that borders on the fetishistic, and if a reader actually manages to read the all the copy written by the author, they were truly bored indeed. The photos of the modern examples done up in the style are gourgeous, but in reality toys, never to be driven on the street or seen outside a garage. One begins to wonder about someone who spends $30 to $40,000 on restoration and obscure period customizing pieces for a car that originally sold for $1995. If you like beautiful and period photos of old custom Volkswagens, this book is for you. The publisher could have left out the text written by Seume and no one would have ever noticed.