Astro van and their owner's retirements..kinda quiet

[Meterpig]

I have been quiet on the two forums (this one and the sell out one)...and have noticed a drop in overall traffic. When I got the van 3 years ago..lots of activity..now not soo much. Is this a trend? Am I wrong on this?

Apparently there was so much traffic that the other site was sold...so maybe it's just me.

[Kidhauler]

It is slowing down but don't forget they haven't made a Astro in a decade now.
I find that my 99 is so reliable that I don't have that many questions so now the board for me is more about keeping up with the people.

P.s. The other board was owned by a guy who lost interest in it and became so unstable with crashes that this board was started to replace it. Then the current owner of the other bought it for a ridiculous amount of money considering how unstable and abandoned it was. Then his actions drove away most of the old members. Personally I have not been there in years as I was tired of his b.s.

[mdmead]

Then the current owner of the other bought it for a ridiculous amount of money considering how unstable and abandoned it was. Then his actions drove away most of the old members. Personally I have not been there in years as I was tired of his b.s.

Does that guy still own it? I was poking around over there a few months ago and got the impression something had changed.

I find it kind of crazy people are starting to use the Astro/Safari Facebook pages for asking technical questions. A forum like this is much better suited.

I pretty much shut down a local forum (auto-related) due to inactivity. But most of those guys I keep in touch with on Facebook.

It is a changing world I think.

[astrozam]

Everything eventually slows down, some of us have not had vans in yr's others just faded away into other pursuits... the golden yr's may perhaps be over, but there is still a ton of material archived for folks to use to keep their vans rolling...

[WoodButcher]

Then the current owner of the other bought it for a ridiculous amount of money considering how unstable and abandoned it was. Then his actions drove away most of the old members. Personally I have not been there in years as I was tired of his b.s.

Does that guy still own it? I was poking around over there a few months ago and got the impression something had changed.

I find it kind of crazy people are starting to use the Astro/Safari Facebook pages for asking technical questions. A forum like this is much better suited.

I pretty much shut down a local forum (auto-related) due to inactivity. But most of those guys I keep in touch with on Facebook.

It is a changing world I think.

I joined both sites after the drama of the split and hope both continue as I have found both sites to have great info and people.
Facebook???
no.
You'll find my wife there and more drama than I care for. I don't care what you made for breakfast and don't want an email informing me....

Austin sold out to "autoguide"? Before the sale he showed interest new features and upgrades apparently in hopes of a sale. During the transition features broke and the organization of the site, (topics on a V8 swap would be found in interior) fell apart. Some moderators I haven't seen in many moons. Chevymaher is now a mod and there are a couple of others and they keep the site at least at it's status quo. I don't think they have the buttons for the site other than club memberships and those that do are employees of the new company. Those folk are not familiar with site as our members are and don't see the subtleties unless they are pointed out and this is what the mods do. I think they are programmers hired to control several websites and spend as little time as possible on each to promote the bottom line. The admins don't always answer or respond to emails and PM (from me at least) and those I have spoken with,,, just don't get the smurf thing. LOL

The site still runs only because of the membership. like here we all have a love hate relationship with our vans and need info from time to time.
I'm glad this site is here and will continue to point new owners here and the other site as long as I'm able.

[T.Low]

I'm on maybe 6-8 forums of various types, and they ALL have slowed considerably. Hmm

[Herbie]

Like Tom, I'm on a number of different forums. I'm also WAY busier than I've been in years (mostly the good kind of busy), which means I spend more time doing stuff and less time reading about that stuff on the internet! ;-)

[Kidhauler]

If you think this site is slow I also registered for a bmw motorcycle forum. Posts there can be measured by using continental drift. Unless you want to talk about radar detectors and aftermarket lights. But even that is dead.

[1Gary]

Now recovered from three yrs of being pretty sick,this is where I start over again:

[WoodButcher]

Good place to start Gary. The van looks pretty good, clean, well lit shop.

To your good health in the new year!

[Meterpig]

Now recovered from three yrs of being pretty sick,this is where I start over again:

That is a pretty awesome job there on getting her up in the air.

[ihatemybike]

Those cinder blocks are scary as H E L L!

Please tell me that's temporary and you aren't getting under the vehicle. You're worrying me. :(

[blacknome]

I think the downturn in posts is inevitable. The Astrofari is nearing its service life and as they become too costly to maintain they will fade off. Same issue with the Wbody / Impala Forum I frequent. There is the same solid group of guys / gals who may not even own either of those vehicles anymore but remain to offer assistance to those who need it.

Now on the other side of things, the Gbody forum(s) I frequent seem to be gaining in popularity as people are re-building the cars that are left today. And that's a platform that spanned from 78-88.

Maybe it will come back around for the Astrofari ? Maybe I should start stockpiling Astrofari parts for the next 20 years as a retirement plan ???

[Mr_Roboto]

Still got mine. I haven't been frequenting many forums lately. Even ones I used to mod. Just don't have the time any more between work and my son, so it goes on the back burner. I decided to give more priority to getting my junk running when I can. I just got the Lemans running, and when it's not cold enough to make me get hypothermia thinking about it I'll be trying to get the transmission on the Astro fixed up again. It's something like 6 degrees out before wind chill here and there's 4-6" of snow on the ground.

Also not a fan of FB. It's got no "memory" (as mentioned poorly suited for tech) and Zuckerberg doesn't need to know when I take a dump.

ED:great pick up Gary. That looks pretty darn clean. I'd imagine you're in about the same situation but clean shorties are rare as hen's teeth around here.

[Meterpig]

I think the downturn in posts is inevitable. The Astrofari is nearing its service life and as they become too costly to maintain they will fade off. Same issue with the Wbody / Impala Forum I frequent. There is the same solid group of guys / gals who may not even own either of those vehicles anymore but remain to offer assistance to those who need it.

Now on the other side of things, the Gbody forum(s) I frequent seem to be gaining in popularity as people are re-building the cars that are left today. And that's a platform that spanned from 78-88.

Maybe it will come back around for the Astrofari ? Maybe I should start stockpiling Astrofari parts for the next 20 years as a retirement plan ???

Let me offer an alternate theory to the mix. Around here in Denver, the A/S cargo is most popular with the contractor crew..and probably the "budget" contractor crew for the most part-not the posting type. I have seen a few fleets still sporting the astro...but that is fading away-fleet owners don't post. For the passenger side, it's hit and miss. Most of the pre 03 models sport shiny wheels, fuzzy dice most popular around 63rd and federal here in Denver-not the posting type. For those that live here, you know where that is. Here in Parker, I know of 2 other pre 03 astros. The income average here is 83k...and no..that isn't our family. So..there goes a whole bunch of posters.

So here is what I am getting at, it seems to be that most folks who post are typically affluent with free time. Also, the astro (at least here) is considered "lower than average class". Siennas/Passports/F350's are all the rage. Despite the Sienna being the Leatherman of the world. I think Overland Journal has a lot to do with Astro's being seen as an "adventure" van.

I will be honest and say that for a while, I was ready to ditch the astro for a Sienna for all those reasons. Now I realize the value of my Astro.

So...to sum it up...it just ain't cool with the cool ($$$) crowd. Plus, the ones that are cool (03+) are tough to find. I dream someday that GM will bring back the safari and consult members here on how to built it.