VTR Web Site Updated - LONG

["Blake J. Discher" <bdischer@blakedischer.com>]

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is 
another.  The difference between them is sometimes as great as a 
month."  Fisherman's Luck (1899), Henry Van Dyke

Good morning everyone,

By now, the redesigned VTR web site should be visible worldwide at 
<http://ww.vtr.org>.  It began to go live Friday evening at about 8:00pm 
EST.  I wanted to give my fellow Triumph enthusiasts an update about what's 
changed, what's yet to change, and what is still needed.  Before I begin, I 
want to thank those before me who have put long hours into the VTR site in 
the past, I've only built on the foundation they created and nurtured.

The site has been given an updated, fresh look and navigation has been made 
a bit more intuitive in that the navigation bar is visible on every page 
regardless of where you move throughout the site.  Each page has been given 
the new look and I've checked about 90 percent of the site for broken 
links.  If your club's link on the "Other Triumph Links" page 
<http://www.vintagetriumphregister.org/other-links.shtml> is missing or has 
been removed, that's probably the reason.  To correct or add your club's 
link, please drop me an email.

Also, the various "Owner's Pages" on each of the car type pages have been 
given the same scrutiny.  That is, if the link to your web site showing 
your car is missing, it's because the link failed.  If you do have a 
personal web site with information about your car, please get that link to 
me as well.  Think back to when you were contemplating your first Triumph 
purchase and how you wanted to get as much information as you 
could?  Reading about other owner's cars was quite a lot of fun then, and 
it still is.

Now, a bit about the site itself.  It remains a work in progress, and 
always will be.  My main goal was to get readable pages in place as quickly 
as possible.  I developed the new pages "parallel" to the old one, 
development took place  at www.vintagetriumphregister.org, and began in 
late October.  After discussions with the VTR board,   four goals were 
developed:  1) move the site to a reliable server to eliminate down time; 
2) add online membership and renewals using PayPal; 3) add an online store 
for regalia sales; and 4) provide content for members only.  The first 
three goals have be accomplished, the fourth will occur soon.  As with any 
club, there are benefits of membership in VTR.  In addition to benefits 
such as VTR's award-winning quarterly magazine, "The Vintage Triumph," 
inexpensive vehicle insurance, access to vehicle consultants, etc., members 
will enjoy unfettered access to all pages on the site.

Regarding the site's new look and feel; the home page animation was created 
from images of vehicles sent in by many of you.  I received over 250 
pictures of some very pretty cars!  I'm still going to use many throughout 
the site, as you'll read.  If you own a Stag or TR8, you'll notice the 
absence of those two models in the animation.  It wasn't an oversight, I 
just didn't receive suitable 7/8-view pictures of them.  I'm going to work 
on getting those images over the summer at various car shows I attend and 
get them added by summer's end.

The blue GT6 that dominates the level two pages is serving as a 
placeholder..  It will remain on some, but again, the space requires a side 
view of a vehicle, and as I get them, I'll retouch them and get them in 
place.  That should start occurring gradually over the coming driving season.

Each of the various "Triumph Motorcars" index pages will have 
representative photographs, sent in by you, in a right hand column.  Look 
for this to start happening tonight.

So here is where I need your help.  First, as you peruse the "Triumph 
Motorcars" pages, you'll see that several models don't have Owner's Pages, 
Buying Guides, Production Information, etc.  If you are able to provide 
content, please get it to me for inclusion.  Also, I've done my best to 
eliminate broken links and clean up content, but it's VERY likely these web 
gremlins still exist out there.  Please let me know of them as you 
encounter them.

Second, the site was created in such a way that site maintenance is very 
simple and requires no knowledge of the HTML web language.  If you can use 
Microsoft Word, you are qualified.  I agreed to revamp the site, not be 
it's webmaster.  I've done the revamping, now the site needs a parent, 
someone dedicated to keeping it current and useful to members and 
non-members alike. It's certainly not rocket science, and if you can help, 
now is the time to step up to the plate!  Contact me if you have questions 
about the ease with which this job can be handled and are interested in 
helping out.

Last, Ralph Janelli of Fourth Gear, the company that manufactures the VTR 
embroidered regalia, has had to raise prices five to eight percent on some 
items, but has offered to give a 15-percent discount to help give the 
online regalia store 
<http://www.vintagetriumphregister.org/regalia/index.shtml> a good 
workout.  This results in a net savings of seven to ten percent from old 
prices on most items.  But, he's agreed to offer the embroidered VTR 
t-shirt at a super price of $8 net.  It's normally priced at $12, so that's 
a huge savings.  To get the special discount, enter coupon code VTR-OPEN at 
checkout.  This offer ends at midnight, April 10th.

Enough rambling.  Thank you in advance for any feedback, positive or 
negative about the new site.  Hurry Spring!


Cheers,
Blake Discher
------------------
America's British Reliability Run info: <http://www.abrr.org>
Don't Crash My TR6: <http://www.blakedischer.com/triumph/>

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