Information wanted... Would anyone know anything about this bus? It came to the UK less than 10 years ago. The story goes a Brit who lived in Oz for a while owned it and then when he returned to the UK he shipped it back. I have owned it for about 4 years and have just thought I would like to know its Australian history. It still has its VW Club of Victoria Melbourne stickers on it. To the right are some pics... Cheers, Juls burtstains@hotmail.co.uk
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What a great day it was! The 2012 Day of the Volkswagen was bigger and better than anything we’d done before. The weather was kind (we’ve been lucky so far) and the crowds rolled in. The attendance was higher than previous years and there was a great variety of vehicles. It was good to see a significant increase in water cooled vehicles as well as some beautiful air cooled machines. As you probably know, I love all VWs – the nostalgia of the old and the excitement of the new. Obviously, the newer cars are our future and, for many of you, these are the cars your children will collect. On wandering around the ground after the judging was finished, it was interesting to note the many vehicles worthy of the competition which were not entered for judging. We’d encourage you to enter your cars if you think you have a chance. It all adds to the fun of the day. Many families enjoyed such things as the music, Scaletrix cars, painting of plaster moulds, food and the stalls. Traders were plentiful and the usual swappers were also present. Many thanks to the great team of volunteers and the organising committee, and to Peter Davies for the design of the poster and associated merchandise. Particular thanks must be extended to John Farlow for his fine leadership and attention to detail. As many of you know, next year is the 60th anniversary of VW in Australia. At this stage, we are planning two days of celebrations with various events on the agenda. Watch this space. At the time of writing, planning for the Christmas Party on 9 December is well under way, and I hope those who attended had a great time. My best wishes to you all for great VW Christmas and New Year, and we look forward to a full on 2013. Lloyd Davies President
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What to give the VW enthusiast for Xmas? This month’s article is more directed at the spouse or family member of the VW member. It’s that time of year when we go out and buy things for our loved ones and each year it gets harder and harder to think of new things to get them. The socks and jocks are easy but will hardly knock the “old” socks off of them! You know they need something for their beloved Volkswagen but you have no idea what! They mentioned something the other day, “what was it”? The new thingamabob that makes that car more efficient somehow or they need some kind of tool for something? Let’s face it you weren’t listening and even if you were you wouldn’t understand! This is a common problem in many car enthusiasts’ homes. I know it’s a problem in my home! Well before you run down to Kmart for those wonderful undergarments, have a look at where they shop for their tools and parts. Gift certificates! There’s your answer! Many places do these and car parts and tool suppliers are no exception! Find a place that they shop at and buy one of these. There’s no messing about. You put a certain amount on a card or valued piece of paper and then pop it in their Christmas card. Many overseas online supplies let you buy these and print off the certificate. Watch their eyes light up when they open their present on Christmas morning and see they now have a good reason to go down to their favourite store and buy that special something they being needing! You just got the gift they always wanted whatever that may be. Plus due to Boxing Day sales it’s probably going to be cheaper than it was last week when you needed to buy it before Christmas! Now if you’re not completely sold on this idea I have one other suggestion. If the enthusiast loves to pull apart the beloved VW but has trouble putting it back together then a manual is what’s needed. If it’s an old air-cooled Volkswagen you can’t go past John Muir’s book” How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Complete Idiot”. This book is like a bible too many VW owners as everything is explained in very dumbed down easy terms and pictures! For the later model cars I suggest you go for a Bentley manual on the model of the VW in question. Whilst not as simple as the John Muir book it will show someone the right way to get the beloved auto going again! Merry Christmas Everyone! Richard Graham The Vice President
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Volkswagen Club of Victoria
Christmas Party
A great time was had by all at the VWCV’s annual Christmas get together at Lloyd Davies’ man cave in Eltham. Photos courtesy of Richard Graham.
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BIG
UP!!! Buying a new UP! B Y A n drew C arrick I’ve been driving my 72 Honey Brown Beetle to work for some years, and apart from a few minor issues early on such as a wheel and hub coming off and writing off a Commodore travelling the opposite direction (why does that make me smile), my little bug has been pretty reliable. One may even say that I am fairly proud of the car, especially after the 2000km trouble free (yes I know I am now deaf ) but noisy trip to Volksfest. I had been woken during the night by the most incredible thunder and lightning storm which did not scare me but sent my dog into a fair state of shock. But how could I worry about this when that very afternoon I was going to pick up my very new Up! I had put the Beetle on club plates had almost enjoyed filling out the log book prior to heading off to work for the past couple of days knowing the Beetle was going to get a well deserved rest, and I was going to get a new car. Well someone must have told my honey brown Beetle that it was being consigned to that terrible position of the weekender, because that very morning which was to be the Beetles very last ferrying me to work the bugger would not start. Sure logic tells me that the electrics were wet from the Wagensville 10
heavy down pour but I don’t believe in logic. That car was angry and I did not have much confidence that it would start. But after five minutes of coughing and spluttering we were off, not very smoothly mind you, but the Beetle was moving. Now people that know me are aware that I don’t like new cars. That may be because my company buys dreadful things like i30’s, Commodores and Navaras, and to be honest unless a Golf wears a GTI or R badge I am not all that interested in them either. But when I first saw the Up! I found myself comparing it with my Beetle. The Beetle is 770kg, wears 15/165 tyres and was incredibly economical in its day. The Up! is only 880kg, wears 15/185 tyres and has 55kw’s from a 1 litre 3 cylinder engine that has between 4.5 and 6 litres per 100 kilometres fuel consumption. Strangely even the sitting position is similar, though the steering sits a lot higher so I will no longer be wearing holes in my pants. The new Beetle has never done it for me. The only time I will look at a new Beetle is when a very pretty Beetle driver is inside and the new new Beetle looks like it wants to be an Audi TT. Don’t think I don’t like TTs – I do , they look great, but so does the Up! I think it’s the first new car
I have really loved (though what is it with the name – maybe it means unleaded petrol?). Well today was a big day. We had plans as the whole crew wanted to attend the dealership to be involved in the receiving of the new car. So into Stuart Ermel’s splitty we climbed and off down to Werribee Volkswagen we headed. Another thing I really don’t like is car salesman (read salespersons for those who are politically correct) but the crew at Werribee Volkswagen were great. I wanted a two door and they talked me into a four (Barb’s happy). I wanted cloth seats and I ended up with vegetarian leather (no animal died making them). I also wanted 16 inch alloys and they convinced me that they were too expensive, so I got 15s. But I tell you I could not be happier and they could not have been friendlier. We decided to do a bit of a promotional photo shoot while we were at the showroom and as you can see the whole team got involved including Greg, Barbara, Stuart, Shane Duffy (Sales Consultant), Jason Dahlmann (Sales Manager) and Lawson Gaul (Used Cars Manager). I think Lawson was trying to get Stuarts Blue Bus onto the forecourt. It was great fun!!! Some of you may want to know a little more about the car and others may be thinking that’s enough from this bloke. So if you are in the second category it time to head off and make a cuppa while those in the first group read on. I’m a week into Up! ownership and I gotta say this thing is a chick magnet. It doesn’t help me though. They spend so much time saying things like I love the white piping on the seats as they stroke my vegetarian leather or; my god it’s so cute look at that metallic dash as they then stroke my metallic dash. Girls who have never spoken to me in the past cannot get enough of my Up! But one thing for sure is whenever people see the Up! they have an opinion. Even bogans, except they don’t just use exclamations points!!! They use a wide range of punctuation such
as what the @^%$#* is that? What’s wrong with a @!*&$# ute! I don’t think they have evolved enough to get my Up! Dad used to tell me that when he was a kid and a neighbour bought a new car everyone would come and have a look. I used to find that hard to believe – but guess what? For some strange reason the Up! is doing just that. Back to the car, cruise control, 15’ alloys, 3 cylinders, Bluetooth, maps, all my music on board, heated seats and I think mirrors, air-con, side impact air bags, rear pop out windows (just like a Beetle), self breaking below 30kmph, rear parking sensors, outdoor temp, a great sounding stereo, go-cart like cornering, (though not go-cart acceleration). But with all these things and a lot more there are a few strange things that miss the mark. The driver’s side does not have a switch for the passenger side window. Lucky the car is so narrow but please Volkswagen some things just should not be missed and that’s one of them. The other odd thing is the rear cargo shelf. When you shut the rear hatch the cargo shelf does not go down with it, you need to lower it before shutting the hatch, you get five minutes into your trip and realise that can’t see out the back window?? Are you hearing me Volkswagen. Wie kann Volkswagen diese einfachen Dinge ubersehen, wenn Ihr so schone Autos baut!? I can’t finish on a negative when discussing such as great car. The gear box is magnificent the seats are super comfy, the stereo really is great and the doors sound solid. I now have ‘another’ great Volkswagen with a great name!!! and I’m happy that my friends and the crew at Werribee Volkswagen were able to put the icing on my new car cake. Now for number plates ideas UPYORS, VWUP, UPVW, GIDYUP, UPDDUF, who knows maybe BIGUP is the way to go. Wagensville 11
More Volkswagen Christmas ideas...
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