VAGFEST
Sunday 11th July
Santa Pod Raceway,
Wellingborough,
Northants.
NN29 7XA
01279 72 52 52
www.vagfest.co.uk

Introducing yet another NEW SHOW! Well not really… a show with a 20 year pedigree, but radically different. VAGfest, Santa Pod, July 11th 2010 – is everything that the old GTI Festival was, and more. It is a one day show for air and water cooled VW’s, Audis, Seats, Skodas… and it is the only show where all marques get equal billing.

All owners of Volkswagen Group vehicles are welcome. The organisers are re really keen to see as many clubs as possible represented, and are also hosting for the first time at any VW show anywhere, the ’show within a show’, Girlz N Dubz. All female owners can get to show off their pride and joy in the ‘Girlz N Dubz’ competition and display. Girlz N Dubz will definitely become the coolest event in the UK for female owners… The girlz will be interviewed about their cars, their interests, and there are a number of trophies up for grabs, for their performance in the show arena as well as on the track. All will have an equal chance against the guys in the regular Show & Shine too.

All clubs are invited to display during the day, and the ‘Best Club Display’ at VAGfest carries a £100 charitable donation, to a charity chosen by the winning club. The Show & Shine has a massive number of awards including Best Audi, Best Skoda, Best SEAT, and Best VW, Best Engineering, Best Paint, Best Engine, Best Van and many more. There are also ‘top twenty’ trophies covering all the marques. Awards on the track include quickest VW, Audi, SEAT and Skoda, as well as a number of awards based on engine sizes for all VAG vehicles.

The organisers are also really keen to see as many transporters, campers etc, including late models, because we really want this show to evolve to include every Volkswagen Group vehicle, past, present and future. Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti are therefore more than welcome too, although owners should be aware that there are several regulars at these shows who are best avoided on the racetrack unless you want to look a bit silly.

As well as the ‘Dizzy Rascals’ autotest course, there will be a couple of demonstration vehicles, a 5 second Fuel Funny Car, and the equally impressive – regular crowdpleaser – The Fireforce Jet Car.

July 11th – Santa Pod – Just £15 for a day of Girlz, Dubz, Clubs, Traders, Sprints, AutoJumble – and everything else ‘VAG’.

Details: www.vagfest.co.uk

Similar to the recent ‘Blagged By Brian’ deals with JK, BOC and Boothby Taylor, Volkszone has managed to negotiate some healthy discounts for VZi members with our very good friends at VW Heritage/SSP.

We hope to bring VZi users at least one ‘blag’/'discount’ per month from both JK and VW Heritage and Brian Burrows is talking to (nagging) other companies for deals on their products.

We realise that these products aren’t going to be wanted by every single VZi user, but every penny saved in these times is a bonus – and we’re sure these (ongoing) discounts will help at least some VZi’ers save some pennies as they build their dream VWs. If this month’s ‘blag’ is of no use to you, please be patient, we hope to bring you discounts on varied and useful products each month – just for being a VZi Member.

Neither VZi nor Brian Burrows receives any money/commission from these ‘blags’ – as has been suggested by some sad cynics – every single penny saved is passed on to you, the VZi member – and Brian donates his time and efforts (and telephone bill) for free.

BEETLE WING SETS
This month’s ‘blag’ enables VZi users to purchase a set of 4 genuine VW Mexico Bug wings for a reduced price of £350 inc VAT delivered FREE to mainland UK addresses. (RRP is £467.76)

The webpage link to the VW Beetle wings sets is HERE.

Once you have chosen to purchase, before ‘checking out’, you will need to enter a code to receive the discount. This code can be found in the thread on Volkszone.com HERE.

THIS OFFER ENDS AT MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY 18th JULY 2010.

Once again, we would like to say a huge thanks to Barney, Dave and all the guys at VW Heritage and Street Style & Power and those behind the scenes at Volkszone that made these great ‘blags’ possible.

Please visit VW Heritage website for more bargains and watch this space each month for details of further ‘Blagged By Brian’ discounts and deals.

BY JAMES FERGUSON OF THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Right at the start of the 1960s, a revolutionary advertisement appeared in Life magazine. “Think Small” was part of a campaign begun the previous year to sell the Volkswagen Beetle to America.

These ads sought wilfully to break virtually every prevailing rule of advertising, and inaugurated what has been called the industry’s creative revolution.

The US in 1960 was still enjoying a huge economic boom – a spendthrift nation on an endless spree, buying houses, clothes, food. And automobiles: nothing exemplified the excess of consumption better than the finned, chrome-encrusted behemoths being churned out by Detroit. To export an ugly bug from Germany into this market, only 15 years after the end of the second world war, was a hard sell indeed, but the challenge was accepted by ad agency Doyle, Dane & Bernbach.

DDB – Ned Doyle, administrator; Maxwell Dane, finance and marketing; and Bill Bernbach, Creative Genius – were real-life Mad Men. Bernbach hated both the overblown vulgarity of 1950s consumerism and its attendant advertising: heavy with useless information, crammed with the lurid and the gimmicky, preying on the hopes and fears of those terrified of being lumbered with last year’s obsolete model.

Contrary to normal practice, under which the client had a say, Bernbach insisted that his agency had total control over the advertising. He refused to take on a client if he didn’t believe in their product. Bernbach believed in the Beetle. “Think Small” aimed far beyond keeping up with the Joneses. The tiny monochromatic car in an expanse of white, the perfect pun of the strapline, and the sardonic copy beneath appealed to the smart and the hip, rather than to the merely acquisitive.

The ad presaged the rejection, later in the 1960s, of unfettered materialism – it is no coincidence that the VW Beetle became the counter-culturalist’s car – and by 1972 had helped VW to surpass the Ford Model T as the world’s best-selling car, with sales of more than 15 million.

definingmoment@ft.com

DAVID BOOTH of www.montrealgazette.com writes…

Irvine, Calif.: I feel naked. Totally starkers. Not like I’ve woken up from such a resounding sleep that I forgot myself and walked downstairs to the dinner party without a stitch on (which happens in everyone’s second year of engineering, doesn’t it?), but one of those super-scary scenarios where I wake up in a parallel universe and suddenly find myself riding around on a high-powered motorcycle at speed without a helmet on — facing backward.

The reason for this metaphoric nudity is that I’m behind the wheel of a 1935 Mercedes-Benz 150 and there’s not even a pretense of an air bag, let alone a soft crumple zone or an electronic stability control system. I actually look around, with increasing frustration, for the seat belt, until it finally dawns on me — idiot! — this ancient Benz doesn’t have seat belts. I am more than a little discomfited. I might challenge the efficacy of speeding laws and denigrate our own provincial party pooper, OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino, but this is one scofflaw who never leaves home without buckling up.

The more harnesses the better, say I.

Adding to my consternation is the fact this particular Benz is priceless.

Not priceless as in the $40-million a Bugatti Royale might command if one came on the market, but priceless as in irreplaceable.

This is the only known survivor of approximately a dozen coupes and roadsters that were built for various car shows and races during the early 1930s. Though it is probably worth far less than the aforementioned Bugatti, if I schmucked up one of those humongous Royales beyond repair, at least there would still be five remaining examples for the world to enjoy. Not with this Benz, though.

However, it is a measure of Mercedes’ confidence in this ages-old roadster that I am driving the 150 at all. Less than a month before, it had been strewn all over the garage floor of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Irvine, Calif., in the midst of frame-up restoration. Even more fantastic, at least in my estimation, is that although the entire wiring loom had to be replaced and mounds of gunk literally hosed from its innards, the mechanic in charge of rebuilding the mid-engined 150 — an impossibly young man from Missouri named Nate Lander — decided that, despite the car being 75 years old and with more than 45,000 kilometres on its odometer, the engine was tight enough to soldier on unmolested save for a new carburetor and an exhaust manifold.

That’s a good thing. Unlike today’s concept or show cars with existing production engines underneath their phantasmagorical bodies, pre-war German engineers actually crafted a totally new, overhead camshaft, 1,498-cubic-centimetre four-banger for the 150 that shares absolutely none of its internal bits with any other Mercedes product. In other words, should something go wrong, there are no spare parts. Indeed, according to Lander, the Center had to “liberate” the replacement Solex carburetor from an almost-as-rare Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, the only other possible source being an even more obscure French dump truck from the same era.

Although the official Mercedes guide book says the 150 will do 131 kilometres an hour tapped out, I seldom stray above 60 km/h. Besides the obvious — that I’m absolutely petrified of causing any slight to the rare Mercedes — there’s the fact that the brakes, like every other set of pre-war drums I’ve ever tested, have only slightly more retarding power than Fred Flintstone dragging his feet. Plus, there’s enough free play in the steering wheel to make piloting the 150 more of a directional abstraction than holding a precisely ordered bearing. The big wheel needs much toing and froing. Lander says that without all the free play, the 150 would suffer from disastrous bump steer.

But, despite the oddities (which, of course, all antique cars suffer from), the 150 is quite wonderful to drive. It starts at the push of a button despite 75-year-old piston rings providing compression and, incredibly — especially for anyone who has ever worked on a pre-1970s ignition system — the original ignition points still generate at least a modicum of spark. The engine revs smoothly and, once I stop trying to speed shift (the throws between gears are of the Mack truck variety), the transmission shifts without graunching the gears.

There are even a few touches to it that modern cars could learn from, such as turn signals that disappear into the body until needed, the aerodynamic improvement no doubt necessary to assist the 150 hit that 130-km/h top speed. They do, however, help make the entire car very stylish. Although the official Mercedes documentation says the 150 bears a passing resemblance to the post-war Volkswagen Beetle, in reality it looks more like a miniature version of Auto Union’s pre-war boattail race cars.

Where the resemblance to the omnipresent Bug is incredibly uncanny, however, is in the 1936 170H I drive later in the day. Looking very much like an antique Beetle some anorak has wistfully adorned with a Mercedes badge, the 170H not only shares almost identical bodywork with the ubiquitous Volkswagen, but also its basic design. It is that rarest of Benzes, being powered by an engine aft of the rear axle just like the VW.

Having never heard of the 170 (or its somewhat more ungainly predecessor, the 130), I was a mite confused by this seeming homage to the people’s car by Germany’s most famous luxury car marque. Mercedes’ official explanation of the then-ruling government’s request for simple, cheap reliable automobiles didn’t quite explain the fact that, except for the engines — the 170 has a 1,697-cc liquid-cooled in-line four while the Beetle is powered by an air-cooled opposed four — the VW and the Merc are the Wrigley Doublemint twins.

Here, I had to rely on Gavin Farmer of Australia’s Automobile Quarterly, my new best friend (anyone so gracious in educating the historically ignorant has to be deemed a new best friend), whose virtually encyclopedic knowledge of the era I can only hope to faithfully transpose onto this page. According to Farmer, just before the start of the all the conflagration, Mercedes actually built 30 early prototypes of the car that would become the Beetle (the KdF-Wagen) under the auspices of Ferdinand Porsche. Yes, that Porsche.

What makes is this all the more interesting, contends Farmer, is that many experts believe that Porsche copied Tatra’s 97, originally designed by Hans Ledwinka, an equally gifted though far less famous Czech engineer. If I understood Farmer correctly, then, the Mercedes 170H is a copy of a Volkswagen designed by a Porsche that is actually a facsimile of a little known Czech econocar, As outrageous as it sounds, Volkswagen eventually had to pay Tatra three-million Deutschmarks in compensation. And the 170 does a remarkable impression of a Volkswagen.

Want one of your own?

Mercedes-Benz’s Classic Center USA will faithfully restore any Mercedes to its original sheen, though the California-based restoration facility specializes in post-war cars.

According to Mercedes, of the more than 100,000 parts it has produced in its 100-plus-year history, more than 40,000 are still available, with 10,000 classic car replacement parts warehoused in the United States.

According to Michael Kunz, manager of the Classic Center, there are 365,000 historic Mercedes in the United States — three times as many as in Germany — making the U.S. the largest concentration of classic Benzes in the world.

The Classic Center can also provide a “birth certificate,” or complete data cards, for any Mercedes between 1952 and 1982, not to mention that the retail outlet in Irvine has a number of perfectly restored classic Benzes for sale.

Volkswagen is inviting designers, programmers, developers and interested users to help develop applications for the Infotainment systems of the future as part of the Open Innovation Contest, “App My Ride”. With this contest, Volkswagen has become the first car manufacturer to use the idea of open innovation for the further development of its products.

In the so-called “App My Ride” competition, users can jointly develop new Infotainment applications with Volkswagen. A jury of experts will select the winner whose creativity will be rewarded with special prizes. “Our aim is to invite the international developer community to take part in designing a future system,” says Prof. Dr Jürgen Leohold, Head of the Volkswagen Group Research. So-called apps, also known as application programmes for certain devices which are available through an online shop, have helped to contribute to the smartphone boom. Applications designed by users (User Generated Content) are of central importance to the boom and are made available online by other users. Companies like Apple and Google successfully aid this nearly inexhaustible source of innovation.

More after the jump…

  Read the rest of this story…

Volkswagen Milano Taxi concept

Volkswagen is unveiling a new compact battery-powered taxi concept called the Milano at the Hanover Trade Show in Germany this week. The styling draws heavily on the Space Up! Blue concept that debuted at the 2007 LA Auto Show. One big difference, however, is that VW designers have eliminated the rear door on the driver’s side so that passengers can only get in and out at the curb. The curb-side portal has likewise been expanded with a large forward-sliding door and the front passenger seat has given way to luggage space. The Milano Taxi concept also features a similar touch screen monitor setup to those already being used in New York city cabs.

Like the production electric vehicles that Volkswagen will start building from 2013, the Milano Taxi uses lithium ion batteries. A 45 kilowatt-hour pack is mounted in the floor and provides a claimed 186-mile driving range on the EU driving cycle. The Milano Taxi is purely a concept at this point, but since it appears to be based on Volkswagen’s “New Small Family” of low- and zero-emissions vehicles, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the German automaker put this vehicle into production as an easy way to get more electric vehicles into the field a few years from now.

GTI SPRING FESTIVAL
11th April 2010
Santa Pod Raceway, Wellingborough, Northants. NN29 7XA
01234 782828
www.vwaction.co.uk

Words and pics by Chris ‘Funkmaster Red’ Redford.

Although the name suggests this is a show with a niche audience, that presumption couldn’t be further from the truth. Each April Santa Pod Raceway near Northampton is swarmed with VWs of all shapes and sizes all coming to enjoy the show and either take part in or just to watch the drag racing action on the world famous strip.

It’s actually a show that welcomes all the current and past vehicles that come under the V.A.G marque. From classic Beetles to Golfs and the latest Audis, Seats and Skoda’s, everything that is related to Volkswagen is invited to take part.

Although only a one day affair, the show attracts a huge amount of interest and marks the first opportunity of the year for V.A.G fans to take part in drag racing exclusively amongst their peers.

I’ve been for several years in a row now and the show just keeps on getting bigger and better. This year was helped by a fantastic weather forecast and as soon as the gates opened at 8am, the cars started to pour in.

The show and shine filled up very quickly and by 11am there were around 200 cars lined up and being shined to death by their owners. The show operates a ‘Top 20’ award system which is the fairest way to ensure the most deserving cars walk away with trophies for their efforts.

The club area was also bursting and was filled to capacity with a huge variation of cars representing their various clubs.

Meanwhile, on the strip, rubber was being burnt all day long with the V.A.G only ‘Run What Ya Brung’. Trophies were awarded to the fastest cars in each of the classes and so people were doing their best to get in as many runs as possible especially because it was a lovely warm day and there was a helpful tailwind. The ‘fire up’ lane was packed all day.

The famous ‘Fireforce Jet Car’ wowed visitors with two sub-6 second passes during the afternoon and with a large number of traders plying their wares, there was plenty for the punters to see and do.

At the end of the afternoon, the trophies were handed out for the show and shine and the drag strip competition and they went to some very deserving participants. The number and quality of the cars on show meant the judges had a very tough job.

Janet Edwardson took top honours in the show and shine for her Lamborghini inspired Mk4 Golf and the main talking point of the day was Andy Waite running three sub-10 second quarter miles. The best was 9.8 seconds at 148 mph! The really crazy thing is that it’s a fully street legal car.

At the end of the afternoon, everyone who attended went home happy and looking forward to VAGfest on July 11th.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS BELOW FOR LARGER PICS.

Illustrator Matthew Keeler has produced these new and exciting posters, taken from a series of his original paintings of toy cars.
They are on offer to those who wish to buy and own a small collectable piece of VW art history and at the same time contribute to charity.

50% of every poster sold will go to Brad’s Cancer Foundation, who have been raising funds and providing equipment, care and support to teenagers with cancer, their families and the Teenage Cancer Trust since 2003.

The other half will go towards the expense of Matthew competing in the 2012, New York to Alaska, Trans-Am Rally in his ‘59 “Peking to Paris” Beetle.
In support of Brad’s Cancer Foundation, VW Heritage and SSP have generously donated the cost of printing a limited edition of 1000 copies of each design.
The posters are on sale at the very reasonable price of £5 each plus p&p.

They are available from the VW Heritage shop, www.vwheritage.com , www.brads.org.uk and from the Brad’s Cancer Foundation stands throughout the show season.

GTI Spring Festival
Santa Pod Raceway
Sunday 11th April 2010
01279 72 52 52
Website

Well – it’s called the ‘GTI Spring Festival’, but the first major event of the water cooled VW season is actually aimed at every current and past model in the VAG group range. From Sciroccos and Golfs and Polos, through SEAT models, Ibiza, Cupra, Leon, Skodas, Audis – all are welcome at the show, which takes place at Santa Pod Raceway, Bedfordshire on 11th April 2010. The ‘GTI Spring Festival’ now in its fourth year, is now without doubt a very major season opener. With Sprinting (RWYB), Show & Shine, Clubs, Autojumble and Traders, it follows a simple formula which has been hugely popular. The show itself offers all day sprinting for a single signing on fee, which means you can make one run, or as many runs as you can make during the entire day. But don’t forget your driving licence (you cannot sign on for sprinting without it.)

The Show & Shine is one of the best in the country, with in the region of 100 contestants. There is no charge for entry into the Show & Shine, and it is becoming a popular show at which to debut new or revamped cars after the winter lay off. Gates open at 8.00am with the dragstrip open from 10.00am. There is plenty of opportunity to browse trade stands, check out the autojumble and club displays, as well as watch (or even try a few runs on) the dragstrip. Overseas visitors to the show will receive free admission on production of their ferry tickets/proof of travel, so perhaps we will see a few more European visitors this year.

Santa Pod itself is just about the best venue for this type of event in the whole of Europe, meeting all international timing standards. The timing equipment is accurate to within less than one thousandth of a second.

If you are looking for those increasingly rare parts, check out the GTI Spring Festival Autojumble to see if you can find that extra bit you’ve always wanted! All of the autojumble plots are in a designated area which is filled on a first come basis on the day, and usually full of bargains for the eagle eyed buyer.

So, please don’t forget – April 11th, Santa Pod. And once again – all watercooled VWs are equally welcome, Golf, Polo, Lupo, Passat, Jetta, Scirocco, Derby, Corrado, Bora, New Beetle, Sharan, Octavia, Fabia, Cupra, Leon – the list goes on. If you are a VAG lover, it’s the one day show for you!

With just over a week to go until this years VolksWorld Show (27th – 28th March) advance booking sales close Monday 22nd March! So you only have a few more days to SAVE up to 55% – go to volksworld.com or call 01733 385 172 today!

So what can you expect from the show? As ever the show cars are the centre piece of the event, and this year there are even more amazing VWs making their way from all over the World and of course the UK!! The standard of show cars and buses is second to none and all tastes are catered for, buses, campers, vans are all well represented and with plenty of Beetles, and Buggies for you to cast your eyes over we are sure we have come up with a selection that is better than ever before.

VW HERITAGE

VW Heritage will be converting a stock beetle into a classic EMPI- 70’s style stunner at the show, best thing of all is that one lucky winner will be driving it home on Sunday evening, enter the WIN A BEETLE competition at the VolksWorld stand.

Brand new for this year is the Beetle Cup simulator, it’s nothing like your average Xbox, the actual full size car moves on hydraulic rams as you race a round of the Beetle Cup, prizes for the quickest.

The DIYers and have a go among you must visit The VolksWorld How To Area where industry experts will be giving demonstrations and talks throughout the day! This is not to be missed, please listen for the announcements as to when these are taking place.

Want to see even more VWs? Then head outside to the huge club area and see hundreds of daily drivers on display, plus don’t forget our line up of buses on the red brick road or the cars for sale area in the car park.

Inside they have loads of TRADERS and the ever popular KARMANN KONNECTION SWAPMEET.

Volksworld’s newly restored Fridolin will be unveiled at the show, come and have your picture taken in it and made into a front cover of VolksWorld magazine

WIN

WIN CASH! Enter the free shopping spree competition, where you can be in with a chance of winning £250, £150 or £50 CASH to spend at the show!

For more information visit volksworld.com