Working around automobiles is something that's in my blood. My father, uncle, cousin and both of my sons work in the automotive trade. My grandfather used to work on the assembly line at the GM plant in Oshawa, hand painting the pinstripes on the new cars as they passed by on the assembly line. I also work in the automotive industry and my love of the automobile makes my job a pleasure rather than a chore. It has been said, "Work at what you love, and you'll never work another day in your life" and I truly believe that. The passion that I have for all things automotive is something that follows me once I leave the office for the day. I've had a few hobby cars in the past, a 1990 Suzuki Samurai, a 1972 Honda N600 and a few motorcycles too. The last was a 1971 Fiat Spyder that I restored myself at home. Unfortunately the poor Fiat suffered from terminal rust and I was getting tired of fixing holes that formed each winter, so it had to go.

After that I had an empty spot in my garage for a while, and nothing seemed to catch my interest. Until one day my wife and I were driving through Mississauga and we came across a young guy working on a totally customized vintage VW Beetle. Mariano's 1975 Super Beetle was done up in a beautiful teal colour with a white leather interior, slammed, de-chromed, Porsche wheels, and a hot motor. I had never seen an air-cooled Volkswagen that looked like this. He told us of a VW event that was being held near Kitchener the next weekend and invited us along. When we arrived at the "11th Annual Bug Out" we were shocked to see over a hundred vintage VWs of every description. There were stock Beetles, customized ones, Campers, Karmann Ghias and other Volkswagens dating back to the early 1950s. Everyone was very friendly and before we left the show we decided that a vintage Beetle was going to be our next car.

I spent the next month traveling all over Ontario, looking at every Beetle that I found for sale in the local newspaper, online, and in the Auto Trader magazine. From visiting various web sites, I knew where to look for rust and how to tell a good prospect from a basket case. After checking out over ten Beetles I began to lose hope — it seems that winters in Ontario are hard on the Beetles floor pans and heater channels. I could have bought one and started a ground up restoration but something told me to keep looking.

Click for description
The Beetle over the years
1936/37	1937/38	1954
1959	1960	1967
1967	1969	1979
1998	1999	1999

That summer my wife and I took a vacation to Vancouver to visit our neighbors who had moved there due to work obligations. Before we left home I promised that I would spend no more than two days trying to find that elusive Beetle in the salt free streets of British Columbia. The second day was winding down and I was having no more luck out there than I did back in Ontario. We were on our way to see one last Beetle and there it was. Sitting in the used car lot of a Honda dealership was a Harvest Gold 1975 Volkswagen Super Beetle, La Grande Edition. It was late in the day and the dealership was closed so I pulled over and gave the Bug the once over through the fenced-in lot, and it looked perfect. Nine o'clock the next morning we were out on a test-drive around the block in my new find. I pulled the VW to the curb and crawled all over it. This Bug was mint! Under the front hood I found extra parts, shop manuals, receipts for repairs and a pile of VW magazines including one called VW Trends. I noticed the previous owners' phone number on an old invoice and I thought — "why don't I call him"? The owner was only too happy to tell me the story of his beloved Beetle and the painstaking restoration that it had gone through. He finally sold it to get a bigger car and by the end of the conversation he had convinced me to buy it from the dealership. I shipped my Beetle back home to Toronto via rail, and it took nearly two weeks to arrive. We went to the depot to pick it up and started the cruise home, enjoying the smiles and waves from people that saw it. It seems that the Volkswagen Beetle is one of the most recognized shapes in the world and even though the last Beetle was sold in 1979, little children still know the Bug.

I started collecting models of Volkswagens and other collectible items. Before too long people were sending things to me and my collection was really getting out of control. After that I tracked down various commercials and ads for my Super Beetle and was lucky enough to find an original sales brochure for my "La Grande" edition VW. The La Grande Bug was Volkswagens idea of bringing the Beetle up to par with some of the more popular imports in the 1970s. The brochure features a woman seated inside wearing an elegant evening dress and a chauffeur standing just outside. The cover simply states, "La Grande Bug. You don't drive in it, you arrive in it". Click for larger view   La Grande Bug You don't drive in it, you arrive in it (Six-page sales brochure)   Cover Back cover

We cruised in our Beetle every weekend and started attending air-cooled VW events all over Ontario and made friends wherever we traveled. Everyone we meet seems to have a story about his or her experience with this popular car. Whether it was scraping the ice off the inside of the front windshield or riding in that little spot behind the rear seat, the stories and smiles never seem to stop. The more Beetle owners I met, the more my fascination with the whole phenomenon grew.

Doing a bit of web design where I work I decided to start a web site dedicated to the air-cooled Beetle. It became so popular that I started a second site to help people locate parts for their own air-cooled treasures. This whole VW obsession was really beginning to pickup speed so I contacted VW Trends in California. Before long I became a contributing editor for the magazine, writing VW event coverage, articles and features. Recently I had my "History of the Super Beetle" published in a book called "The Volkswagen Super Beetle Handbook" and an article about the June Jitter Bug VW Show printed in the Toronto Star newspaper. Who would have ever thought that a leisurely drive on a summer day could have led me down this path? But every time I see a stranger smile at my Beetle or see a group of kids playing punch-buggy, I'm glad it did.

Wayne challenges your Beetle knowledge           Why was the Beetle chosen by Disney for the "Herbie" films? It was due to public reaction to an example parked outside their offices Volkswagen offered the cars to Disney© for free in exchange for publicity It was thought that children could identify with the VW's shape The Austin Mini was already used in the movie "The Italian Job" Why was the 1971 Super Beetle named the 1302? Because car maker Simca had already used 1301 To set it apart from the engine size of the standard Beetle The numeric total of 1302 is "6" which is a lucky number in Germany VW had a prototype named 1301 that was water cooled What was Herbie's racing number? 8 35 52 53 When was the first year that the Beetle was available with gloss-finish paint? 1949 1956 1959 The Beetle always came with gloss-finish paint Find the right answers at Wayne's website! It's full of information and fun for Beetle lovers — Featured Beetles, Beetle FAQ, Puzzles, Photo Galleries, Games, Art and more. — Ed.