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OVERVIEW

Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 4:54 pm
by Amskeptic
The air-cooled Volkswagen took root around the world because of the exceptional quality offered in a unique design that was well-engineered.
It earned a loyal following because it was honest, easy to work on, refreshingly direct in its manners, all delivered with beautiful craftsmanship at a very reasonable price.

Disdained and ridiculed at its introduction to the United States in 1949, the VW was the antithesis of what the Conventional Wisdom held as fact, that people wanted ever bigger flashier and more powerful cars.

Its stunning success trashed the conventional wisdom. Apparently there were quite a number of people who were sick of the huge sloppy excesses of the 50's, they just wanted a simple car to get around in. Turns out the simple cars were reliable and a lot of fun to drive too. People who had been subjected to the empty florid vapid suggestiveness of domestic automobile advertising also appreciated the terrific Doyle Dane Bernbach ads that spoke with intelligent directness and used simple photographs to show off these self-described "ugly" cars. The first Volkswagen owners were a proud fraternity of people who knew they had a gem of a car that few onlookers even bothered to understand.

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This site is dedicated to furthering the values that the air-cooled VW represented. We want to keep it simple, offer quality resources, and we want to respect the unique talents of those who may be responding to the beat of a different drummer. We are also rabidly committed to championing the cause of Buy Quality Parts! PAY! Cough it up! Suffer a little! You will find that the pain goes away sooner than getting a bargain that falls apart in your lap or doesn't even fit. We will compile a compendium of Known Acceptable Parts and Belatedly Discovered Junk.

The vehicle forums are primarily dedicated to community interactions, the day-to-day Life With Your Volkswagen. Feel free to share your successes, conundrums, travels, and travails. You are invited to ask questions and better yet, answer questions as you become proficient.

The technical forums are organized by system to help you generalize your knowledge amongst all the VWs that share the same engineering principles while you can more easily hunt down the information you seek. These forums will help suppress irrelevancy (and you can help by paying attention to what you feel you must share in these forums) by virtue of the fact that people will be less likely (thus far disproven) to sprout chatty little cliques in such a dry engineering environment. We want to emphasize successful diagnosis/troubleshooting/solutions in these forums because it is the single most important skill you will need to possess to truly enjoy and utilize your VW.

We are not afraid of social commentary, politics, or religion here. We are citizens first, hobbyists second. We invite you to participate using your advanced adult behavior skill set. The people who are drawn to air-cooled VWs now, as way back then, tend to appreciate quality and charm in a unique package that still falls well outside of the conventional box. You will find that much of our Free Speech commentary follows the above recipe. Enjoy the diversity. Keep your emotional triggers at home.

The increasing interest in these cars may be signalling a new return to the old values that made these cars great in the first place. We hope to honor them here.
Colin
(comments and suggestions welcomed)

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Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 6:11 pm
by ruckman101
I can tip one for that sentiment Colin. Summed it all up.

Good golly, Bertha looks to be the scrapper in that line-up. Works in progress, always.



neal

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2013 7:35 pm
by Amskeptic
ruckman101 wrote:I can tip one for that sentiment Colin. Summed it all up.

Good golly, Bertha looks to be the scrapper in that line-up. Works in progress, always.



neal
Aw heck, Bertha is *untouchable*, Bertha is the Real Deal, there is no trailer queen in the land that can say a thing to Bertha.
Colin

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 10:27 am
by ruckman101
You are too kind, thanks.


neal

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 5:42 pm
by Marya70Riviera
Love what you wrote Colin, thanks.

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 9:47 am
by Amskeptic
Marya70Riviera wrote:Love what you wrote Colin, thanks.
Hi!

Thank you!

Years later, my heart is still devoted to these cars, only worse still. I am a poodle-purse old lady masquerading as a little baldy with three Volkswagens. You should hear me now, talking to them and other evidence of dementia.
Colin
(welcome)

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2016 11:38 pm
by TrollFromDownBelow
Super late to the party.....3 years!?! First time I read this. I like it. Sums up the spirit of this forum very nicely.

Oh and Neal...you should wear your patina proud! That's what Vdub's were designed for. (Yeah, and I have a slight bias...my nickname with my ride biddies is puppy.... they see anything with a hint of usage, and they call it "puppy patina". BTW - still feel quite honored that I was the first to send you a text message on your very first cell phone.

Cheers,
Mike

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 4:20 pm
by Amskeptic
If ANYONE anyone anyone is still HERE here here,

let's have a conversation about the Mission here. Things have changed. I will wait for your ideas.
Colin

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:03 pm
by asiab3
Listening intently. Willing to quit my day job to assist.

Robbie

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:53 pm
by whc03grady
"Things have changed" as in "parts are even worse than they were in 2000 and they were bad then and vendors give even less of a shit", or "things have changed" as in "I have realized I'd be happier living as a woman"?

The Mission
To keep air-cooled VW owners actively and happily engaged in futilely fighting entropy as it steadily destroys their cars.

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:13 pm
by Amskeptic
whc03grady wrote:
Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:53 pm
"Things have changed" as in "parts are even worse than they were in 2000 and they were bad then and vendors give even less of a shit", or "things have changed" as in "I have realized I'd be happier living as a woman"?
Both.
Chelsea Manning is running for office in Maryland, why, I have a whole big horizon of unknown opportunities to embarrass myself in ways I've never imagined.
[p.s. I am proud of "her", s/he is not to be underestimated (am I allowed to use quotation marks or is that bad?)]

whc03grady wrote: The Mission
To keep air-cooled VW owners actively and happily engaged in futilely fighting entropy as it steadily destroys their cars.
We just lost a 1970 bus over on theSamba to another perfectly avoidable stupid fire, yesterday.
As you may have noticed, we have a surfeit of stupidity swirling all around this and other "shitholes" worldwide.

I must, I must, narrow my focus and let go and embrace the fact that these cars are truly disappearing. It makes me almost want to turn away and actively not care, get flippant, retreat into the typical American crouch of "I got mine, screw you," and just wax the paint and wash the windows and humblebrag on my VWs at car shows.

But this forum needs a redefinition. It has been years since it was a broad community of diverse souls (I liked that era), and I will get terminally bored if we become just a bunch of grayhairs trying to dance with the dead cadavers of our past. So? How to re-position, redefine, re-commit? Throw out ideas. Crazy ones, too.
Colin

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 9:42 pm
by whc03grady
Amskeptic wrote:
Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:13 pm
whc03grady wrote:
Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:53 pm
"Things have changed" as in "parts are even worse than they were in 2000 and they were bad then and vendors give even less of a shit", or "things have changed" as in "I have realized I'd be happier living as a woman"?
Both.
Chelsea Manning is running for office in Maryland, why, I have a whole big horizon of unknown opportunities to embarrass myself in ways I've never imagined.
[p.s. I am proud of "her", s/he is not to be underestimated (am I allowed to use quotation marks or is that bad?)]
Maybe, probably. The slash too, I'd guess. Dumb joke on my part to start it off anyway. I was just looking for an example of a seismic life change.

Amskeptic wrote:
Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:13 pm
whc03grady wrote: The Mission
To keep air-cooled VW owners actively and happily engaged in futilely fighting entropy as it steadily destroys their cars.
We just lost a 1970 bus over on theSamba to another perfectly avoidable stupid fire, yesterday.
As you may have noticed, we have a surfeit of stupidity swirling all around this and other "shitholes" worldwide.

I must, I must, narrow my focus and let go and embrace the fact that these cars are truly disappearing. It makes me almost want to turn away and actively not care, get flippant, retreat into the typical American crouch of "I got mine, screw you," and just wax the paint and wash the windows and humblebrag on my VWs at car shows.

But this forum needs a redefinition. It has been years since it was a broad community of diverse souls (I liked that era), and I will get terminally bored if we become just a bunch of grayhairs trying to dance with the dead cadavers of our past. So? How to re-position, redefine, re-commit? Throw out ideas. Crazy ones, too.
Colin
The next generation has been priced out of the market. Have you seen the NADA value for a '74 Westfalia in primo condition? (I think '74s are highly valued as they're the newest ones you don't have to smog in CA, but whatever; it's all bad.) That's a Bay Window bus, the red-headed stepchild. Maybe once all the Boomers have gotten over their nostalgia kick things'll calm down.
I'll think about it.

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 11:21 pm
by tommu
I bet you've saved more cars than you can imagine. I can tell you that we still have the Ghia and have the Bus because of the skills you gave me the confidence to learn. And I bet that's a fact for countless other people and, consequently, VWs.

Things have changed and will never cease to change. I think we are passing through the golden internet 'forum' era of folk knowledge discovery, sharing and peer review. The internet is becoming a series of walled gardens. A lot of new owners are landing in Facebook groups reading some pretty suspect opinions. For them it's harder to know what sources of information to trust.

I believe that the VW world needs Guru Colin - and needs you to codify your work. A 'training course', training manuals, reference guides, far more comprehensive and more detailed 'bug-me' like resources. Live, paid troubleshooting video conferencing may be a way to monetize this.

A friends husband has managed to become some sort of management Guru. He ruthlessly exploited social media to get his name known, wrote a book and attended every conference he was invited to speak at. It worked out for him.

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:03 am
by Bleyseng
whc03grady wrote:
Sat Jan 13, 2018 9:42 pm
Amskeptic wrote:
Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:13 pm
whc03grady wrote:
Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:53 pm
"Things have changed" as in "parts are even worse than they were in 2000 and they were bad then and vendors give even less of a shit", or "things have changed" as in "I have realized I'd be happier living as a woman"?
Both.
Chelsea Manning is running for office in Maryland, why, I have a whole big horizon of unknown opportunities to embarrass myself in ways I've never imagined.
[p.s. I am proud of "her", s/he is not to be underestimated (am I allowed to use quotation marks or is that bad?)]
Maybe, probably. The slash too, I'd guess. Dumb joke on my part to start it off anyway. I was just looking for an example of a seismic life change.

Amskeptic wrote:
Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:13 pm
whc03grady wrote: The Mission
To keep air-cooled VW owners actively and happily engaged in futilely fighting entropy as it steadily destroys their cars.
We just lost a 1970 bus over on theSamba to another perfectly avoidable stupid fire, yesterday.
As you may have noticed, we have a surfeit of stupidity swirling all around this and other "shitholes" worldwide.

I must, I must, narrow my focus and let go and embrace the fact that these cars are truly disappearing. It makes me almost want to turn away and actively not care, get flippant, retreat into the typical American crouch of "I got mine, screw you," and just wax the paint and wash the windows and humblebrag on my VWs at car shows.

But this forum needs a redefinition. It has been years since it was a broad community of diverse souls (I liked that era), and I will get terminally bored if we become just a bunch of grayhairs trying to dance with the dead cadavers of our past. So? How to re-position, redefine, re-commit? Throw out ideas. Crazy ones, too.
Colin
The next generation has been priced out of the market. Have you seen the NADA value for a '74 Westfalia in primo condition? (I think '74s are highly valued as they're the newest ones you don't have to smog in CA, but whatever; it's all bad.) That's a Bay Window bus, the red-headed stepchild. Maybe once all the Boomers have gotten over their nostalgia kick things'll calm down.
I'll think about it.
I don't think the next generation is priced out, they just go at it differently. Check out the "Vanlife" crowd on Instagram, wow these kids find a baywindow and trick it out so they can live in it as they travel. They support themselves partly by featuring "products" in their picture posts.. Pretty smart marketing and a off the grid lifestyle. Yep, the guys all become selftaught mechanics for the on the road repairs.
$54,000 for a 74 Baywindow is stupid! But the NADA price for a 77 Westy at $33,000 is about right cuz where can you find one. The younger generation is going to Vanagon's as they are easier to find and you can put in a 165hp Subie engine in it for not too much money. (My son found a 91 Synchro for cheap to restore and make a Tintop Westy out of)

Re: OVERVIEW

Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 8:41 am
by Amskeptic
Bleyseng wrote:
Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:03 am

I don't think the next generation is priced out, they just go at it differently. Check out the "Vanlife" crowd on Instagram, wow these kids find a baywindow and trick it out so they can live in it as they travel. They support themselves partly by featuring "products" in their picture posts.. Pretty smart marketing and a off the grid lifestyle. Yep, the guys all become selftaught mechanics for the on the road repairs.
$54,000 for a 74 Baywindow is stupid! But the NADA price for a 77 Westy at $33,000 is about right cuz where can you find one. The younger generation is going to Vanagon's as they are easier to find and you can put in a 165hp Subie engine in it for not too much money. (My son found a 91 Synchro for cheap to restore and make a Tintop Westy out of)

I should sell a creampuff o' mine and get a Vanagon and do a Subaru transplant. But I have a proprietary trick up my sleeve .... think: No Electronics
Colin