spring summer 2012 - Volkswagen Canada

SPRING SUMMER 2012
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PM 42143018
60 years in Canada.
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© 2012 Volkswagen Canada. “Volkswagen”, the Volkswagen logo and “Das Auto & Design” are registered trademarks of Volkswagen AG.
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4
2012 marks a milestone for Volkswagen Canada
with the celebration of our 60th anniversary, and
since we are the people’s car, we’d like to thank
you, the people, for helping us get here.
Volkswagen Magazine is a great way for us to
share our celebration with you. As always, we
highlight the products, people and achievements
that represent our brand. Of course, the biggest
focus in the magazine is on you, our customer,
as we explore the ways in which your Volkswagen
complements your life.
With 60 years to cover, it’s no surprise that this
is our biggest issue yet—60 pages of exclusive
material, to be exact. We will be celebrating
our rich heritage all year with a series of events
and promotions—many of which can be enjoyed
through our free Volkswagen Plus Owner Privilege
Program. Even so, we believe this special issue
serves as the perfect way to kick things off.
The Canadian auto show season has wrapped
up for another year, and it’s been an exciting
one for Volkswagen. We were kept busy with
the local launch of the New 2013 CC, Golf R,
Jetta Hybrid, GLI, Beetle and the Bulli Concept
revealed in Toronto. Globally, we unveiled the GTI
Cabriolet, Cross Coupé and several new versions
and concepts of the Up!, as well as the upcoming
Beetle TDI Clean Diesel. As a sign of things to
come from Volkswagen in the near future, the
EBugster was unveiled this past January in
Detroit. As you will see on page 8, significant
reveals and impressive displays at auto shows
aren’t exactly new ideas, but at Volkswagen we
know just how to spice things Up!
With the arrival of summer, Canadians
naturally shift their focus to vacations, outdoor
activities and some well-deserved rest and
relaxation. Many of us will shift our attention to
London, England, for the 2012 Summer Olympic
Games. In light of this, we have taken the
opportunity to interview Canadian gold-medal
rower Adam Kreek, who spoke to Volkswagen
Magazine about his Olympic successes,
teamwork and giving back. Coincidentally,
Adam is also a Volkswagen fan.
Naturally, our passion for Volkswagen
always focuses on our cars. The CC four-door
coupé has been redesigned for 2013 and is
more striking than ever. We also sent our
correspondent to experience the new Golf R at
the Arctic Circle, in anticipation of its Canadian
debut. Blasting around icy driving courses in the
remote Swedish tundra, our writer still managed
to keep himself warm, thanks to the Golf R.
Our ongoing Drive This series can be found in
this issue’s 60 Years of Volkswagen in Canada
special section. In this edition, we take the 2012
Beetle from the location of Volkswagen Canada’s
first headquarters along Yonge Street in Toronto,
down to Exhibition Place, where Canadians first
saw the Beetle displayed at the 1952 Canadian
National Exhibition. Many things have changed
over the last 60 years, but some things haven't.
So as you rev up for summer, we hope you’ll
take a few moments to sit back, relax and enjoy
this very special issue of Volkswagen Magazine.
Thanks for your dedication, devotion, passion and
emotion. Our success is based on your belief in
us as a company and on your support for the cars
we produce—past, present and future. That’s the
power of German engineering. That’s Das Auto.
Best regards,
Bruce Rosen
Director, Marketing and Communications
Volkswagen Canada
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Contents
Publisher
Volkswagen Canada
777 Bayly St. West
Ajax, ON L1S 7G7
Peter Viney
SpRing/Summer 2012
volkswagen news from across the globe.
Editorial Coordination
Palm + Havas
1253, avenue McGill College,
3 e étage
Montréal, QC H3B 2Y5
Bruce Rosen 03
Volkswagen Canada’s Director of Marketing and
Communications highlights the features of our
special issue.
Editor
Jordan Dykstra
News 05
Assistant Editor
Volkswagen world news, including coverage
of the Geneva Auto Show and Volkswagen’s
U.S. fleet of E-Golfs.
Annette McLeod
Art Director
Adam Taylor
Summer Essentials 09
Associate Art Director
We have all the latest gear to help you stay
connected while out on the trail.
Evan Kaminsky
Graphic designers
Volkswagen Magazine sits down with Canada’s
Olympic champion rower to talk about success
and giving back.
2013 Volkswagen CC 14
What could be more striking than the beautiful
Côte d’Azur? Only the next generation of the
Volkswagen CC four-door coupe, of course.
Jennifer Harrington
60 Years of Volkswagen in Canada 19
John White 20
John White, President of Volkswagen Group Canada,
reflects on 60 years of Volkswagen in Canada.
Karl Barths 21
Volkswagen-branded products for enthusiasts.
Volkswagen Canada’s second president talks about
how a tiny automotive company managed to reach
across this huge nation.
Fun facts and figures from across the globe.
Volkswagen Canada History 22
Volkswagen Events 46
A sneak peek at our upcoming cinema, amusement
park, Freedriving Tour and Blues Festival events.
We take an in-depth look at Volkswagen’s 60-year
history in Canada and across the world.
CAR STARS 28
Über Hatch 48
Our intrepid writer rockets across the remote
Swedish tundra in the new Golf R.
Automotive Business School of Canada 53
The only school of its kind in Canada provides
students with the knowledge and experience they
need to succeed in the automotive industry.
Owner Stories 55
A Volkswagen owner for 57 years, a family with
a 600,000+ km Westfalia, and more!
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The new Beetle TDI Clean Diesel, which will
be the third model in the 21st Century Beetle
lineup, was unveiled at the Chicago Auto
Show and will go on sale later this summer.
Volkswagen has added its 2.0 L, turbocharged,
direct injection Clean Diesel engine to the
dynamic design of its latest “Bug,” making it
even more fuel-efficient than its gas-powered
sibling. The 2013 Beetle TDI will have 140
horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque, and will
come with 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels,
V-Tex Leatherette seating and Bluetooth capability.
automotive editors
Volkswagen Gear 43
Volkswagen Around the World 44
BEETLE TDI
Jubert Gutierrez, Aurora Lynch,
Adam Kreek 10
Volkswagen has never shied away from the limelight.
Drive This: Yonge Street 30
In this special edition of our ongoing series, we take
a look at what 60 years has done to Yonge Street.
Employee Profile 34
Kurt Hering, one of the handful of Volkswagen
Canada pioneers, shares his stories from the
company’s earliest days.
Critical Compass 36
A handful of veteran Canadian automotive
journalists weigh in with their fond Volkswagen
memories.
Matt Bubbers, Bradley Horn
Contributing Writers
Lindsey Craig, Luke Hall, Nick Healey
Contributing Photographers
Adrian Armstrong, Ste Ho,
Mike Palmer, Mario Miotti
Publishing House
Contempo Media Inc.
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Toronto, ON M5V 3J3
www.contempomedia.ca
President
John McGouran
editorial and creative
director
Michael La Fave
Advertising Account
Manager
Jeff McCann
jeff.mccann@contempomedia.ca
Account Manager
Kyle Bodnarchuk
kyle.bodnarchuk@
contempomedia.ca
Sales & marketing
coordinator
Diana Wilson
diana.wilson@contempomedia.ca
416 591 0093 ext. 20
Follow us on:
Beetle Bests 39
Beetle owners share their memories of a car that
captured our imagination.
RAd-vertising 40
Volkswagen has always had a reputation for clever
advertising. Here’s a look at some of our best
from the last 60 years.
THINK BLUE
Send comments and
questions to
magazine@volkswagenplus.ca
No responsibility will be accepted for unsolicited
manuscripts and photos received. Despite careful
selection of sources, no responsibility can be taken
for accuracy. No part of this magazine may be used
or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission. The vehicle specifications listed
apply to the Canadian market, and are subject to
change. Opinions expressed are not necessarily
those of Volkswagen Canada.
©2012 Volkswagen Canada. All rights reserved.
E-GOLF FLEET
In April, Volkswagen began a series of pilot projects across the U.S.A. in an effort
to test the brand new prototype E-Golf. Twenty E-Golfs in total are being tested
in Detroit, Washington and San Francisco to help determine how the batteryoperated car performs under different climate and driving conditions. Each car is
also going to be equipped with an iPhone and an app that will allow the driver to
monitor the car’s battery levels and temperature.
In keeping with Volkswagen’s progressive
attitudes towards eco-friendly options, the
company partnered with the Bikes Belong
Foundation to help promote the benefits
associated with cycling. Whether it’s through
online campaigns like peopleforbikes.org
or pairing with advocacy groups like the
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
(SRTSNP), Volkswagen supports environmentally
conscious communities as part of their global
Think Blue initiative.
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CROSS
COUPÉ
GENEVA SHOW
The 82nd annual Geneva Motor Show took place March 8th to18th at the Palexpo-Geneva. The
10-day-long show was a rousing success as over 700,000 visitors (and over 11,000 journalists!)
made their way through the event. Volkswagen marked the occasion by presenting two world
premieres, the GTI Cabriolet and the Cross Coupé TDIs, as well as debuting four different Up!
concept cars (below).
The Cross Coupé is
giving people what
they want—an SUV
that doesn’t guzzle
gas. This hybrid model
was first unveiled as
a gas plug-in hybrid
concept car at the
2011 Tokyo Auto Show
in November, and has
since appeared at the
Geneva Auto Show
as a TDI Hybrid. The
gas model has been
refined to the point
that it uses a mere
2.7 L/100 km, while
the diesel model uses
only 1.8 L/100 km.
In addition to the gas
or diesel engine, the
Cross Coupé utilizes
two electric motors
(one per axle), which
allows the vehicle to
go up to 45 km purely
on electric power.
The Cross Coupé sits
between the Golf and
Tiguan in size, and
features a front-end
grille similar to that
of the Passat.
GTI CABRIOLET
UP!
Clockwise from top left: Up! Cargo, Up! X, Up! Swiss and Up! Winter
At the Geneva show, Volkswagen decided to debut four different concept models of the tiny Up!
car: the Swiss, X, Cargo and Winter, each of which has its own slight twist that sets it apart.
The Swiss, for example, was designed specifically for the Geneva crowd: it is being painted
in Switzerland’s flag colours and features special interior pockets for Swiss Army knives. The X,
on the other hand, features a roof-mounted storage box with integrated driving lights, while the
Cargo has had its rear windows tinted in body colours and all but the driver’s seat removed to
turn the vehicle into one of the smallest cargo “vans” around. The Winter Up! comes with extra
body trim and a roof rack that can hold four snowboards or six sets of skis. Since its debut in
September 2011, the Volkswagen Up! has been garnering serious worldwide attention, especially
after winning “The World Car of the Year 2012” at the New York International Auto Show this past April.
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The new GTI Cabriolet is the most
powerful Golf drop-top created
to date, and is expected to be
in European showrooms by late
2012. Unveiled at the Geneva
show, this car is a reintroduction
of the original Cabriolet concept
from the first-generation Rabbit.
The main attraction of this car is
the 2.0 TSI engine, which puts out
207 horsepower and goes from
zero to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds.
In addition to the power-operated
cloth-top, the GTI convertible
has a red-framed honeycomb
grille, chrome tailpipes, side sill
extensions and smoked LED
rear lights.
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Even though some
things never Change…
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3
Volkswagen at the ’62 Chicago Auto Show.
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6
2
5
1
SUMMER
ESSENTIALS
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Gear for getting
outdoors this
Summer.
While cars have certainly changed in the
last 50 years, auto shows are still auto
shows. Gleaming metal as far as the eye
can see, carefully hung brand signage
enticing visitors to booths, concept vehicles
aplenty, and excited car lovers looking for
a new vehicular romance. Not much has
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changed over the years, including the fact
that Volkswagen has always tried to do
things differently.
In 1962, the Volkswagen display featured
a bisected Beetle with its interior exposed,
leaping into the air—an attention-grabber
even by today’s standards. The Beetle’s
tail-lights were bigger that year, a
conventional fuel gauge replaced the
old reserve lever, and the engine was
increased from 30 to 40 horsepower.
Today’s Beetle has up to five times as
much power as it did in 1962.
photo: Chicago Auto Show
1Pelican i1015 Micro Case ($30):
Pelican’s case keeps most Apple, BlackBerry
and Android phones snugly in place and
safe from harm. The case is also waterproof,
and features a built-in cable-connector.
4JOBY Gorillapod Tripod ($23):
Light, flexible and versatile, this tripod packs
easily. Functional as a standard tripod or while
wrapped around a tree branch, it comes in a
variety of sizes.
2Pentax 8.5 x 21 Papilio Binoculars ($150):
These small but effective binoculars give you a
solid 8.5x magnification, so you can take in all
the sights while you’re out on the trail. Great for
short and long distances.
5Lowe Pro Photo Sport 200 AW Backpack
($179):
This Lowe Pro backpack is light, durable
and easily accessible, and spacious enough
to handle your camera gear. Includes an
all-weather cover to keep your camera safe
from the elements.
3Light & Motion Solite 150 Headlamp ($120):
This versatile headlamp features amber
sidelights to provide visibility to right-angle
traffic, and the lithium-ion batteries can be
recharged with the included USB cord.
photo: adrian armstrong
6Garmin Forerunner 310XT w/HRM ($345):
This waterproof, GPS-enabled watch
has enough capabilities to replace your
personal trainer. Wear it on your wrist or
mount it on your bike. Sends data to your
computer wirelessly.
7SolarFocus SolarMio Solar Charger ($120):
This lightweight, portable solar charger lets you
keep your phone or camera charged through
the course of your hike, so you’ll never miss
that important call or photo op out on the trail.
8Eton SolarLink FR600 Radio ($80):
The radio of choice for the Canadian Red Cross,
the FR600 features S.A.M.E. weather alert
technology; AM, FM, WB and SW frequencies;
an alarm clock; LED flashlight and a USB
cellphone charger. Charge via the winding
crank or through the built-in solar panels.
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Giving back
CAPTIONS TK
A Q&A with Canadian
Olympic gold medallist
and rowing adventurer
Adam Kreek.
By Lindsey Craig
He was part of the winning Canadian men’s rowing eight team at the 2008 Beijing Games.
These days Adam Kreek, 31, can still be found behind the oars, but he also fills his time with a
professional speaking career (of which Volkswagen Canada happens to be a client). We sat down
with him to chat about post-Olympic life, including his recent rowing adventures, motivational
speaking and a heck of a lot of giving back.
it’s because of your efforts and the efforts
of your teammates, and you’re bringing
honour to your country and to your fellow
countrymen and countrywomen, it’s a
pretty incredible feeling.
After winning a gold medal with the
men’s eight rowing team in Beijing,
cameras captured you proudly singing
O Canada. The moment inspired Canadians
across the country and fellow Olympic
athletes, including Olympic champion
triathlete Simon Whitfield. How did that
make you feel?
I think what was so powerful about that
moment was that I wasn’t trying to be
That victory came on the heels of a crushing
result in 2004, when your rowing team was
expected to win a medal, but came fifth.
What was that like?
Athens was obviously a huge disappointment.
We were in the running to win, or at least
podium, and we finished right out of the
running. I’d dedicated the last two years of
my life to the Olympic pursuit and trying to
see what we could do. Going to the Olympics is
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anyone else other than who I am. I was
really happy, I was happy for my teammates
and for my country. When I was on the
podium, I remember thinking, ‘I’m either
going to start sobbing or I’m going to start
singing,’ so I thought, ‘I think it would be
better if I just sang,’ (laughs)... It’s a pretty
special song, you’ve heard it at hockey
games and at school growing up, and to
actually see the flag raised and know
a highly personal pursuit; you don’t necessarily
do it for the money. You know, a lot of NHL
guys that I’ve known have said, ‘Well, I’m
good at hockey and I hate it, but I still do
it for the money, because it pays the bills,
right?’ (laughs). But you don’t have that in
an Olympic sport. You have to do it because
you love it. And afterwards, I felt I was
completely done...
But you weren’t done. You came back.
How did that happen?
After about a year and a half (studying
and coaching at Stanford University), I got a
call from my Olympic coach, Mike Spracklan.
He gets on the line and says (imitating a British
accent), ‘Hey, Adam, we’re having a training
camp in Seville, Spain. I was wondering if you
wanted to come join us.’ I was kind of in
the winter doldrums in northern California
in the rain and I was thinking, ‘You know,
Seville, Spain, sounds pretty good right
now, I’ll just go.’
....Going back to the national team was
great. I was equal with everyone again
and it was really exciting. A lot of good
friends were still training, and I could
see the great possibility for success....
It was still a bit of a negotiation with my
wife, Rebecca. Going to the Olympics is
a big stress on a relationship. We’d been
through a lot, and with Athens she had
to sacrifice a lot, too.... but we ended up
making the decision.
What did that victory in Beijing mean
to you and your teammates?
Some people had said the drive for
Beijing was coming from redemption,
but that ethos was nowhere to be seen.
It was a new collection of people, and
the ethos we embraced was one of taking
advantage of opportunity in the present
moment. We had the strongest men’s
eight Canada has ever seen, and we
wanted to make sure we were going to
realize the potential we had in that boat.
And I think we did.
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London 2012 is fast approaching. Who are
the top Canadian teams or athletes to watch?
In rowing, the men’s eight and women’s
eight, they’re podium contenders if not
gold-medal contenders. Then there’s boxer
Mary Spencer and the Canadian archery
team. Kayaker Adam Van Koeverden and
Karen Cockburn on the trampoline are also
steady performers who should make it to
the podium.
(Opening image) The Canadian men's rowing eight
quality, temperature density, chlorophyll
content, things like that. We’ll submit those
to scientists to analyze the data and try to
figure out what’s happening to our oceans.
It ties back into that philosophy that the secret
to happy living is giving.
What advice would you give to Canadian
Olympic athletes?
At this point in time, the goal is to stay focused.
Don’t let the pressures and expectations overload
you. Realize you put yourself in this position, so
take advantage of it as best you can.
You’re preparing to row across the Atlantic
Ocean. Tell us about this journey.
In December, we’re rowing from Liberia
to Venezuela, and that will be sponsored
by the CWF (Canadian Wildlife Federation)
to support our educational and research
component. We’ll also be raising funds for
Right To Play. It will help educate kids in
the developing world and teach them how
to respect their natural environment.*
You’re about to finish rowing around
Vancouver Island. What’s that been about?
It’s about inspiring Canadians to get
outdoors and have an adventure. Being
outdoors is part of our Canadian blood; it’s
what we hold dear. It’s important to connect
with nature so we know what we’re conserving
when we create national parks or make
decisions [to protect the environment].
What’s left for Adam Kreek to accomplish?
I have no idea what the future will bring.
After the 2004 Olympics, I thought I was
done with rowing. And after the 2008
Olympics, I said, ‘I’m done.’ And now, I’m
preparing to do this big Atlantic row. I’m a
continual learner and I love sharing what
I’ve learned. It’s about opportunity in the
present moment.
Your trip has a science and research
component as well. Describe that.
We’ve been recording what whales are
saying because they have a language they
use to communicate, which has been pretty
incredible. We’ve also been studying water
Talk about your Volkswagen experience.
I drive a Volkswagen Golf; it’s powered
by biodiesel. I had a 2002 diesel Golf, and
before that I had a 1984 diesel Jetta—and
really, that’s what got me into biodiesel.
I was a poor, amateur athlete, training for
Canada, and I said, ‘Wait a second, diesel
is a lot more cost-effective, and if I actually
make my own fuel out of vegetable oil, it’s
even cheaper.’
So it was your Volkswagen that got you to
and from training for the Olympics?
I wouldn’t have won an Olympic gold
medal without it. I had a really bad back
injury leading up to the 2008 Olympics, and
in the morning, I could barely move. I’d just
kind of shuffle to the car, sit with the seat
warmer cranked high, and then I’d get to
the lake and my back was fine. It was the
back warmer (laughs). So, it was really good
to have the Volkswagen.
*Note to readers: Kreek’s Africa to the Americas
2012 expedition with OAR (Ocean Adventure Rowing)
Northwest will span 60–80 days on a 29-foot rowboat,
powered by a four-man crew rowing 24 hours a day in
two-hour shifts. It is also a Guinness World Record
attempt. To find out more or donate to the cause, visit
www.kreekspeak.com.
You can also follow Adam and his adventures on Twitter:
@adamkreek.
team celebrates after winning gold at the 2008
Beijing Summer Olympics.
(aBove) Adam and his wife Rebecca pose for a picture
soon after their wedding.
(Far Left) Adam fills his Golf with biodiesel, which
his B.C. company, Grease Cycle, recycles from used
cooking oil.
(Near Left) Adam speaking to a crowd.
You’re involved in many charitable causes,
you have your own biodiesel business
(Grease Cycle), and you’re a motivational
speaker. What inspired you to become a
motivational speaker?
I hadn’t completely planned to do this.
My initial plan was to build a biodiesel
company on the west coast, which I’m
still doing at this moment, but....from
about 2002 onwards I got involved with a
program called the Esteem Team. It’s a
national program that trains athletes to go
into schools and talk to kids about goalsetting. So, you go to schools and talk with
the kids. You know, being an athlete is a
very selfish pursuit, and a lot of people
get so inspired watching another athlete,
but many people don’t realize how selfish
you need to be to make that performance
happen. That’s what I found from my own
personal experience. That selfishness was
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very draining and it sucked my spirit out....
so, that’s what motivated my desire to give
back, going into these schools.
What’s your approach when you address
an audience?
I think it’s important to be genuine.
There are a lot of people out there in their
career who end up reciting a message
over and over again. It becomes very
robotic and impersonal. People get a bit
elevated while they’re there but feel let
down afterwards because it was more of a
performance and less of a conversation or
relationship that was built during the time
spent together. I think it’s really important
that there’s a strong spiritual aspect to
public speaking and to conversing with a
crowd because people are trusting you
with their attention, and I don’t take that
trust lightly.
Describe some of the lessons learned
at the Olympics that you draw from as
a motivational speaker.
First, the power of authentic giving.
People who don’t give back, they don’t
realize how powerful giving can be. It
will not only make you feel better, but it
will improve your performance and you’ll
have a stronger community. That’s what’s
motivated me to go into schools and
speak with kids, or be a Big Brother.
Another is the power of shared
leadership. Going towards the 2004
Olympics, there were one or two leaders
and they were very controlling and
self-interested. So, when stress or the
unpredictable would face us, our team
ended up breaking. Whereas, leading
up to the Olympics in 2008, we had
about seven guys who could really step
up and lead.
Back in the summer of ’52
It seems that the older the Olympic photos, the shorter the men’s
shorts get…. All kidding aside, much has changed in the 60 years
since Helsinki, Finland, hosted the summer games. For one, it was
once the standard to hold both the cold and warm weather Olympiad
in the same year. Hence, Helsinki followed Oslo, Norway’s winter
games where computers were used for the first time to calculate
the scores in figure skating. Finland had its own milestones—and
some wonderful Canadiana to boot. Here’s a run down:
• The first
commemorative
coin of the modern
Olympic Games was
made in 1951-52.
• In 1952 Helsinki
hosted 69 countries
and 4,955 athletes
competing in 23
sports. As a contrast,
London 2012 will
host 205 countries
and 10,500 athletes
will compete in
26 sports.
• Israel and the
Soviet Union entered
the Olympic Games
for the first time
in Helsinki. Fears
that Cold War rivals
would clash thankfully
proved unfounded.
The Soviet women
began their dominance of gymnastics
at the games, a
streak that would
last 40 years until the
USSR collapsed.
• Rule changes
meant women
could finally
compete alongside
men in the mixed
equestrian events.
Says www.olympic.org:
“One of the first
women to do so was
Lis Hartel of Denmark.
Paralyzed below
the knees, Hartel
had to be helped on
and off her horse.
Despite this, she
claimed silver in the
equestrian dressage.”
• Finally, some
Canadiana: Way
back in 1924,
Bill Havens was
scheduled to
compete for
America in coxed
eights rowing. He
opted out of the
Paris, France-based
games to stay home
with his wife, who
was expecting their
first child. Twentyeight years later,
that child competed
in Helsinki. Frank
Havens claimed
gold in the wonderfully named "Men’s
Canadian Singles"
10,000 m canoeing
event.
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THE NEW 2013
Volkswagen
CC. It’s a
Volkswagen.
No, seriously.
Redesigned from Front to
back, the 2013 CC is Proof
that VOlkswagen can play in
the luxury car arena at an
affordable price.
Nice, France—The Côte d’Azur is no place
for introverts. For centuries, year-round
sunshine and warm Mediterranean Sea
breezes have attracted the wealthier classes
to its coastal towns such as Saint-Tropez,
Monte Carlo, Cannes, and, here, in Nice. And
whether they’re jogging on the boardwalks,
sunning on the “clothing optional” beaches,
or docking their yachts in the harbour, the
people who gravitate to this special part of
the world like to show off. A lot.
In other words, it’s the perfect place to
drive the New 2013 CC “four-door coupe,” the
least introverted Volkswagen you can own.
Since its introduction four years ago, the
mid-size CC has garnered as much rubbernecking as a red carpet film star at a Cannes
Film Festival debut. The Volkswagen’s
extroverted sweeping lines and flowing
roofline gave it an aura of style and luxury.
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15
And still does. Dimensionally, inside and out,
the 2013 edition retains the elegant proportions
of the original, but has adopted the more
chiseled exterior design details cropping up
on all Volkswagen family members.
Despite the ability to turn heads in some
of Europe’s most moneyed municipalities,
the New CC maintains Volkswagen’s wellearned reputation for value. It may look
like a million bucks, but the CC’s pricing
remains resolutely accessible.
With a starting MSRP of $35,125, the frontwheel-drive CC 2.0 TSI Sportline model comes
generously equipped with Bluetooth® mobile
phone connectivity with voice activation,
Premium 8 radio (touch screen with eight
speakers), CD player with SIRIUS® Satellite
Radio integrated, auxiliary audio jack and an iPod
interface, 12-way power adjustable driver seat
with power lumbar support, heated front seats,
17-inch alloy wheels and leather-wrapped
multifunction steering wheel and shift knob.
16
New for 2013, Bi-xenon headlights with
light-emitting-diode (LED) technology, LED
technology rear taillights, Climatronic ®
dual-zone electronic climate control and
a rearview camera have been added to the
standard equipment list.
Under the hood, motivation comes from
a powerful—yet frugal—2.0 L turbocharged
four-cylinder engine, making 200 horsepower
and 207 pound-feet of torque, mated to either a
six-speed manual or optional dual-clutch Direct
Shift Gearbox (DSG) automatic transmission.
If the CC 2.0 TSI Sportline doesn’t satisfy
your Côte d’Azur cruising needs, the $4,850
Highline trim package will help. It adds oneinch-larger wheels, a panorama sunroof,
multi-functional steering wheel with paddle
shifters, Homelink universal garage door
opener, leather seating surfaces and memory
for the driver’s seat and mirrors.
The ultimate CC is the 3.6 Highline. As its
badge suggests, the top-line model is powered
by a 3.6 L version of Volkswagen’s ingeniously
compact narrow-angle V6 engine. Its 280 hp
and 265 lb-ft of torque is safely directed
to the road via Volkswagen’s 4MOTION®
all-wheel-drive with adaptive torque
distribution. A smooth-shifting six-speed
Tiptronic automatic transmission is standard.
Additional features like the power rear
sunshade, Dynaudio® premium sound
system and navigation system complete the
top-line CC’s luxury car résumé. Yet, at only
$48,475, the Volkswagen is thousands—and
in some cases, tens of thousands—less than
rival luxury four-door coupes.
Both CC models are also reasonably
parsimonious at the pumps. The automatic
four-cylinder CC scores 9.7 L/100 km in the
city and 6.6 L on the highway, while the V6
is rated at 12.7 L and 8.3 L, respectively.
Whichever CC you choose, the luxury of
safety comes standard. It has six airbags
(including driver and passenger front and front
side airbags with side curtain protection),
electronic stability control, Volkswagen’s Tire
Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), and
Intelligent Crash Response System (ICRS)
(which cuts the fuel supply and electronics,
unlocks the doors, disconnects the battery
terminal from the alternator and then turns
on hazard lights).
From the base 2.0 TSI Sportline to the
top-rung 3.6 Highline model, the redesigned
2013 Volkswagen CC offers one of the most
luxurious and well-built cabins in the industry
—regardless of price. Fit and finish is beyond
reproach, with soft-touch plastics complemented by the subtle use of aluminum and
wood trim.
The biggest differentiator between the
original CC and our five-passenger North
American Passat was in the back seat, where
you could only find two thrones. No longer.
For 2013, Volkswagen has re-contoured
the CC’s rear seat setup and added a third
seatbelt, allowing for the occasional extra
passenger. It may be called a “coupe,” but
the CC sedan’s 60/40 split-folding rear seats
feature a centre pass-through to add to the
400 litres of trunk space.
Practicality aside, whether piloting the
New CC on the Alpine passes north of Nice or
winding through the congested streets that
hug the harbours, the Volkswagen can both
cosset its passengers and entertain its driver.
Some driving enthusiasts will prefer the
2.0 TSI Sportline’s six-speed manual, but
the direct-injected and turbocharged fourcylinder engine and DSG automatic are
also well-mated. Gear changes are sharp
and quick. And for owners who enjoy the
power of the V6’s additional cylinders—and
the all-weather security of its 4MOTION®
system—the 3.6 Highline only ups the ante.
Either way, the CC is a quiet and confident
touring machine. Its European sports sedaninspired suspension is firm enough to prevent
the car from the typical luxury car wallow, but
not at the expense of delivering a comfortable
ride. German car fans will appreciate the
CC’s ability to keep out all but the roughest
road irregularities. While the Volkswagen’s
steering delivers more feedback as road
speeds increase, it adjusts itself, making
low-speed parking manoeuvres a doddle.
As most good things do, my driving time
in the New 2013 CC along the Côte d’Azur
had to come to an end. But the Volkswagen’s
impressions still linger.
Offering much more than comparably
priced mainstream mid-size sedans, and
much more value than pricier coupes, the
New 2013 Volkswagen CC presents the best
of both the coupe and sedan worlds. Arguably,
it’s a smart and stylish choice. That is, if you
can handle the extra attention the CC will
draw your way.
17
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accent to your already amazing driving experience. It is the
soundtrack to your perfect drive. And it is a soundtrack that
never has to end. Visit siriusxm.ca to learn more.
VO LKSWAGEN
Magazine
A brief history of
VOLKSWAGEN
IN CANADA
Your Volkswagen
already hums.
Now make it sing.
The CARS
are the Stars
LOYAL CUSTOMER
57 years behind our wheel
DRIVE THIS
All Sirius equipped Volkswagen vehicles include
a 3 month complimentary subscription.
© 2012 Sirius XM Canada Inc.
th
Anniversary Special
Yonge Street then and now
CRITICAL COMPASS
Veteran automotive
journalists weigh in
PLUS
Volkswagen’s most
INFLUENTIAL ADS
19
The Car for
Canadians
It’s ironic that so small a car planted so large
a seed. Our Beetle came to a country of vast
space, vast potential and vast cars. Yet Canadians
quickly grew to love and understand “the
Volkswagen.” In the years that have followed,
Canadians have been on the road not only
in Beetles, but Transporters, Rabbits, Jettas,
Sciroccos, Touaregs, GTIs, and Tiguans, to
name just a few.
Our loyal customers, old and new, have helped
show Canada that Volkswagen is about Germanengineered vehicles with distinct personalities,
high-quality workmanship and unparalleled
charm. It’s the brand that changed the streetscape
in this country like few others could.
The 60th anniversary of Volkswagen Canada,
however, is about you, the people.
It’s about the handful who sold, and the
handful who bought those eight cars in 1952,
among them our first chairman, Werner Jansen,
and one of our first mechanics, Kurt Hering,
whose story you’ll read in this special section.
It’s about the men and women in Wolfsburg,
Puebla, Chattanooga, and all the other places
around the globe where Volkswagen and all its
components are made.
It’s about the designers who consistently
amaze and delight, and the engineers who
power their vision.
It’s about everyone who’s sold and serviced the
nearly two million Canadian Volkswagen vehicles
driven and loved over the last 60 years.
It’s about our employees who made the
move from our humble beginnings on Yonge
Street to Scarborough and then to Ajax. They
put heart and soul into their careers with a
company they believe in.
20
The remarkable
memories of Karl Barths
Most of all, it’s about you, and those like you,
who appreciate authenticity. Who understand
the Volkswagen vision and embrace it. Who
choose to represent themselves to the world as
Volkswagen owners. Who follow us on Twitter
and Facebook, who enter into lively discussions
on web forums or devote yourselves to blogs.
Who join owner associations and go to festivals,
picnics and classic car shows just to hang out
with each other…and the cars.
To be the president of Volkswagen Canada on
its 60th anniversary is, put simply, an honour. I’m
equally proud to be in the esteemed company of
all the former presidents of Volkswagen Canada:
Werner Jansen, Karl Barths, Bruno Rubess, Detlef
Wittig, Clive Warrilow, Gerd Klauss and Frank
Witter, every one of whom led distinctively and
with the conviction that Volkswagen simply
makes the best cars in the world.
On behalf of Volkswagen Canada on the
occasion of our 60th anniversary, thank you.
Wait until you see what the next six decades hold…
John White
President and CEO
Volkswagen Group Canada
Karl Barths served as Volkswagen Canada’s
second president from 1963 to 1972. Born
in Germany in 1920, he started working for
Volkswagen in Wolfsburg in 1953. We asked
him to share some early memories of his days
at Volkswagen Canada and at 92, sharp and
engaging as ever, he happily obliged.
“I worked in the export department, on the
marketing side. They made me responsible for the
North American market, which at the time was a
recent development.
“I first visited North America for two
months in 1956, and toured all the distributors
in the U.S. and Canada from east to west.
Volkswagen Canada was on the Golden Mile
at that time, in Scarborough. It was tough. We
had import tax, sales tax, duty, as part of our
purchase price. They drove it up quite a bit,
more than our main competitors, the British.
As members of the Commonwealth, they just
had sales tax, no import tax, no duty. We had a
hard time making ends meet.
“Over the years, I went back to Canada.
I spent six weeks there in 1961, and founding
president Werner Jansen sent me out to
Vancouver, where the Pacific Region was just
building up. I helped build it up and got
some experience in the Canadian market.
At Christmas time, in 1962, Werner passed
away and I was made his successor. I came in
February 1963 to take over.
“I couldn’t have dreamt of such a fantastic job.
I loved Canada already. It was easy to blend into
Canadian life. I would tell everyone back home, if
you’re going to go to another country, go to Canada.
I was grateful to be sent there.
“The first thing I did in Canada was to
improve the heating in our cars. Initially, the
Beetle became so popular because they were
so reliable, but those air-cooled engines didn’t
turn out enough heat. The colder it got, the less
heat came into the cabin. An extra heater had
to go in and we couldn’t get it from Germany
fast enough, so we shopped around Canada and
found a heater we accepted. It went up front—
when winter came, it was to the detriment of
the luggage compartment.
“Another challenge was the success of
imported cars. It was a time when there was
unemployment, I suppose, and some of the
provinces took it to the point of ridiculous.
The Ontario government ran a campaign
called ‘the Ontario Trade Crusade.’ One day, they
put an ad in the national paper showing a rhino
with its mouth wide open and the headline, ‘Let’s
face it. Some things have to be imported.’ Werner
Jansen got a hold of the agency, and put a Beetle
into the photographer’s atelier, photographed
it, and the next day in the same paper, on the
same page, an ad ran with the Beetle in the same
position, with its front open, looking like the
rhino. The headline: ‘Let’s face it. Some things
have to be imported.’
“Werner and his crew, Kurt Hering, they
developed the Volkswagen family spirit, not just
at Volkswagen Canada, but they took it to the
dealerships, the whole organization, from coast
to coast. I felt it going there for my visits, even
before I took the job.
“These days, I drive a Jetta made in North
America. I love it. A hundred and forty
horsepower diesel in it, automatic. Serves
me just fine. It’s the envy of many.”
VOlkswagen CanaDa Headquarters on the
golden mile in Scarborough in the early 1960s.
21
60 years of
VOLKSWAGEN IN
CANADA
A large, well-designed plant on 20 acres is purchased
on Scarborough’s so-called Golden Mile. It
houses a retail showroom, spare parts depot,
large workshop and garage, body-finishing
department and the relocated headquarters. A
large service garage space is added at Ashtonbee
Road and Warden Avenue in the early 1960s.
reconditioned engines was sent by pipeline to the
boiler room to be reused as heating fuel.
1959: Every third car in Germany is a Beetle,
and Volkswagen holds a 40.5 percent share of the
German market.
needs. By the end of the year, 3,188 Italians are
employed in the Wolfsburg plant, living in the
“Italian Village” erected especially for them.
Today Volkswagen Canada is the largest-volume European automotive
nameplate in the country. Its Facebook page has more than 500,000 “Likes.”
More than 250 people work at Volkswagen Canada now, with another 80 or so
at its Volkswagen Finance arm. It’s hard to believe it all goes back to a handful
of dedicated visionaries, and a quirky little car with a big personality.
1956: After a one-year period of construction,
the new plant in Hanover-Stöcken starts
producing the Volkswagen Transporter (Type 2).
Volkswagen proves a standout hit in British
Columbia, with economy, reliability, and superior
traction that prove useful in mountainous areas.
By the spring, there are 32 dealers, with a large
distributor organization in Vancouver.
1950
The Transporter (Type 2) goes into production
in Wolfsburg and achieves market share of
about 30 percent. Used for goods, passengers,
firefighting, police, as a postal delivery van and
later as a camping bus.
1951: The multi-talented Volkswagen
Transporter (Type 2) is available as a passenger van,
Kombi, pickup truck, ambulance or delivery van.
1952: Volkswagen Canada Ltd. is
established in Toronto with Werner Jansen as
its founding president. The duty-free import
of English products puts Volkswagen at a
disadvantage, making entry into the Canadian
market difficult.
A converted farmhouse at 1360 Yonge Street is
set up as a headquarters and showroom for the
fledgling—at least in Canada—brand. Eight men
and nine women are responsible for service, parts,
warranty, sales, promotions and administration.
By the end of the year, eight cars have been sold
in Canada. In 43 other markets, 46,881 are sold.
Werner Jansen and mechanic Kurt Hering hit
the road, travelling the country to introduce
Canadians to a car most have never even seen.
With dependability on their side, Hering ends
up doing more driving than fixing of their
Volkswagen models.
22
window. Production of the single rear-window
sedan starts in March.
1960
1962: Tommy Douglas succeeds in passing
legislation that entrenches universal health care
as a Canadian initiative.
The one-millionth Volkswagen commercial vehicle
rolls off the assembly line in Hanover, the first
time in the history of light trucks that a million
vehicles of the same type have been made.
platform, the Karmann-Ghia, enters production.
1955: Volkswagen United States Inc., with
main offices in New York, is founded; when plans
to produce cars nearby fall through, it’s soon
dissolved to become Volkswagen of America Inc.
in Newark, New Jersey.
1953: It’s farewell to the Brezel split rear
Ontario and Quebec are the brand’s biggest
fans. Nine distributors and 93 dealers populate
Ontario; two distributors and 23 dealers,
Quebec. In the Maritime provinces, there are
five distributors and 18 dealers. An additional
35 acres are purchased at the company’s eastend headquarters.
1954: The second adaptation of the Beetle
Employees and dealers at home and abroad celebrate
production of the one-millionth Volkswagen
in Wolfsburg.
The Type 1 becomes a best-seller worldwide. The
81,979 sedans built in 1950 represent a phenomenal
96 percent increase over the previous year.
Global workforce grows 46 percent to 14,966.
Thanks to its torsion bar suspension and good
weight distribution, buyers in the Prairies appreciate
the Bug, too, and there are soon five distributors
and 71 dealers in the Prairie provinces.
In response to the European “compact car
offensive,” Volkswagen of America Inc. launches a
new advertising campaign in partnership with
Doyle Dane Bernbach Inc. It produces a number
of classics, such as Think Small, Lemon, and The
Beetle runs…and runs…and runs….
Canadian sales double year over year, the Yonge
Street store is soon bulging at the seams, and dealers
are clamouring for more vehicles. Toronto, at the
time, is the fastest-growing city in the world.
The five-millionth Volkswagen built since 1945
leaves the final assembly line in Hall 12.
Volkswagen is the first European carmaker to
achieve such a success. The pearl-white
anniversary vehicle decorated with colourful
chrysanthemums is officially presented to the
International Red Cross in Geneva.
1961: Volkswagen Canada introduces the
1957: Canadian politician Lester B. Pearson
is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in
resolving the crisis in the Suez Canal. He would
later go on to become our 14th prime minister.
Volkswagen forms Volkswagen Australasia Pty.
Ltd. with main offices in Melbourne to produce
Volkswagens, parts of which are manufactured locally.
Thriving sales in Canada demand the addition of an
engine reconditioning department in Scarborough.
In an early example of recycling, oil used in testing
1500 to Canadian consumers; the model is
available as a notchback, fastback or station wagon.
The two Karmann-Ghias, a coupe and a
convertible, arrive as prototypes. The convertible
never went on sale in Canada, but the coupe,
while limited in sales, becomes a trend-setter.
The wall erected between East and West Germany
in August 1961 results in an end to workers
commuting from the German Democratic
Republic. Volkswagen starts to employ foreign
“guest workers,” mainly from Italy, to meet labour
Volkswagen Canada sells its 200,000th car. The
company now employs 500, stocks $10 million
in parts, and presides over a warehouse that has
now grown to 65,000 square feet.
Volkswagen starts exporting to the United
Kingdom with 900 vehicles; 10 years later, the
100,000th, a red 1500, will be delivered.
1963:
Karl Barths becomes president of
Volkswagen Canada. Described as a “gentleman’s
gentleman,” Barths encourages employees to
cross division lines to learn what the other guy
does, contributing to the broader welfare of
the company.
23
Barths is charged with replacing the distributors
that helped build the company with direct dealers,
not a simple task.
Porsche), leave the assembly line between 1969
and 1975. The two-seater, available with either a
four- or six-cylinder boxer engine, has a power
output of between 80 and 110 hp.
out what to do with them. His philosophy was that
anyone who was in a position of influence at the
company should have been in sales.
The next step in the corporate agenda is realized
when the new parts factory opens in Barrie, Ontario.
Although originally intended to supply parts to
the American Volkswagen plant in Pennsylvania,
with the closing of that plant, the Barrie factory
workers become specialists in aluminum wheels,
catalytic converters, and other components.
1970
1967:
As part of Canada’s centennial
celebration, Montreal hosts Expo ’67. After
opening on April 27th, the city would go on to
host over 50 million people by the time the event
closed on October 29th.
1968:
Volkswagen Canada begins operation
of a novel test centre so that vehicles’ problems
can be thoroughly analyzed prior to being
forwarded to Germany, and new tools tested
before use in dealer service shops.
Pados Volkswagen in Calgary builds the first
Volkswagen limousine by sectioning a Beetle to
allow three rows of seats. The vehicle is shown at
the Calgary Stampede and Vancouver’s Pacific
National Exhibition.
1971: The company now offers 23 models and
a 24-month, 24,000-mile warranty, the industry’s
most comprehensive. The Beetle is the car of
choice for drivers on the vanguard of a popular
fast-food trend: pizza delivery.
Motor Trend votes the Golf GTI pocket rocket
Car of the Year.
1973:
The Dasher (as it was first known
in Canada—it’s more commonly known as the
Passat) arrives, becoming Volkswagen’s first
water-cooled offering.
In spite of wildly fluctuating exchange rates
resulting in a devalued dollar, and consequently
a 7.1 percent price increase, a brand new Super
Beetle still goes for $2,645.
coupé goes on sale in Canada, and the
game-changing Golf appears, evidence that
Volkswagen has recognized that front-wheel drive
is the preferred layout on North American roads.
The Golf quickly regains Volkswagen’s grip on the
entry-level market and spawns many copycats.
The company’s real estate arm, Vorelco, is
formed, largely conceived by Fred Behrens, one
of the Yonge Street pioneers. Behrens thought
that buying and developing land themselves to
lease to dealers would not only generate profit
but also allow some corporate control over the
physical appearance of dealerships, an important
element of brand image.
William Shatner stars in the release of the first
Star Trek movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
The film would gross $139 million worldwide
and cement Shatner’s status as an icon in
Canadian acting.
1980
GTI, leaves the assembly line in Wolfsburg.
The Rabbit becomes the Golf once more.
With American advertising spilling over the
border, it makes sense to go to one nomenclature,
and the Golf becomes the Rabbit. The Rabbit
quickly becomes a stunning success in Canada.
An assembly contract with the Shanghai Tractor
& Automobile Corporation forms the prologue
to a successful German-Chinese enterprise.
1969:
With 15,007,034 units produced, the Beetle breaks
the record of the legendary “Tin Lizzy,” the Ford
Motor Company’s Model-T built from 1908 to
1927. The Beetle is the new world champion.
1976: The one-millionth Golf rolls off the
assembly line.
115,646 Volkswagen Porsche 914s, a cooperative
venture between the two car manufacturers soon
to become known as the “Volksporsche” (People’s
Chess enthusiast Bruno Rubess becomes president
of Volkswagen Canada, succeeding Karl Barths.
Rubess was, according to his workers, a “father
figure” who pushed his managers to be liberal,
promoted flex-time, and conceived new ideas at a
rapid pace and expected his colleagues to figure
1990
1978: The last German-built Beetle leaves
1979:
Production of the Jetta begins in
Wolfsburg. The Golf variant features a large
trunk and notchback body. It wins the
Automobile Journalists’ Association of Canada
Car of the Year Award upon introduction.
1993: Vorelco celebrates its 25th anniversary;
by now, the division owns at least one dealer
property in every major Canadian city, as well
as the entire Scarborough site (including the
distinctive head office building), the elegant B.C.
zone office property, and the company’s huge
Ajax parts warehouse.
Ferdinand Piëch is elevated to head of the entire
Volkswagen Group, with a mandate to further
refine the Volkswagen product line. Thought
of by many as one of the world’s finest
automobile engineers, Piëch is working to
perfect the platform strategy, in which as
many models as possible will start from the
same platform base. Far from producing
cookie-cutter cars, the strategy compels a close
attention to detail.
1989: Clive Warrilow becomes president, the
culmination of a lifetime career with Volkswagen
that goes back to 1963. Warrilow’s philosophy is
to sell honest cars at honest prices, with no rebates,
no discounts, and no hard-sell gimmickry.
Volkswagen Canada celebrates 25 years and the
sales of more than half a million Volkswagen,
Audi and Porsche vehicles since the first cars
appeared at Toronto’s CNE in 1952.
the assembly line in Emden.
1988: Wayne Gretzky leads the Edmonton
Oilers to their fourth Stanley Cup victory of
the decade.
The 100,000th Santana leaves the assembly line
in Shanghai. Volkswagen Golf, Vento (Jetta) and
Passat offer airbags for driver and passenger.
The seven-millionth Transporter (Type 2) leaves
the plant in Hanover.
When Bruno Rubess transfers back to Volkswagen
AG’s German head office, Detlef Wittig, a lifetime
Volkswagen employee, becomes president.
departure from Canadian showrooms.
24
1987: The 50-millionth Volkswagen, a Golf
Volkswagen Canada sales hit the three-quartermillion mark just as a new headquarters opens.
The five-storey, tiered building is right next to the
old headquarters in Scarborough, and remains a
unique design in the area.
1977: The venerated Beetle makes its
Auto Union GmbH and NSU
Motorenwerke AG join forces to form Audi NSU
Auto Union AG. Volkswagen owns 59.5 percent
of the shares.
1986: Volkswagen takes over the Spanish
marque Seat.
becomes Canadian law—a defining moment in
our history marking the maturation of our country.
USSR in the Summit Series. Paul Henderson
scores the winning goal that would go on to be
immortalized in Canadian history.
Herbie, the legendary Beetle No. 53,
establishes itself as the most popular car
in movie history.
The company officially changes its name from
Volkswagenwerk AG to Volkswagen AG.
1982: The Constitution Act is passed and
1972: Team Canada is victorious over the
1992: The Jetta goes into production in Mexico.
1985: Volkswagen reaches the No. 1 position
in Europe for the first time.
1974: The Karmann-built Scirocco sports
The VW411 is introduced.
1991: Skoda emerges as the fourth
independent brand within the Volkswagen
Group. The six-cylinder engine debuts on Golf
and Passat.
1983: With the start of production of the
second Golf generation in the specially built final
assembly hall 54, the Volkswagen Group enters
a new technical era. For the first time robots are
involved in building a vehicle that is designed for
automated assembly.
The Passat arrives, making Volkswagen a major
player among compact and mid-size cars. It’s the
first mass-produced cab-forward design, with a
long wheelbase and a cabin between the wheels,
a windshield that blends into a short hood with
an equally brief trunkline; the result is an
extraordinary amount of rear seat roominess.
Joe Carter hits the second walk-off home run
in World Series history to give the Toronto
Blue Jays the second of their back-to-back
championships.
Volkswagen and Audi are widely lauded as
producing the finest interiors in the business. An
efficient, streamlined Volkswagen faces the future.
25
1994: The U.S., Mexico and Canada enter
into a free trade agreement.
Volkswagen Canada moves its headquarters to
its current Ajax facility.
2000
The Automobile Journalists Association of
Canada names the Golf GTI 2010 Canadian
Car of the Year.
2011: The Volkswagen Chattanooga
Assembly Plant opens in Tennessee.
Audi Canada is created with 10 employees.
The Golf once again is marketed as the Rabbit
in the U.S. and Canada, four months after the
arrival of the GTI, a hot performance hatch
version of the Golf. City Golf and City Jetta are
available only to the Canadian market.
Embarrassing Trends
From the last six decades
Some philosophers have mused that it’s our memories that define us.
If you think about it, they’re right. Without them, we’d be a shell, devoid of
things like history, experience or personality from which to draw on. Sadly,
this also includes the memories we’d rather forget (like that Parachute-PantsOnly party we hosted in ’87). Then again, as ridiculous as some of these past
trends may be, without the tragic (and, let’s face it, hilarious) memories they
gave us, we wouldn’t be the grounded, self-aware people we are today. Good
thing, then, that we’ve learned to move on from these travesties of the past:
2007: Volkswagen Canada joins Facebook.
At the Detroit Auto Show, a new Beetle concept
creates some buzz at the Volkswagen display.
Upper management in Germany realize that the
model’s got some life left.
2001: Volkswagen’s first luxury sedan, the
Phaeton, serves as the technological pinnacle
of the brand. The model is critically acclaimed.
Warrilow is given responsibility for Volkswagen
of America on top of his duties in Canada,
eliminating duplication of activities on both sides.
With cutbacks in every industry, the recession
of the late 80s and early 90s forces job cuts at
Volkswagen. Warrilow manages to take two
dispirited organizations and bring them together
to reignite Volkswagen in North America.
at its Annual General Assembly.
1996: The Golf GTI takes first place in
the diesel category at the German Touring Car
Challenge and the Spa 24-hour race, as well
as on the Nürburgring.
1997: Volkswagen unveils the W12 sports
The Eos convertible hardtop goes into
production at a new facility in Portugal.
The all-new 21st Century Beetle appears at
the New York Auto Show, immediately after
appearing in Shanghai and Berlin in a threelocation global reveal.
2002: Volkswagen AG presents a 1-litre car
The Golf becomes the most-built Volkswagen ever,
with 21,517,415 units. The new Beetle Cabriolet
goes into series production. The Touareg goes
into series production at Volkswagen Slovakia.
The R32, the most powerful Golf ever, is
launched. Production of the Touran compact
van begins.
Volkswagen Canada celebrates its 50th anniversary
with a three-year hot streak of record-breaking
sales. In five decades, the company sells 1.5
million Volkswagens.
car study in Tokyo.
The GTI wins one award after another, including
Automobile Magazine’s Car of the Year.
2008: The mid-sized Tiguan joins the lineup,
along with a Passat coupé. Plus, in partnership
with Chrysler, the Routan minivan hits the U.S.
and Canadian markets.
Volkswagen overtakes Ford to become the world’s
third-largest automaker. Key markets are now
Germany and China.
John White becomes president of the newly
formed Volkswagen Group Canada.
2010
1998: Volkswagen buys luxury carmakers
Lamborghini, Bentley and Bugatti.
With its engine in the front but its heart in the
same place, the new Beetle goes into limited
production.
1999: Gerd Klauss is named President of
Volkswagen Canada.
The Volkswagen Group is the first European
automaker to produce 100 million vehicles,
making automotive history again.
26
2003: The Touareg hits the road, Volkswagen’s
first four-wheel-drive sports utility vehicle.
The Jetta Wagon and the new Beetle Cabriolet
are new twists on a couple of favourites.
The legendary Type I Beetle goes out of production
in Mexico. In total, 21,529,464 were built.
2004: Four of the 10 most fuel-efficient cars
in the U.S. are Volkswagens equipped with a
TDI engine.
2006: Frank Witter becomes president of
Volkswagen Canada.
Vancouver hosts the winter Olympics and
Canada sets a record for the most gold medals
ever won at a winter Olympics.
Volkswagen Canada asks Facebook fans to help
create their new commercial for the Golf. The
Facebook community is asked to choose the
script, the car, the cast, the music and so on. Each
fan that contributed is then credited at the end
of the commercial.
Crocs
Chia Pet
Parachute Pants
These are still
criminally overused
in the more—ahem—
bohemian parts of the
world. Woe to those
who wear them anywhere outside of the
privacy of their garden.
With all the friendly
characteristics of a
plant, this was simply
one of the biggest
wastes of time you
could buy.
To be clear, yes, these
can look cool on certain
women who have
particularly esoteric
tastes in high fashion.
We’re just happy the
male versions died with
MC Hammer’s career.
Mullets
Bell Bottoms
Shoulder Pads
Ironically, the mullet
came back in to fashion
in the early 2000s,
particularly in Europe.
Thankfully, it lived an
even shorter second life.
From one perspective,
our floors would be
cleaner if these were
still around. But that's
basically all they were
good for.
Because back in the
power suit-driven '80s,
making deals was a
contact sport. Frosted Tips
Oversized
Flannel Shirts
Tie-Dye
The Volkswagen Art Heist descends on
Canada. Volkswagen enthusiasts are sent real
world clues via twitter.com/vwcanada as to the
whereabouts of limited edition, framed and
numbered GLI light paintings.
2012: Volkswagen Canada launches their
new Facebook Timeline. Fans are now able to go
back and browse through the storied history of
Volkswagen in Canada.
Volkswagen
Canada becomes
the most ‘liked’
automotive
manufacturer in
Canada with
500,000 ‘Likes’.
The Automobile Journalists’ Association of
Canada names the 2012 Touareg TDI Canadian
Utility Vehicle of the Year; Motor Trend names
2012 Passat its Car of the Year.
The Chattanooga plant is the first and only
automotive factory in the world to receive LEED
Platinum certification.
Despite its name, this
was never cool.
Kurt Cobain’s
closet staple should
never have become
everyone else’s.
Our apologies to any
Bus owners out there
who may still employ
this look. Your time
has passed, man.
27
2
3
5
1
The cars are
the starS
Volkswagen is no stranger to the silver screen. Whether as a lovable
anthropomorphic racecar in Herbie, or as a not-so-inconspicuous stakeout
car in The Big Lebowski, Volkswagen has never been afraid of the limelight.
1 Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan) celebrates
with Herbie (a 1963 Beetle) after winning the big
race in Herbie: Fully Loaded.
2 Though not sentient like the famous Love
Bug, this 1978 Vanagon is just as much of a
character in the hilarious Little Miss
Sunshine as its human co-stars.
3 A 2003 New Beetle Cabriolet is the car of
choice for Danielle Clark (Elisha Cuthbert) in
The Girl Next Door.
28
4 Private eye Da Fino (Jon Polito) is
predictably spotted inside his blue 1971 Beetle
while spying on The Dude (Jeff Bridges) in
The Big Lebowski.
5 The Beetle represented one of the few
terror-free moments for the Torrance family
(Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Jack
Nicholson) as they travelled to the Overlook
Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s classic,
The Shining.
4
6
7
6 2011’s Footloose remake followed
the same narrative as the original, with
Willard (Miles Teller) watching Ren (Kenny
Wormald) wash down his 1972 Super Beetle
during the town-wide ban on dancing.
7 Olive (Emma Stone) and Rhiannon (Aly
Michalka) take a moment to lay out on the
hood of a 1972 Super Beetle and talk the day
away in Easy A.
29
drive this:
Taking it
back to
where it
all began
We recreate the journey
of the first-ever Beetle in
Canada, with help from its
21st century counterpart.
By Matt Bubbers (Copy), Ste Ho (Photos)
30
31
32
The year was 1952 and a handful of Volkswagen
automobiles were making the journey across
the Atlantic Ocean to Canada. They were destined
to be the stars of the Canadian National Exhibition
in Toronto that year. It was the first time
Canadians had ever seen the Beetle up close,
and it caused quite a stir.
Among those first Volkswagen ambassadors
to Canada were six Beetles, a van, a Kombi, a
Microbus and an ambulance.
In an office at 1360 Yonge St., just south
of St. Clair Ave., the first employees of
Volkswagen Canada Inc. were proud of the
new arrivals but keenly aware of the mammoth
task ahead of them. Here, in this building on
Canada’s longest street, is where Volkswagen
first set up shop in this country.
On this, the 60th anniversary of Volkswagen
in Canada, we drove the 21st Century Beetle
up to the location of that first office, and took
it for a trip down memory lane along Yonge
Street and over to the CNE—retracing the
journey of this country’s first Volkswagen.
It should come as no surprise to anyone
familiar with modern-day Toronto that 1360
Yonge St. has long since been converted from
low-rise offices and retail into high-end
condominiums. The city’s hot housing market
has little respect for obscure automotive history,
as it turns out. We park our Reflex Silver
Yonge and Dundas
Metallic Beetle beside the building while our
fearless photographer sprints across Yonge St. to
get a better angle. As he does, a pair of teenage
girls stop in the middle of the street and proceed
to take photos of the Beetle on their cellphones.
The nameplate may be 75 years old, but it hasn’t
lost its appeal.
The school those girls were coming from is
just to the south of 1360 Yonge, and instantly
recognizable from the photos we pulled from
the Toronto City Archives. Somewhere along
the line, the building grew a third story but
the brickwork is still holding strong.
From here, Yonge St. slopes downwards as it
runs south to the lake. From this vantage point,
the city is laid out before us. The line this street
cuts through the heart of Toronto is clear, straight
and true. It is the official divider between the East
and West in this town. If you live in this city, you
automatically, unconsciously keep a mental note
of where you are in relation to it. If the lake is the
horizon, then Yonge St. is the North Star.
The Beetle’s brilliant DSG gearbox is perfect
in the cut-and-thrust of downtown driving.
Motorists here need all focus on the road, as
pedestrians, taxis, delivery vans, construction
crews, bicycle couriers and bumper-to-bumper
traffic dominate the streetscape.
We head south, past the Black Camel—one
of the best sandwich shops in town—and the
Series 574, File 81, Id 491029 (Toronto Transit Commision/Brigdens Limited); City of Toronto Archives, Series 381, File 313, Id 12351-12
Alexander and Yonge
Yonge and Shuter
Archive photos clockwise from bottom left: City of Toronto Archives/TTC Fonds, Series 574, File 82, Id 491032 (Toronto Transit Commision/Brigdens
Limited); City of Toronto Archives, Series 381, File 308, Id 12103-63; City of Toronto Archives, Series 1057, Item 738; City of Toronto Archives/TTC Fonds,
Yonge and Farnham
old railway station, now converted into a liquor
store, and the Reference Library. The relative
calm of Rosedale soon gives way to a full-on,
in-your-face, bright-lights-and-billboards
shopping district, broken up by the countless
sushi joints. From Bloor St. on down, Yonge St.
is all business.
The largest collection of historic Yonge St.
photographs in the City Archives document
one of Toronto’s most ambitious construction
projects. Building the Yonge St. subway line
meant the entire street had to be dug up. Flimsy
wooden boards created a temporary roadway,
but often the street was just an open pit: a mess
of pipes, scaffolding and mud. Pedestrians were
crammed into little catwalks along the edges
of the buildings.
And it is with that in mind that I patiently
wait for a dump truck to pull out of a
construction site just north of Dundas. At
least they’re not tearing up the street. I make a
mental note to never complain about road work
and lane closures. Our intrepid photographer
once again plays a game of real-life Frogger,
dodging a rush of cars to get the perfect shot.
Next up is Yonge-Dundas square—a miniature version of Times Square, complete with
swarms of pedestrians and towering billboards.
This entire intersection seemed not to exist
in the city’s consciousness just five years ago.
It sprang up seemingly overnight. Looking at
this same intersection in the archival photos,
you’d never recognize it. The street is made of
wooden planks and the simple brick buildings
are no more than three stories tall. The nimble
Beetle has no problem dicing through this
fraught intersection.
At Front St., just west of Yonge, at least Union
Station remains where it has always been, a
reminder of the city’s grand industrial ambition.
Back in the earlier part of the last century,
Yonge St. wouldn’t have continued too much
further south. Had we kept on driving, we
would’ve plunged straight into Lake Ontario.
But the city has been steadily filling in the
lake, creating more and more waterfront real
estate. So a quick blast west along the lakeshore brings us to the CNE, the very same spot
where—60 years ago—Canadians would have
laid eyes on the Beetle in person for the very
first time. The Exhibition isn’t on right now,
but that means we have free reign of the Indy
race course. Dropping down a couple gears, the
21st Century Beetle accelerates down the front
straight towards the Princes’ Gates at a speed
its ancestor could only dream of. Welcome to
the future, Beetle.
Yonge and Front
33
Looking
back
with a
Pioneer
From Volkswagen Canada’s
travelling mechanic in the early
’50s, to Ontario Regional Sales
Manager in the ’70s, Kurt Hering
saw it all.
It’s often called a “simpler time,” and it seems it
was—how often have you heard of a chief executive
of a car company, a salesman, and a self-described
“grease monkey” hitting the road to personally sign
up new business?
But that’s how it started for Kurt Hering, a
38-year veteran of Volkswagen, and one of the first
employees of the fledgling Volkswagen Canada.
Hering came to Canada in 1953, fresh off a stint
as an interpreter for the British troops in Austria.
“I actually wanted to go to the U.S.,” says
Hering, now 86. “I had a friend in New York. But
everybody said Canada was easier to get into, so
I came here.” In June 1953, he joined Volkswagen
Canada as a mechanic at its Yonge Street retail/
service/headquarters/everything location in
midtown Toronto.
“At Volkswagen, I found a family. I had no
ambition to go to the States after that,” he says.
A few weeks later, after noting the quality of
his English, chief executive Werner Jansen chose
Hering and salesman Joe Thatcher to accompany
him on an eastward-bound road trip. “Thatcher
drove the Beetle, I drove the van,” Hering recalls.
“Werner flew!”
The trio were out to sign up distributors, and for
six weeks, they hit Montreal, Quebec, Saint John,
Moncton, Charlottetown, Halifax—and no one
was interested.
34
It took a chance encounter to turn the tide.
Hering says the trio were in Halifax, talking to
Hillcrest Motors owner Frank Zebberman.
“I was outside by the Beetle, talking to some
people, when the others came out,” Hering says.
“I overhead Zebberman say, pointing to the van,
‘That thing has potential.’ Then he pointed to the
Beetle: ‘That thing, you should take down to the
harbour and send it back to Germany!’”
Dispirited, the trio headed for home, but
not long after they left, the company took a
turn towards its destiny. A former captain just
returned from British occupation in Germany,
familiar with the Beetle and admiring of the
brand, had spotted them at Hillcrest. He went to
Zebberman and told him he wanted a Beetle.
“Zebberman packed his things, moved to
Toronto, and signed up as a distributor!” Hering
says, “After that, Moncton came, and after that,
everybody followed suit.”
When they got home, Hering’s efforts were
rewarded with a Field Service Rep position for all
of Eastern Canada. The dividing line was Yonge
Street, and another man took on the West. Most
of his time was spent on the road, but he has the
best of memories.
He recalls a woman in Charlottetown who
repeatedly complained about high gas mileage, but
no one at Volkswagen could figure out what was
Beetles and Transporters travel by train across Canada. (Opposite) Kurt Hering chats with a dealer.
wrong until they finally sent Hering out to check it
out. She’d been driving everywhere with the choke on.
Another client, at a military base north of
Moncton, complained about an engine leak that
had already been repaired three or four times.
When Hering found the problem, the client was
delighted. “They took me to the officers’ mess and
fed me with a couple of big scotches, then took
me out on the golf course,” he recalls, laughing at
the memory. “I was so looped, I took a big swing
and fell flat on my face!”
“It was exhilarating to be part of it,” he says,
“although it wasn’t always easy. There was a lot of
skepticism. The war wasn’t that far behind us.”
He says it took the endorsement of the firstchair violin for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
to change things in Toronto. “His name was
Goodman,” Hering remembers. “He liked the car
because it had a sunroof and he could put his big,
stand-up bass in it. When he bought one, that
broke the ice.”
Within 18 months, Hering says volume had
increased significantly, and he’d been promoted
again, to Eastern Sales Rep. More growth meant
his territory was soon split in two, and Hering
took responsibility for Quebec and Northern
Ontario. In 1959, with his wife, their toddler
son and another boy on the way, he moved to
Montreal to be closer to his sales territory.
“We were running pretty thin,” he says of
the few employees, all of them multi-taskers.
“I looked after service on the side.” Hering was
now well ensconced in his new role in sales, and
had responsibility for all aspects: order-taking,
setting up sales departments, advertising,
business management, working with dealers on
their financial statements, setting up a standard
accounting system—you name it.
The family returned to Toronto after Hering
was promoted to National Fleet Sales Manager.
After that, he took responsibility for marketing
and sales for Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi,
and then became Regional Sales Manager for
Ontario. By the mid-’70s, he’d taken on traffic
and distribution, which was his role until
mandatory retirement in 1991.
Also in the mid-’70s, he took responsibility for
motorsports, for a very simple reason: “No one else
wanted it!”
At the Scarborough head office, to which
the company had moved in the mid-1980s and
which Hering says they called “the Bismarck”
because of its distinctive shape, he added fitness
guru to his duties, organizing a lunch-time
walking route. He headed up a 28-person
track-and-field team that would compete in
corporate challenges. “We went up against some
big corporations. We had 28, and Bell Canada
came in with 140 people! We still did well. I
think we came in third.”
Hering was a devoted athlete all his life. He
was a member of the Canadian Masters Track
& Field Association, and as a senior, was seeded
eighth in the world in decathlon. “I got to travel
all over,” he says. “Sweden, Australia, New
Zealand, the States, Finland, Mexico—I competed
everywhere. I started when I was 55, did it for 10
years before I retired and 10 years after.” He says
he finally had to give it up in the late ’90s when
his knees gave out. “That’s the price I’ve paid,” he
says. “Steel knees!”
With nearly 60 years’ experience behind him,
one colleague still stands out as exceptional: Werner
Jansen. “He was like a father to me,” Hering says.
“He ran a one-man ship. He called the shots. He
was such a tremendous leader. His speeches were
fascinating. You couldn’t take your eyes off him.
“Every one of the guys who came after was
basically a good leader, with different characteristics
and different priorities. I got along with every one
of them. But there was no one like Werner. I don’t
think any of the others could have done what he did.
The expression of his brightness, and the confidence
Ever the athlete, Hering was eventually put in
charge of fitness at Volkswagen Canada.
A Beetle is lowered off a ship from Germany in
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
he had in our products, the way he presented
everything was so convincing.”
He attributes the company’s astounding success
to one key characteristic: honesty. “The honesty
of the car, the honesty of the performance, of our
advertising,” Hering says. “Our mission was to sell
the Canadian people an honest car and give good
service at a relatively low price.”
It’s clear that the company shaped him as much
as he helped shape the company. “I had such a
variety of jobs,” he says, “and I liked every one of
them. I was always looking for more. I don’t regret
one day I spent there.”
So which car is his all-time favourite? “When
I look back over every single model, there isn’t
one I would pick out of the lineup,” he says. “But
from an emotional standpoint, without thinking
too logically, just speaking from my heart, it has
to be the Beetle.
“That’s where it all started.”
35
Beetle
memories
By Glen Woodcock
Over the years I have owned many Volkswagens
—more, perhaps, than any other make of car.
I’ve never had a Beetle of any description,
and yet one of my most enduring motoring
memories is of driving the New Beetle when
it was introduced in 1998. It happened this way…
I was scheduled to go on the North American
launch of the 1998 New Beetle to cover the event
for the Toronto Sun. But the travel agent messed
up my flights and I missed the trip to Georgia.
To make it up to me, Volkswagen of Canada’s
Bernice Holman made sure I got the first one
available in her press fleet. I doubt driving
the car through Georgia for a day would have
been as memorable as the week I spent tooling around Southern Ontario in the first New
Beetle, a car most people had never seen.
Never before or since—no matter the price
or the popularity of the car—have I experienced
critical COmpass
We asked some of Canada’s most experienced automotive
journalists to share their classic Volkswagen memories.
HAPPY 60TH
VW CANADA
By Alan McPhee
Canadians got their first look at the Volkswagen
Beetle at the Canadian National Exhibition
in August 1952. The exhibit consisted of
12 vehicles (including a Volkswagen ambulance),
and one can only imagine the visual impact
of this small, bug-shaped sedan compared to
the barge-like, chrome-laden products from
Detroit we were used to. Of course, there were
plenty of skeptics, but they didn’t realize the
Wolfsburg plant had been in production since
1948 and that there were already nearly half a
million Beetles on the road in Europe and more
than 20 other export markets. It was assumed
that any small, economical car from Europe
would be unable to handle the vast distances
and high cruising speeds of North America.
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
In fact, the Volkswagen Beetle was specifically
designed for life on Germany’s no-speed-limit
autobahns. One of the first engineering requirements was the ability to drive at a steady 100
km/h (top speed) all day long. To do it, Ferdinand Porsche designed a low-revving, air-cooled,
flat-four engine with incredible durability that
could take mindless punishment without protest.
You simply could not over-rev it. A friend of mine
who was selling his 1960 Beetle ran a newspaper
ad that claimed, “…fourth gear never used.” A
road test of the 1953 Volkswagen Beetle in
AutoCar magazine (April 03/53) stated:
36
“It is easy for any driver to obtain the best
performance from the car, through the gearbox,
which must be just about the sweetest on any
inexpensive car now made. The short lever works
with the utmost precision and synchromesh of
exceptional efficiency operates on second, third and
top gears. As with the normal 'crash’-type gearbox,
retained on the standard car, it is possible for a skilled
driver to change gear without using the clutch—
although not to be recommended as regular practice.”
In addition to the introduction of the
synchromesh gearbox in 1953, the two small
rear windows—“Pretzelfenster”—were replaced
by a single oval window. Today, enthusiasts refer
to the 1953-57 cars as “Ovals” and the pre-1953s
as “Splits.” The following year, engine displacement
was increased from 1131 cc to 1192 cc, raising
output from 25 to 30 bhp and top speed to 110
km/h. The rear engine, rear wheel drive layout—
typical of all Porsche designs—called for an
unconventional independent suspension featuring
rear swing axles with torsion bars and telescopic
dampers. Over the years, as engine displacement
increased along with acceleration and top speed,
those rear swing axles became a contentious issue,
but in 1953 they offered an unusual level of control
and comfort. Here’s what AutoCar said:
“Climbing in mountains is good, and traction
on slippery surfaces is excellent, owing to rear
independent suspension and concentration
of 58 per cent of the weight on the rear
wheels. Handling is very good, and the fact
that the engine is at the rear is not noticed
in everyday driving.”
The Beetle also introduced us to a new level of
construction quality. The fit and finish was way
ahead of domestic products. Panel gaps were narrow
and consistent, major controls and secondary
switchgear had a positive, tactile feel and doors
closed with the integrity of a bank vault. The Beetle
was virtually airtight, so much so that in one of the
famous, tongue-in-cheek VW ads by Doyle, Dane
Bernbach showed a floating Beetle and stated,
“Volkswagen’s unique construction keeps dampness
out.” And while the Beetle was eminently affordable,
it was not cheap. AutoCar again:
“Interior finish is neat, with metal areas
painted in the body colour and cloth upholstery
in harmonizing shades. Everything fits nicely
and there is (sic) none of those obvious concessions
to low production cost which are a depressing
feature of some low-priced cars.”
And according to the AutoCar report, their test
vehicle was remarkably fuel-efficient, using only 7.4
L/100 km (37.7 mpg) in combined city/highway
driving. It didn’t take long for Canadians to recognize
all these attributes and start a long love affair with the
Beetle that continues to this day. Just three years
after that introduction, Volkswagen Canada was
able to build a plant on a 32-acre site in Scarborough,
Ontario, and follow up two years later with a
60,000-square-foot administration building with
showroom, service facility and parts warehouse.
That Volkswagen exhibit at the Canadian National
Exhibition in 1952 changed the way we looked at
automobiles. Nothing has been the same since.
Alan McPhee is a Canadian automobile journalist, past
President of AJAC (Automobile Journalists Association
of Canada), former editor of Carguide magazine and
a member of the Society of Automotive Historians.
He writes the weekly Auto Insider column for the
Nanaimo Daily News on Vancouver Island, B.C.
All a family
needs
By Dan Proudfoot
Unburied treasure, this Volkswagen Beetle sat
among the weeds of a vacant lot in Richmond
Hill, Ontario. Its rear window was a slim oval
so small as to suggest a peep hole in a penthouse
door or, if not quite that, a slit in a fortress wall,
identifying the car as a pre-1958 model.
Something special.
I drove by once, twice, before accepting it
was my mission to return this superannuated
Beetle to active service. The man at the adjacent
house agreed on $50 and it was mine to tow.
This was 1972 and I’d already owned three
newer Volkswagens. The ’57, though, recalled
the first Volkswagens I’d seen as a boy, when
my father was buying ever-bigger Parisiennes
and Wildfires and Electras and I’d decided
(in early-puberty rebellion) that a family really
needed nothing more than a Volkswagen.
Also, by age 24, a certain display of antistyle was cool. With my partner Jacklyn’s ratty
fur coat and Annie Hall hats, and me in my
bell bottoms and pea-jacket, and the little
beige car we came to call our Escargot,
we thought ourselves magnificent in a posthippie sort of way.
The “restoration” cost $379.70 (I still have
the receipts) including refreshing the engine—
piston rings and valve guides—and a new
such an outpouring of affection for what I
was driving.
The mere sight of the bright red New Beetle
driving past brought universal joy—and not
just from geezers like me who might have
owned one in their younger days. Nope. The
kids loved it, too. Its iconic rounded body,
albeit a little more streamlined than back in
the 1950s, elicited smiles, waves, thumbs up—
and more smiles.
Maybe it was a result of all those Herbie the
Love Bug movies, but it was as if these youngsters—who hadn’t even been born when the
last original Beetle was sold in Canada in the
mid-1970s—had been waiting for this car all
their lives.
Driving it was fun, too, with its peppy 2.0-litre
gas engine. And everyone wanted a ride, especially
my daughters and their high school friends.
They just wanted to be seen in this cool retro
Bug. It was like, hipsville, as we might have said
back in the day.
Introduced as “Concept One” at Detroit’s
North American International Auto Show
in 1994, the car that became the New Beetle
windshield, $12.40, and the minor bodywork
and paint necessary after the time sitting
among the weeds, $94.12.
You’re wondering how the Escargot drove.
First, the accelerator roller took some getting
used to. A conventional gas pedal was introduced
in 1958, but in earlier Beetles you never put
the pedal to the metal, you pushed against the
revolving “wheel.” As for acceleration, the car
had some but not much.
A top speed of 109 km/h was attainable and
your goal became averaging as close to that as
possible. On northbound 400 hills at Barrie and
Orillia, a shift down to third gear was necessary
to prevent slowing to less than 55 km/h. Coming
down those same long grades homebound, you
might see 80 km/h.
Fuel consumption was remarkably good and
especially so compared to Parisiennes, Wildcats
and Electras: 40 mpg on the highway translates
to today’s 7.0 L/100 km. You never knew how
well you were doing, though, for Beetles weren’t
equipped with fuel gauges until 1962.
This car came with a wooden ruler, on
one side of which was inscribed “The Amazing Volkswagen,” and the other graduations
for up to nine gallons. You dipped it into the
fuel tank to calculate how much further you
could go.
I still have that ruler. And so many memories.
The car itself, in subsequent service, became a
kind of mobile watering can at a golf course.
Back to the soil from whence it came, in a sense.
was such a hit that an avalanche of requests
convinced Volkswagen to build it. Production
began in Wolfsburg, Germany in 1997 and in
Puebla, Mexico for the North American market
in 1998.
It didn’t take long for it to catch on with a
whole new generation of young drivers, who
gave their cars names, slapped flower power
graphics on the sides, stuffed daisies in the very
retro bud vase on the dash and discovered the
fun of seeing how many people you could cram
into one.
For the record, it was 27 Penn State
university students in 2001. Bet they’ve never
stopped smiling.
Glen Woodcock has been fascinated by cars all his life and
has been writing about them regularly for the past two
decades. He contributes weekly stories on automobiles
—both old and new—to Sun Media newspapers and
Autonet.ca. He also writes for Old Autos and The Reflector,
the quarterly magazine of the Antique and Classic Car Club
of Canada, of which he is a member. Glen owns two fully
restored vintage vehicles, a rare 1947 Frazer Manhattan and
an even rarer Canadian-made 1971 Manic GT.
Dan Proudfoot's first published review was of a Lotus
Elite in 1963. He first drove a Volkswagen in 1966.
His reviews appear regularly in The Globe and Mail.
37
Volkswagen in
Canada, eh!
By Norm Mort
You’d be hard-pressed to find a Canadian who
hasn’t at least ridden in a Volkswagen. They likely
also have an aunt or uncle who owned one, and
who loves to talk about the practicality, charm or
just plain fun they’ve had in a Volkswagen, past
or present.
As a kid growing up in the ‘50s, there were
Beetles everywhere, and my older cousins were
always setting off early from family dinners for hot
dates in theirs.
a 1982 shot of Andrew and Norm Mort with their
VW Rabbit Convertibles.
A phoomp from
the past
By Harry Pegg
“Red Punch Buggy. No punch back!”
“Blue Punch Buggy. No punch back!”
Almost everybody has a story about a Volkswagen
Beetle, whether it’s a great adventure or just a
punch on the arm when someone spotted one.
My Beetle recollections fall somewhere in between.
Adventurous? Not really. Silly? Absolutely. Fun?
Of course.
The Bug has been firmly planted in my memory
bank going back to my teen years, some 10 years after
Volkswagen came to Canada.
I was 16 or so when I met Richard, whose family
had emigrated from Germany a few years before. A
tall fellow, his English was excellent and his sense of
humour knew few bounds. And he owned a Beetle.
It was an early model, grey, and it would hold
four of us quite nicely.
It was a time long before the Beetle had air
conditioning. It was also a time before the little
38
The appeal to me as a young kid who loved old
cars was the fact the Volkswagen Beetle looked
like an antique even in the late 1950s. Yet, as well
as the unique looks that set it apart in a sea of
boat-sized American sheet metal and chrome,
it was different for its rear-mounted, air-cooled
engine. It even sounded fast, and could easily be
made to go faster, which my cousins became
experts at in their parents’ driveways.
Despite its unusual-for-the-day DNA,
Volkswagen Canada always had lots of parts
and it wasn’t long until even the big tire and parts
stores had Volkswagen spares. I also recall it
wasn’t uncommon to see a lot of imported cars
sitting in driveways awaiting the next shipment
of coils, belts or U-joints, but never Volkswagens.
And, while foreign cars were generally
frowned upon by many older Canadians in the
1950s and early ’60s, it was the Volkswagen that
broke the ice and soon became the “acceptable”
import.
In the early years, as well as the Beetle,
Canadians had a choice of Transporters and the
shapely Karmann Ghia coupes and convertibles.
A personal favourite of mine was the VW Beetle
Convertible, another Karmann-crafted car, and
those groovy new Volkswagen-based Dune
Buggies in the late 1960s.
The Beetle was still going strong in 1970, but
the times were changing and Canadians were very
excited when the all-new Volkswagen Rabbit was
announced in 1974. The Beetle Convertible carried
on until 1979 in Canada.
car had an effective heater.
In summer, we sweltered. In winter, we’d be
constantly scraping frost off the inside of the
windows in order to see. Richard would drive and the
front passenger would be responsible for keeping
the windshield reasonably clear of frost.
But its little rear engine ran like a top and it got
us where we wanted to go, which was cruising the
main drag, usually unsuccessfully.
That didn’t deter Richard.
He’d see a couple of girls he thought attractive
and try to chat them up. If that didn’t work he would
often drive up onto the sidewalk and follow those
females for a block, occasionally beeping the horn.
It was playful and it was funny. Even the targets
would usually find it hilarious. Today it would get
you arrested.
More fun: Beetle-stuffing—getting as many kids
as possible into the car.
Our record? Twelve. And we drove a block
down the street.
One warm winter day, four of us were out on a
country lane somewhere, just enjoying not having to
scrape windows, when Richard, on some strange
impulse, cranked the wheel to the right.
Beetle Bests
We look to our archives for Canadian tales
of our most iconic model.
Pressed into service?
A photo shoot for a Toronto Sun road test
comparing the New Beetle with its first
generation sibling.
At the time, I couldn’t buy a new one, and I was
crushed. But then in 1980 the Rabbit Convertible
was announced and one soon sat in our driveway.
With my influence as a lifelong car enthusiast,
my son became one, too, and a red Volkswagen
convertible pedal car was ultimately sitting in
our driveway alongside our white-on-white
Rabbit soft-top.
Alas, my Rabbit convertible is now long gone,
but we still have our son’s pedal car—well used,
but soon to be restored for our grandchild Penelope,
who will continue the Mort Volkswagen history.
Norm Mort owns and operates CIA Car Appraisals. He
has written 11 historical and restoration books on collector
vehicles from micro cars to 18-wheelers. He is a collector auction analyst for U.S. magazines and a long-time columnist for
Old Autos in Canada. He is also a member of AJAC. Phoomp! The Bug was planted deep into a
snowbank. Laughing uproariously, we piled out
and manhandled the car back onto the road, piled
back in and kept going.
A new challenge was born: How far can you
plant a Bug into a snowbank?
Several phoomps later, our record was just
more than a car length.
Not long after that, the Bug was no more.
Richard and three others were out phoomp-ing
and tackled what they said was the biggest
snowbank the Bug had ever tackled.
Tragically, that snowbank covered a post and
the Bug’s front end was mangled.
The guys hauled it out and a truck hauled it
into town.
But that was its last phoomp.
Harry Pegg's interest in vehicles began about the time he
could walk (his father was a Ford mechanic). He began
writing about cars in 1992 and has been at it ever since.
A two-time president of the Automobile Journalists
Association of Canada, he has served on the AJAC board
of directors for 18 of the last 20 years. His work can
currently be found on autonet.ca and in Sun Mediaowned newspapers across the country.
Although never intended as a wartime vehicle,
the Beetle had its share of military adventures.
We found this comment from Larry McDonald,
a well-known, former CBC reporter, whose career
spanned 28 years:
“Near the end of the war I was witness to a
rather bizarre incident. Elements of the 2nd and
3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions had overrun
a number of enemy positions and in poking
around came across a huge manmade cave
filled with countless Volkswagens. All were
brand new. All were filled with but a single gallon
of gas. They had been secreted here but we
never found out why.
“The lads had great fun tearing around in them
until they ran out of gas. Some were picked up by
regimental headquarters and used as an adjunct
to the peripatetic Jeep.”
Able to carry
a Rolls-Royce
The caption that goes along with this image (below)
from 1971 says a Mr. Albert Walsh of Scarborough,
Ontario, used his Beetle to transport the chassis of
a 1930 Rolls-Royce on its way to restoration. Mr.
Walsh referred to the Beetle as “the dear old girl.”
And cure the
effects of one…
According to a piece we found quoting Montreal’s
Dr. L. Kato, the Volkswagen Beetle is “an antidote
to low back pain.” The good doctor met one R.R.
Charlie at the golf club. He was, “super-rich and
drove a Rolls-Royce. He suffered from low back
pain. One day he parked alongside my Beetle.”
“What is your prescription for
my pain?” Charlie asked Dr. Kato.
He grabbed a notepad from the
glovebox, wrote out a prescription
(no charge…) and handed it off to
the suffering millionaire.
“One day I saw him arrive at
the club in a black Beetle. He saw
me and grinned… ‘the black devil
has no motor under the hood,’ he
said, ‘but it did the job.’”
archives on Armando Rodrigues of Toronto, who
said his family had not been without a Beetle—in
either Canada or Africa: “Chased by a warthog…
held up by elephants in 10-foot-high elephant
grass…path blocked by a hyena that sat in the
middle of the track for an hour—would not
budge despite revving engine and racing towards
it…windscreen shattered by vulture in Kenya…
churned through flash floods many times…in
quicksand and quagmire other cars stuck but the
Beetle always got out. Rode in a ‘pirate’ taxi and
discovered it was my first Volkswagen, sold three
years prior; the driver was so pleased he brought
a bottle of scotch to my home the next day…car
needed minimum attention; next to Land Rover,
the Volkswagen was most reliable all-terrain
vehicle in Africa.”
And a bonus entry
via classic Beetle
owners Ed and Diane
Ewing:
“It’s been a lifelong love for the Volkswagen
Beetle. My first one was bought about June 1961,
from Volkswagen Yonge…a 1956 model, brown,
with a sunroof.
“In the Spring of 1966, I bought my second one
in Markham, Ontario, for about $700. I think it
was about a 1960, fire-engine red, and wonderful.
My growing family outgrew it and I was forced to
sell it in 1968.
“Over the ensuing years I often thought about
getting another Beetle, but the opportunity
never arose, as other demands were made on my
time and funds. The son of a friend had a light
blue model, and when the boy tragically died,
the car was placed in a barn where his father
would keep it for over two decades. Many times
I offered to take it, but he always refused. At last,
it became no longer roadworthy and was sold
to an auto restoration facility in Burks Falls.
I drove up and saw it under a tarp awaiting its
day, but by the next year it hadn’t moved. I left,
giving the dealer my card and wondering if I
would ever again enjoy owning a Bug.
“In time I forgot about it, but then the day
came when the telephone rang. It was the dealer,
and he had another, a 1970 Deluxe, bought at
auction, and he asked if I would I like to see
it. I drove up the next day and there was the
nicest Beetle I had seen in a long time. The
body was good, the paint job, too. The horn
worked… the steering was solid. The seats had
been re-done, and there was a new carpet. The
heater had been completely disconnected, probably
by its former Texan owner, but that wouldn’t
be needed if I stored the car from November
to April, as I planned to do.
“So now I thought, ‘what do I do?’ If I didn’t buy
this one, then I’d better shut up about the whole
thing, once and for all! So I bought it! Once again
I have the enjoyment of driving a classic Beetle.
Heads turn, and people have the broadest of grins!
Sometimes I see someone giving their friend a
gentle ‘punch.’
“We don’t take long trips, only from home
to town. We joined the local antique car club,
and go to Cruzers Night every Tuesday, all
summer, and listen to all the stories of everyone who ever had a Beetle. Kids want to see
the engine, but under the front hood it’s empty.
That’s alright because I have a spare engine in
the back! Grandparents want to climb behind
the wheel just to feel again the old sensations
of a real Beetle. It’s a carnival.
“My goal is to one day have it properly repainted
and perhaps redo the headliner. Either way,
right now, life is good. Winter, though, is too
long. Come the first of April, I couldn’t wait to
restore the battery, tickle it back to life, and go for
another spin.”
Beetle versus
hyena
Like us, you’ve probably heard
countless tales of the Volkswagen
Beetle’s uncanny ability to survive
hostile environments. To illustrate
this, we found a piece in the
39
Rad-vertising
We look to our archive for amusing tales
of our most iconic models.
Do you have a favourite Volkswagen ad?
Let us know by submitting your best-loved ads to
www.facebook.com/vwcanada!
Last one to conk out is a
Volkswagen.
You get more folks in a Volks.
Always ready to play to its audience, Volkswagen created this ad in the mid-’60s in reference
to the question: “How many people can you fit into a Beetle?”
It never hurts to take advantage of free publicity, and that’s
exactly what Volkswagen did in the early 1960s. It was the
simple things, like sealing the underside of the car, that set
Volkswagen apart, even back then.
Where are they now?
While a lot of auto companies came and went, Volkswagen
just kept rolling along. By 1966 all of these other brands
were defunct.
It’s ugly, but it gets you there.
Recognizing the Beetle was an unconventional-looking car,
Volkswagen capitalized on the popularity of the moon landing,
subsequently comparing auto travel to space travel.
Smoking or non-smoking.
Always ready to cater to different kinds of drivers, Volkswagen introduced two variants of
the Golf—a performance version built for ‘smokin’ down the highway,’ and a regular version
for more subtle drivers.
We improve with age.
It might not look like it, but the Beetle really did change over the years. As always,
the Beetle was more than it appeared to be.
Star Wars Superbowl Commercial.
That’s about the size of it.
Using a bit of blue paint, this crafty ad showed off how Volkswagen had managed to
maximize the potential of the Beetle platform.
40
this we change.
Even if the Beetle didn't change much on the outside, Volkswagen engineers were always
improving everything else. After all, you should never judge a book by its cover...
It’s a small thing, but ours are heated.
Volkswagen rocked the advertising world once again in 2011 with this playful homage
to Star Wars.
The windshield washer fluid nozzles, that is. Ever keeping the Canadian winter in mind,
Volkswagen never wasted the opportunity to show off its German engineering.
Get a sun tan faster.
It goes like schnell.
Multitasking is not a modern invention, as this ad for the Golf Cabriolet demonstrates while
showing off the car's drop-top feature.
Using the German word for “fast” and featuring a driver wearing a racing helmet, this ad
cleverly implied the Jetta was faster than you thought.
41
volkswagen
COLLECTION
The latest must-haves from
vwcollection.ca.
7
1 The GTI Cap $18.25
2 GTI Grill T-Shirt $13.95
3 Volkswagen Web Belt $27.95
4 Men’s Snag Protection Polo $41.95
5 Sunglasses $9.95
6 Volkswagen Football $3.95
7 Ogio Crunch Duffel $49.95
8 Car Wash Kit $31.25
8
6
1
4
2
5
3
42
photo: adrian armstrong
43
VOLKSWAGEN AROUND THE WORLD
1
U.S.A.
800
The number of workers that are hired at the
Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee
to help meet the demand for Passat sedans
produced there. The plant has been working
overtime daily to keep pace, and the additional jobs
will bring the plant’s employee total to over 3,500.
The plant initially opened in May of 2011, and has
been building the 2012 model of the Passat.
5
2 4
3
1
35
The number of minutes needed to “refuel”
Volkswagen’s E-Bugster, which made its Asian
debut in Beijing this past April. Designed as part
of the company’s eco-friendly Blue-e-Motion
initiative, this fully electric concept car uses an
electric motor weighing a mere 80kg, but still
manages to go from 0-100km/h in 10.8 seconds.
As the name would suggest, the car is modeled
on the two-seat Ragster! concept unveiled at the
Detroit Auto Show in 2005.
5
30,514
In 1975, in cooperation with tire manufacturer
Pirelli and accompanied by a Volkswagen
Transporter as a mobile workshop, test drivers
put the Golf through its paces on an endurance
journey that attracts much media interest.
The team travels the entire American continent
from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina,
in 94 days, covering a distance of 30,514 km.
Both of the series Golfs, which only underwent
minor modifications, prove their reliability and
dynamic driving characteristics.
2
2
ENGLAND
The Volkswagen Passat is the winner of two
of 13 awards at the 24th annual Fleet News
Awards ceremony in London, England. The
vehicles are judged across a wide range of
categories, such as quality, carbon emissions,
and residual value, which makes them difficult
to win. Despite this, the Passat takes home both
the “Best Upper Medium Car” and the “New
Company Car of the Year” awards.
2,000,000
On June 16, 1970, the two-millionth Volkswagen
Type 3, a Volkswagen 1600 hatchback sedan,
leaves the assembly line in Wolfsburg, destined
for export to England. Volkswagen built a
total of 2,587,989 Type 3 units from start of
production to the model change in 1973.
44
China
1,024,008
6
3
FRANCE
4
Germany
11,300,000,000
14
This is the record operating profit in euros,
overseen by Mr. Christian Klinger, a member of the
Board of Management of Volkswagen. Mr. Klinger
was honoured in Paris as France’s Man of the Year
for 2011 (or Homme de l'Année 2011) by the French
motoring magazine Le Journal de l’Automobile. The
publication cited his contribution to success and
expansion in French sales.
This is the number of languages that you can choose
from when taking a “Nightshift” tour of the
Transparent Factory Volkswagen operates in
Dresden, Germany. Started in 2001, the Nightshift
tours, which include dinner at the restaurant
Lesage, have been so popular that the factory
will begin doubling its available tours to two
a week. In 2011, over 145,000 visitors took a
Nightshift tour—a 30% increase on 2010’s totals.
54%
In 1975, Volkswagen’s new model generation
is especially successful in France. The positive
market response to the Passat and Golf, and
the acquisition of the Audi sales network by
Volkswagen France S.A. are reflected by a
54 percent rise in sales to 55,667 vehicles.
696
A touch of exclusivity among its contemporaries,
and the stuff of legends today: the Volkswagen
Beetle “Heb” Cabriolet. Unlike the more common
four-seater Beetle Cabriolet built by Karmann, only
696 of these two-seater automotive gems were built
from 1949 to 1953 by coach maker Hebmüller und Sohn.
That’s the number of vehicles Volkswagen Group
had sold in China by the end of 2008, exceeding
the company's target of one million units. The
first Volkswagen vehicles were produced and
sold in that country in 1985.
6
MALAYSIA
20%
This number represents the increase in
Volkswagen’s deliveries in the Asia/Pacific
region in 2011. In an effort to capitalize on the
growing demand for cars in Asia, this past March
the company partnered with DRB-HICOM to
begin producing the Passat in the Malaysian
district of Pekan. Furthermore, it is expected
that production of the Jetta and the Polo will
be added at a new production hall, which had
its first stone laid by Malaysian Prime Minister
Dato‘ Sri Najib Razak.
34,000
In 2000, it took 80 days and 1,000 litres of diesel
fuel for Volkswagen to send a three-litre Lupo a
total of 34,000 km through Germany, South Africa,
Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, U.S.A., Mexico,
England, France, Morocco, Italy and Sweden.
45
Lights, cameras, popcorn!
Last year, we invited Volkswagen Plus members to the movies for a free screening of Harry
Potter in 3D. And we had so much fun, we decided on a sequel. So we asked our members what
summer blockbuster they most wanted to see in 2012. The winner: Christopher Nolan’s The Dark
Knight Rises. Now, you’re invited to Gotham City this August. Sign up for free on VolkswagenPlus.ca.
Volkswagen Events
Tremblant International Blues Festival
Volkswagen will continue to support its long-time partner, Mont Tremblant
Resort, this July 6-15 at the 19th annual International Blues Festival.
Throughout the 10-day event, over 150 free outdoor world-class blues acts
will perform, allowing fans a chance to experience a variety of artists all in
one place. And, as with any good blues festival, the nightlife will be just
46
as much of a draw, as Fat Mardi’s and Le P’tit Caribou and many more
in the pedestrian village will be the perfect places to enjoy the music and
take in the atmosphere. In celebration of Volkswagen's 60th anniversary
in Canada, Volkswagen Plus members will have access to a private VIP
terrace at the Blues Festival this year. Visit VolkswagenPlus.ca for details.
Buckle up!
The Freedriving
Tour is back!
Life is a theme Park
with Volkswagen
Plus
This is your chance to take your favourite
Volkswagen for a spin on a closed circuit and
enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime driving adventure
with a professional driver in the passenger seat.
It’s free, and you’ll leave with an ear-to-ear smile.
You can register now at vwexperience.ca and be
among the first to get an invitation.
2012 Tour Schedule: Montreal, July 20–22;
Toronto, July 26–29; Halifax, August 11–12; Calgary,
August 24–26; Vancouver, September 7–9.
Inside every Volkswagen Plus member is
a little kid. And little kids love amusement
parks. Which is why members—and their
kids—will enjoy reduced admission rates
at several major theme parks across
Canada this summer. Get all the details
on VolkswagenPlus.ca.
47
Volkswagen
Golf R:
Über
hatch
A frozen lake in Sweden
all to ourselves, and the
ultimate AWD Golf R on
studded ice tires. What
would you do?
Arjeplog, a small town near the Arctic Circle
in the northernmost part of Sweden, has three
main industries. The first two are reindeer and
wood, but it’s the third we’re most interested in:
winter testing. Volkswagen and most other
major automakers all have extreme cold-weather
testing facilities up here. This is where prototypes
and development mules come to make sure they
can withstand -30ºC temperatures without the
door hinges shattering. Here at least, you can
be assured all the lakes will be frozen solid.
We have endured nearly 48 hours of travel
to get here to put the all-wheel-drive Golf R to
the test. If the limited-edition Golf R can survive
here, it can survive anywhere. And, perhaps more
significant for the cars’ minders, if it can survive
a bunch of clumsy journalists speeding around
a frozen lake, then it can surely endure the
mayhem of a Canadian highway in wintertime.
48
49
Now, before we go any further, I should
make a confession. I have been—along with
pretty much every enthusiast I know—eagerly
awaiting the day when we could buy a
brand-new Golf R off a showroom floor
here in Canada. (Never mind the fact that
demand for it has been so high that most Rs
probably won’t ever even see a showroom floor.)
There have been ultimate Golfs before this one,
but never before has one been available in our
home and native land.
Despite being just a snowmobile ride
away from the Arctic Circle, the weather in
Arjeplog is almost warm compared to the
blizzard-like environment we had been
expecting. Under sunny skies we leave the
hotel to be greeted by a lineup of bright blue
Rs on studded winter tires. The potential
50
of those machines, sitting there like horses
in the starting gate, is enough to make all
assembled slightly giddy with excitement
despite the massive jetlag.
After a short drive through what passes for
downtown Arjeplog, we arrive at Volkswagen’s
lake. The company rents it out during the
winter months. Snowploughs carve any
configuration of track the engineers need.
Today we’ve got access to several kilometres
of twisty ice-racing circuit, as well as a couple
of skidpads.
The new R is both more powerful and more
fuel-efficient than its forebears. In place of
the V6 engine is a highly tuned version of
the last-generation GTI motor. Chosen for
its fuel efficiency, huge potential and hardas-nails design, this 2.0 L, turbocharged
four-cylinder engine now produces 256
horsepower and 243 lb-ft of torque. It is the
most powerful motor ever fitted to the Golf
in Canada, thanks to a reinforced cylinder
block, strengthened connecting rods, and a
BorgWarner K04 turbocharger running at
a full 17 psi.
The engineers could have tuned the
motor for even more headline grabbing
top-end power, but instead opted for
mightier low- and mid-range grunt giving
the R a freight-train-like power delivery.
(For those keeping track, the R has 56
more horsepower than the GTI, and an
extra 36 lb-ft of torque.) Best of all, the
new engine achieves this while consuming
just 10.9 L/100 km of fuel in the city and
7.5 on the highway.
Out on the ice, traction is king and that’s
where the R really begins to distinguish itself
from the rest of the Golf range. The 4Motion
system is able to send up to 100% of the
torque to either the front or rear axles, for
optimum traction in all situations. Under
normal driving conditions, though, the system
behaves like a front-wheel-drive car, sending
all power to the front wheels, significantly
increasing fuel economy.
The R powers through turns like no other
Golf; you can feel it working hard for you,
shuffling power to where it’s needed to keep
the car pointed exactly where you want it to
go. Understeer can be dialed out by getting
on the power earlier than you would ever
have thought possible. The steering wheel
has a substantial weight to it at high speeds,
making the car feel confident and planted on
the road. But feedback is still clear. Bumps
and ruts get filtered out, leaving just a
picture of how much grip is available at
all four corners.
This being a car for driving purists, all
Canadian Golf Rs will be offered exclusively
with a short-throw, close-ratio six-speed
manual transmission. The clutch is fairly light,
and gearshifts are completed with a swift
clickety-clack of the leather-covered lever.
Outside it may be inhospitable, but inside the
R everything is precision German engineering.
From the flat-bottomed sports steering wheel
to the gloss-black and aluminum trim on the
dash and instrument panel; to the aluminum
pedals, the interior strikes a balance between
sport and luxury. “R” logos on the door sills
and supple leather seats serve as a further
reminder that you are in the ultimate Golf.
Of course, all the usual luxury amenities are
available as well, including navigation, dualzone climate control, and 300-watt Dynaudio®
sound system. The standard sport seats hold
you firmly in place, even on the ice.
With its hatchback, 60/40 split rear seats
and 433 litres of space, this just might be the
most practical sports car in existence.
The next “test” involves several kilometres
of twisty ice track. It’s not as smooth as you’d
think, with snow strewn about the course,
and ruts and bumps everywhere. Mercifully,
the specially tuned suspension soaks it all up
and lets us get on with the business of going
fast. The front wheels use a damper-strut
layout with lower control arms and a stiff,
tubular anti-roll bar that helps to reduce
bodyroll and maximize driver feedback
through the steering wheel. At the rear, a
compact independent four-link set-up ensures
correct suspension geometry even when the
hatchback is fully loaded with cargo.
Unique spring and damper settings mean
the R can carve through high-speed corners
with minimal body roll while maintaining a
compliant ride.
Through the ice course, the R is remarkably
forgiving. The torque and 4MOTION® system
can pull you out of just about any situation,
whether you’ve gone way too fast into a blind
corner, or you’re stuck in the deeper snow.
The big, 345 mm vented disk brakes at the
front and 309 mm at the rear are larger than
the GTI’s, providing prodigious stopping power.
Even on the ice, the ABS and EBS (electronic
brake pressure distribution) keep the wheels
from locking up under hard deceleration. The
third-generation electro-mechanical power
steering set-up varies the feel of the steering
to suit the situation. So it’s nice and light when
you’re tootling around a parking garage, but
reassuringly firm on the highway. The steering
ratio is even quicker than that of the GTI, giving
the R a unique, darty feel.
Myriad cutting-edge safety features kept
us out of trouble on the ice, including HBA
(Hydraulic Brake Assist), EBD (Electronic
51
Brake-pressure Distribution), ASR (Anti-Slip
Regulation) and ICRS (Intelligent Crash Response System). The latter system steps up
in the event of airbag deployment to turn off
the fuel pump, turn on the hazard lights and
unlock all doors.
The fleet of “Rising Blue” Rs look at home
charging across the Arctic, but would just as
easily blend in on the daily commute. The
familiar refined look of the Golf is given an
extra dose of aggression. The exterior is
dominated by the two rear centre-exit exhausts, and a gloss-black diffuser. A new set
of LED daytime running lights and Bi-xenon
headlamps accent the new bumper. Three
large black air intakes provide the necessary
cooling for the engine. A subtle “R” logo on the
gloss-black grille sets the car apart from the
rest of the range. The result is a sophisticated,
understated performance car. A perfect
sleeper, in other words.
We stay on the ice, tearing it up in the
Golf R as long as we can. By the time the
sun starts to go down, it’s impossible to
differentiate the track from the snowbanks on
either side. None of the “tests” we conducted
led to any great scientific discoveries. What
we did discern, though, is that this new Golf
R is most definitely the ultimate Golf, and it
just might be the ultimate practical sports
car as well.
52
CAR CLASS
Automotive Business School of Canada drives the future of the Automotive industry.
Since 1985, the Automotive Business School
of Canada (formerly Canadian Automotive
Institute) has been producing some of the
industry’s best and brightest talent. It’s the
only school in the country that equips students
with the specialized knowledge and skills to
become leaders in the automotive industry.
By helping to shape programming and offering
students scholarships, co-op placements and
post-graduation employment opportunities,
Volkwagen Canada is steering graduates
towards securing a promising automotive
future for Canada.
“Creating opportunities for the next
generation of auto business executives
reflects our strong commitment to building
and sustaining a robust and innovative auto
industry in Canada,” says John White, President
and CEO, Volkswagen Group Canada Inc.
Serving on the Automotive Business
School of Canada (ABSC)’s board of directors,
White works with other industry executives
to ensure curricula are current and relevant
for the school’s two programs: the two-year
Automotive Business diploma, and the
four-year Bachelor of Business–Automotive
Management co-op degree.
“When our students leave here, they get
good jobs,” says Professor Alan McGee. “Our
graduates already know the industry, who
the players are, and how they interact.”
McGee says a big reason ABSC graduates
can hit the ground running at auto workplaces
is the hands-on experience they gain through
field placements. Volkswagen Canada offers
meaningful and engaging work opportunities
for three co-op students each year; it has
provided more than 100 placements to date.
The company’s solid commitment to this
essential part of student training has led
the ABSC to recognize Volkswagen Canada
as its 2012 Co-op Employer of the Year.
Students’ learning experiences are also
heightened by networking with and learning
directly from auto industry executives.
Interacting with industry leaders like White,
who participated in a recent auto executive
panel at the school, is a highlight for students.
The most hands-on aspect of many
students’ ABSC education has come through
the involvement with the Georgian College
Auto Show. The largest outdoor auto show
in North America, the three-day event is
run entirely by students, and supported
by numerous manufacturers.
Volkswagen also supports ABSC students
through scholarships: the Bruno Rubess Award
of Excellence, initially started by Volkswagen
Canada Dealers, and the Volkswagen Canada
Scholarship, which are offered to a Bachelor
of Business—Automotive Management
graduate with a strong academic track
record and a demonstrated commitment
to an auto industry career.
Once they’re ready to get their automotive careers in gear, graduates might consider
Volkswagen Canada as a career option: the
company currently has close to 20 ABSC
grads, including Kelley Stewart, who was recently hired as an allocation and distribution
specialist.
“I love my job because of the people I
work with, making a difference in the growth
of the brand, and I enjoy being involved in
an industry that is continually evolving,”
Stewart says.
Jonathan Hodges, another ABSC
grad and now manager of Sales Operations
for the Volkswagen Brand, echoes
Stewart’s sentiments. “What could be
more exciting than helping 50,000+
Canadians buy a new Volkswagen every
year?” he says. “The industry is one of
the world’s largest employers and is
constantly changing.”
Having Volkswagen Canada as a champion
has helped ABSC become a proven training
ground that empowers aspiring auto business
professionals and fulfils the employment
needs of the industry, says Dr. Marie-Noelle
Bonicalzi, Dean of the School of Business at
Georgian College.
“The success of our school and our programs
wouldn’t be possible without the support
of the industry, and Volkswagen has been
a big part of that,” says Bonicalzi, whose
son, coincidentally, owns a Volkswagen
dealership. “Students at the school are
supported by alumni and industry. Then
they come back as an employer, guest
speaker or advisory committee member.
That’s what makes the program successful—
it goes full circle.”
For more information on the Automotive Business
School of Canada, visit www.georgiancollege.ca/
automotive-business-school.
53
OWNER Stories
Passionate owners share their Volkswagen tales
Fame and Swag – Send us your Volkswagen stories, and if
you are featured in our magazine, Volkswagen Canada will
treat you to a little surprise on top of all the attention you
will get from the feature in the magazine! It’s a win-win!
Email: magazine@volkswagenplus.ca
Find out more about your school at
au tomotive b u sine sssc h o o l .c a
ARE YOU DRIVEN?
Don’t just make cars your passion.
Make them your career.
54
FOR THE DRIVEN.
POWERED BY
SOLE OWNER
Raymond Smemanis has been driving Volkswagen
vehicles exclusively since 1955, and he has never
even dreamed of driving anything else!
Raymond Smemanis leans against
his 2009 Passat Wagon and holds
a picture of his 1955 Beetle.
Photo: Mike Palmer
55
OWNER Stories
1 Marty Klunder
1984 Jetta GLI
Passionate owners share their Volkswagen tales
1967 Fastback
1974 412 sedan
1978 Bus
600,000 km under
starry skies
1982 Vanagon
1987 Vanagon
1992 Passat
The list of things that last 57 years isn’t very
long, but that’s exactly how long Raymond
Smemanis has been an exclusive Volkswagen
owner. Since he was 19, he has owned
12 different Volkswagen models, and the
thought of buying another make has never
even crossed his mind.
“I’ve never had any other brand or make,”
he says. “It’s always been Volkswagens.”
The love affair started in March of 1955,
when he saw a brand new Beetle at a small
dealership in Toronto. “I liked the looks of it,”
he says. “I looked at the price in the window
and it was only $1,500!”
He does admit he had a little bit of bias
toward the car from growing up across the
pond. Born in Latvia, he lived in Germany for
eight years before moving with his mother to
Canada after his father passed away in 1952.
“After the war, most of the cars that were
starting to get around at that time were the
Beetles,” he recalls. “There were quite a lot
of them, but the price (at the dealership)
was one I could afford. I liked the shape of it,
being different than the rest of the cars.”
Starting a new life in Toronto, Raymond
worked by day repairing small appliances to
help support himself and his mother, while
finishing high school and attending electrical
trade school by night. Eventually he met his
wife “and my life began,” he says.
Beginning with their honeymoon at the
New York World’s Fair via the trusty ’55
Beetle, Raymond and his wife, Zaiga, began
a lifetime of road trips in their Volkswagen
models. They revisited the northeastern U.S.
later in their 1967 Fastback, and once they
had kids they drove up to cottage country
in their 1971 411 and 1974 412 sedans (he
fondly recalls the foldable stroller that would
fit in the front trunk). They also took their
1982 and 1987 Vanagons down to Florida
every year. But none of his cars really stand
out as his favourite, though he does love
the Cobalt Blue colour on his current 2009
Passat Wagon.
“They were all good because each one
of them served my needs excellently. The
Vanagons, for instance, when the family
came along. And the Fastback, when my
wife and I were traveling to different places
after we got married.
“Even when we went long distances on our
holidays, we would get good gas mileage.”
Raymond’s love for his cars goes much
deeper than an appreciation for the brand.
Friends and family have always been
amazed at how spotless he’s kept his cars.
He considers taking good care of his cars
a hobby, but it also paid off with all those
trade-ins.
“By keeping the car in that condition, the
value of the car was much higher,” he says.
“Even my engines, I keep those clean. The
mechanics are always amazed, and they ask,
‘Did you have any engine work done? How
come it’s so new looking?’”
But working on his cars has always gone
more than skin deep. With his electrician’s
background, Raymond has fixed everything
from temperature sensors and alternators
to air conditioners in his previous cars. He’s
also done his own brake work, and he even
replaced the ball joint on the front wheel of
his 1974 Beetle. Now well into his retirement
years, he doesn’t do quite as much work on
his car, though he still changes his winter
and all-season tires.
With such familiarity with his vehicles, he
recognizes how far Volkswagen has come
over the years. “Before, I would even replace
the mufflers myself, but now, even the 1999
Passat that I just traded in, it didn’t show
any signs that it needed any replacements.”
Everything was in great condition, a sign he
says points to better quality materials. “The
quality really appeals to me.”
56
Marty may be posing with his prized 1984 GLI
here (below), but more than a dozen
Volkswagens have graced his driveway over
the years. They are the only make of car he
has owned (not to mention the 15 others in his
family) and have ranged from a 1967 Beetle and
several ‘80s GLIs up to his daily drivers, a 2007
Jetta and a Routan for the family. His first was
a 1980 Jetta rescued from a field after sitting
for several years. His GLI pictured here wears
modifications like lowering springs, a sport
exhaust, and Passat wheels for an aggressive
look. Marty says the “sharp lines and the boxy
shape” of the cars are his favourite traits, being
in juxtaposition to the roundness of the original
Beetle. So, why Volkswagen? “It’s their style,
cool factor, comfort, prestige, thoughtfulness in
design…fine German engineering and attention
to detail. As soon as you own one, you notice
other VW owners noticing you by way of a nod
or wave. Other than people on motorcycles or
in classic cars, who does that? I love it!”
Warren and Debbie Cleal bought their
Westfalia in 1990, with about 34,000 km on
it. Since then, they’ve camped in it all over
Vancouver Island, where they live, as well as
Washington, Oregon, California, the Okanagan
Valley, Jasper, Lake Louise, Calgary and
Edmonton, and in the process have put another
600,000 km on it.
“We just love it so much. It’s been part of
our family,” Warren says. “We started camping
in it with our daughter, who was 11 then, and
now we take our six-year-old granddaughter
camping in it. Our daughter hated camping!
But her daughter loves it as much as we do.”
Although it’s not an easy claim to prove, the
Cleals are pretty sure that on a trip to Hawaii
during which they rented a Westfalia like their
own, they became the only people ever to
drive one to the top of Mauna Kea, by Hawaiian
measurement the tallest mountain in the world.
(They measure it from the bottom of the ocean
floor, but it’s still a pretty impressive feat.)
In the right vehicle, you can drive from
sea level to the peak at 14,000 feet in about
two hours. When the Cleals got to the
Onizuka Visitors Station at 9,200 feet,
they were told that only four-wheel-drive
vehicles are recommended to travel beyond
it. Undaunted, they trekked on. The Westfalia
made the trip.
“We finally did make it to the top, to
the clearest air in the world, and the best
star-gazing.”
The couple’s other car is a 2004 Jetta
Wagon, which Warren says needs just a run
through the car wash to look like it just left
the showroom.
But it’s the Westfalia that stole his heart.
“Without question the most enjoyable vehicle
I’ve ever had in my life,” he says. “It’s responsive,
the turning radius is exceptional, the vision
amazing. You feel safe. It’s just so versatile.
It fits in the garage, fits on the ferry, you
pull into a campsite and you’re ready to go
in minutes.
“There just isn’t a vehicle being made today
that compares.”
“Woops, sorry. I thought it was a runaway trailer.”
1
2 Tammy Leffler
2012 Jetta GLI
There have been 25 Volkswagens in Tammy’s
family over the years, but this is the baby. At
press time, she had owned this 2012 Jetta GLI
for just over a month. A budding romance, to be
sure. So far, she says she loves the statement
her car makes and how many people stop and
take a look at it. “I love my car because of the
way it performs, the way it handles and most
of all I feel safe while driving it. In my opinion,
it is the safest car on the road.” Safety has
long been a draw to Volkswagen for Tammy.
Eighteen years ago she bought a Passat when
she became pregnant with her son. Since then
there has been a Jetta, Beetle, Rabbit and now,
the GLI. “People who have had the privilege of
owning a Volkswagen have a relationship with
[their] car….The cars are built to last. You still
see many older Volkswagens on the road.
Once you have owned one, you will not want
to drive anything else….They are reliable and
dependable vehicles.”
2
57
Volkswagen Canada on Twitter
Check out what your fellow Volkswagen owners have been saying on Twitter!
Send in your best memories to @VWcanada!
Volkswagen Canada
Das Auto.
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MrDisco
Following
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@VWcanada #VWLove my best memory was
seeing the new Beetle in person, instant love
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@bblancha
@VWcanada best memory was test driving our
almost new Jetta TDI to Orlando last winter with
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canadandie
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mojaveband: @VWcanada my best #vw#vwlove
moment was using my golf TDI to tow my
airstream across... bit.ly/sTyQsU #canada #music
Lyle Grant
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@KyleGrant58
@VWcanada #VWlove Meeting a girl a week after
getting my Golf the first thing she said was ‘I love
your Golf!’. VW got me brownie points!!!
kaityyangelski
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@VWcanada taking daughter for her 1st 4hr trip 2
the June Jitterbug VW show. She spotted the same
orange bus like her toy and was so proud.
Kristopher R. Murray
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@VWcanada my best #VW memory is a road trip’
from Montreal to Florida with my best friend in my
Jetta VR6. 23h and 45 mins. 2550 km. No stops.
58
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