VW never out of style with enthusiasts
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Siswanto, 25, is a Volkswagen enthusiast. He fell in love with the German-made car when he was an elementary school student.
He learned about Volkswagen from his father. As a civil servant, his father got a 1980 Volkswagen bus from his office.
More than anything, Siswanto wanted to drive that car, but his father didn't let him until he was in junior high school. Even then his feet had trouble reaching the clutch.
"Since then I could not stay away from Volkswagen. Now I have my own Volkswagen, a yellow Beetle 1300 made in 1966," said Siswanto, an employee at Allianz.
Siswanto's father was as crazy about Volkswagen as his son. He quit the civil service to open a Volkswagen repair shop.
Like Siswanto, most Volkswagen enthusiasts have a story about their first experience with the car.
Many people's first experience with Volkswagen was as a child, and this emotional tie leads them to buy their own Volkswagen when they get older.
Volkswagen enthusiasts often organize gatherings and share information through fan clubs. They also have mailing lists, one of them penggemar-vw@yahoogroups.com. Through this mailing list, the owners of Volkswagen vehicles can share their experiences and opinions on the maintenance of the cars.
Members of the mailing list include people from Jakarta, Bandung, Batam and other cities. They also share information about Germany, the birthplace of Volkswagen.
Antartika, a mailing list member who owns a 1972 VW Beetle 1302, said he chose Beetle because the car, locally known as the VW Kodok, which literally means "VW frog", never goes out of style and is cheap to maintain.
A timeless style and easy maintenance have allowed the Volkswagen Beetle to remain popular until today.
Satriaji, 27, the owner of a VW Beetle, said the fact the Beetle was still manufactured today showed the car was designed with a strong vision
Since its inception in 1938 through 2003, as many as 21 million VW Beetles have been produced -- making it the car with the longest period of production in the world.
"They create a family car at an affordable price," Satriaji said.
Antartika said Germans were concerned with detail, efficiency, discipline and technology.
"Many of their products are of high quality, like Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Porsche, et cetera," Antartika said.
Fellow penggemar-vw member Momon said Germany was idealistic when it came to manufacturing cars. The vehicles invariably have strong characteristics and a beautiful design.
Many people, including Momon and Siswanto, said they trusted German products because of their quality.
"I am not a fanatic, but I trust everything made in Germany," Siswanto said.