VW never out of style with enthusiasts
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.