Uitenhage - They are unlikely to get our automotive juices flowing the way Aston Martins or Ferraris do, but bulbous, boxy or angular Volkswagens are far more recognisable to most South Africans.
After all, most of us of a certain age owned (or, if you like, were possessed by) one at some time of our lives – whether it was a Beetle, Variant, Kombi, Kamper, Microbus or Golf – and we all seem to have stories we can tell about them.
Or what we did with them. Or in them, which is perhaps why we’re known as baby-boomers and our cars of the time were “love-bugs”.
Over the years, our memories have also been reinforced – even influenced – by marketing campaigns underpinned by TV ads that glossed over the marque’s lack of petrolhead appeal (forget GTi) and appealed to the gentler, more whimsical sides of our natures.
Not many of us who saw them will forget the sight of David Kramer battling up the “Tierkloof Pass” on a bicycle in pursuit of a Microbus or that of a reminiscing dad handing over the keys of a lovingly restored Beetle to his newly licensed son.
Even the 1984 advert that featured VW owners being marshalled into position to form a gigantic VW logo became part of local advertising legend. Remember the jingle: “VW you and me”?
Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) has built a “museum” for landmark products at the company’s headquarters in the Eastern Cape town of Uitenhage and, while the stories the exhibits tell are generally more prosaic than the ones we can tell of ownership, they are good ones to recount.
The “curator” of the VW AutoPavilion since conception 10 years ago till his retirement this year has been Johan Wagner, a former motoring journalist, editor and senior member of the public relations team at VWSA.
“We’d always wanted a modern museum similar to the one Volkswagen has at its headquarters in Germany but there was never any budget. It was only in 2003 that the managing director of VWSA at the time, Hans-Christian Maergner, was able to allocate funds.
“I had quite a few cars by the time we opened in March 2004 but, in the beginning, this place looked more like a beautiful used-car lot,” he recalls. “It took another few years for us to get another significant budget allocation and that’s when I really climbed in.”
VWSA calls the AutoPavilion a “heritage centre” because it showcases not only vehicles but also the company’s history, development of the production plant over the years and the contributions made by employees. There is also a ticker on the wall indicating the number of vehicles made at the Uitenhage factory to date: on the day I was there it stood at 3 038 747.
One of the vehicles on display is a spectacular blue 1967 Beetle called the “Cal looker” because of a style of Volkswagen customisation that originated in California.
“I was called up by a lady from Klerksdorp whose hobby was trawling the internet for accessories made specifically for this model,” remembers Wagner. “Her poor husband then had to fit them. She phoned me because she was buying another vehicle and didn’t have sufficient garage space.”
Surfers, fishermen, hunters and road-trippers can all pay homage to a 1954 Kombi, which was the second in South Africa. It was imported by Baron Klaus von Oertzen who is regarded as the “father” of VWSA.
A keen outdoorsman, he had it custom-converted as a hunting vehicle and camper. This Jagdwagen Kombi is one of the favourite exhibits for nostalgia buffs.
The original Kombi was known as the Transporter and went on sale in November 1949. It came to South Africa in 1955 and became an immediate bestseller.
About 2 000 people visit the AutoPavilion each month. It charges a nominal entry fee. “We get lots of car enthusiasts here but market ourselves heavily to schools,” says Wagner. Schools visits are free.
l www.autopavilion.co.za - Saturday Star