Free Lance Star Article - May 21, 1998

"VW's Faithful Legions - Club members go ga-ga over German Cars"

By Marty Morrison

You may have noticed that the streets of Fredericksburg look a lot like a German used-car lot several days a month.

A line of Volkswagens - Beetles, Golfs, Karmann Ghias and minibuses - stretches in parade precision down College Avenue and William and Princess Anne streets to an ice cream finale at Carl's or a picnic gathering at Old Mill Park.

Silver-haired parents and teen-age hippie hopefuls stop in their tracks to peruse th eprocession. The sight of multiple Beetles has been known to cause sudden rounds of "Punch-Buggy." The old game entitles the first person who spies the pint-sized car to name the color and smack the arm of the person next to him.

The evening marks cruise night for the Fredericksburg Volkswagen Club-a chance to show off beloved models, old and new.

The group is less than 6 months old but already has about 50 members of all ages.

"The older ones teach the young ones about the old models," said Carolyn Smith, the club president. "The younger members teach the older ones about the newer models."

Most come from families of VW owners-grandparents, partents and children. They meet three times a month-once for business and to exchange vehicle information, twice to show off their VW possessions for the designated cruise nights.

Business meetings are held at 7p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Pizza Hut at 1224 Powhatan St. Cruise nights are reserved for the second Sunday and the last Saturday of each month. Members gather with their VWs at Pizza Hut about 6:30p.m. and ride along one of several designated routes.

They're even planning a caravan to "The Bug Out" on Sunday in Manassas. There, VW lovers come from all over the country to sell and trade paraphernalia.

Smith, who lives in Morningside subdivision, has a family of VW aficionados. Her husband, Sean, owns a '71 Karmann Ghia coupe. She drives an '86 Cabriolet and her 18-year-old daughter, Sandra Langford, has a Fox.

"To me, Volkswagens represent a lot of fun," Smith said.

That sheer recreational delight has spawned a bevy of Bus in the Joseph Fulginiti household in Frederickburg's Braehead Woods subdivision.

Fulginiti, 52, has a yellow '71 Super Beetle convertible and a '79 Karmann Ghia that is undergoing restoration. His daughter, 21-year-old Caroline, drives a '67 model.

"They're cute," Fulginiti said, explaining the family fascination with VWs. "They're nice cars, great for around town. They're not all that expensive to buy and they're easy to repair."

Fulginiti bought his first VW in 1969. A Marine Officer, he spotted a yellow Karmann Ghia on a car sales lot and bought it on the spot. He drove the car for a decade.

Since then, most of the cars he's owned have been Volkswagens. He prefers the old ones to the newer models.

"I've got more flower; they've got the power," he quipped, using his own version of the 1998 Beetle and campaign, "I don't go fast, but I get there."

Volkswagens first rolled off the assembly line in Germany in 1936 and landed in America a decade later.

The Beetle made car ownership a reality for many adolescents. The no-frills miniature was reliable and affordable. It cost less than $2,000 new. Used ones could be snagged for much less.

By 1979, when the last models were sold in the United States, more than 15 million Beetles had been manufactured. The sleeker, reincarnated version that became available this spring has a 115-horsepower engine and plenty of extras. It retails for about $16,000.

Mike Beggs, who helped organize the Fredericskburg club, is too young to have experienced Volkswagens in their heyday.

Still, the 26-year old Stafford County man appreciated a good value even in the 80's.

He paid $50 for his first Beetle, not long after he got his driver's license.

It was the only car he could afford after he wrecked the Plymouth Duster his parents gave him for his 16th birthday. His '65 VW had a simple engine that Beggs soon became adept at repairing.

Since then, Beetlemania has gotten into his blood. He has owned 40 or so of the vintage German models. He now has six, including four Beetles, a '73 "Thing" and a '74 squareback.

"There just aren't that many cars that inspire loyalty," Beggs said. "The fact that anybody can fix them, drivers have a special relationship with them."

Beggs and fellow VW fan Jamie Wolf of Fredericksburg organized the club to unite VW owners in the area.

"It's a chance to help others restore and repair their old VWs," Beggs said.

He's already offered to help fellow member David Ridderhof get his run-down 1960 model back in shape.

Ridderhof, 71, inherited the light blue Bug from his parents who saw much of the world from its front seat.

"It's probably the only car in Fredericksburg that has been to Moscow," Ridderhof said.

Back then, his parents lived in California. When the couple decided to see the world nearly 40 years ago, they hopped aboard a Japanese freighter and headed west. In Italy, they ordered the VW from the factory, obtained a visa to the U.S.S.R. and drove the car to Moscow. Then, they drove it to Latvia where they had the car shipped back to the states.

David Ridderhof inherited the car after his father's death.

Since then, each of his four children used the VW while away from home in college.

Ridderhof can't begin to figure the car's actual mileage. Its odometer has turned the 100,000-mile mark several times, he said.

The car was drivable until a few years ago and has been sitting in Ridderhof's carport on Mortimer Avenue ever since.

He's had his share of offers to part with the run-down Bug, but he politely turns them down. He plans to take Beggs up on his offer to help restore it.

Ridderhof hopes to have it running like new again. After all, the old Beetle has a history that is hard to duplicate.