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2002 Charity Cruise
Early in the morning, SCAT's parking lot started to fill with VWs that came from all over Southern California. |
L.A.'s traffic is a jungle! Makes you wonder if this is why Don Wolford chose to dress his Panel in a zebra outfit (See Page 16). |
Above: Guess some people really liked our VWTrends Cruise T-shirt, one of the many items hiding in our surprise goody bags! |
Alex Guerdat brought his Cal Look Westfalia, featured in our December 2002 issue, while his pretty girlfriend Chantal cruised in her daily driver, this slammed European Ragtop. |
We absolutely loved this scruffy but terribly fast Oval, fitted with a sizeable turbocharger and a pair of rare American Racing magnesium rims. |
This impressive right-hand drive Notch, originally from Australia, will be featured in detail in an upcoming issue of VWT... |
Long-distance travelers, eat your heart out...A couple of Austrians put their '72 Bus on a boat, and are now visiting our continent with their three children, from Canada to Chile! Thanks for joining VWTrends' cruise, guys! |
Drive your Bug to the Las Vegas Bug-In--see February 2003 VWT--then make a mid-11-second quartermile pass and drive the thing back home...This is what the owner of this bright Oval did a few weeks prior to the cruise. |
Giovanni Torres, who participated in our first Dyno Day a few months ago--see January 2003 VWT--drove his Bug to Redondo Beach as well. The small 1914cc uses an A.J. Sims turbo kit, which translates to over 175hp at the rear wheels. |
Volkswagens quickly filled WCM's premises to capacity. Late comers had to park wherever they could. |
Above: Many vehicles displayed in WCM's museum used to be part of another collection, property of a SoCal Volkswagen dealership named Chick Iverson. Such is the case of this extremely low mileage Super Beetle. |
Presented,in part,by Commonwealth VW in Santa Ana, Calif.
By Stephan Szantai
Photography: Robert Hallstrom
When VW Trends' staff showed up early in the morning at SCAT Enterprises, on Saturday October 19, 2002, we weren't quite sure what to expect as far as participation. After all, our annual Charity Cruise--so called because all proceeds go to the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana--was supposed to be rather long compared to the '01 happening. This would potentially draw some people away... To our relief, enthusiasts came en masse however and quickly filled SCAT's parking lot to capacity.
The vehicles on hand certainly showed the variety of our hobby, from restored Westfalias to high-performance Bugs. As a matter of fact, we counted close to half a dozen turbocharged beasts, including a yellow mid-11-second Oval that made the trek to the 2002 Las Vegas Bug-In and back. Speaking of long distance, an Austrian couple and their three kids showed up in a '72 camper, shipped from Europe and outfitted with a host of traveling supplies. They have been visiting our continent for a few months now... and what a trip! Southern California was actually one of their many stops, while driving from Canada to Chile. (You can check www.alptoalp.com to find out more about their amazing journey). This crew of five quickly hooked up with a gang of Bay Window camper owners, and you could see them cruising together for the rest of the day.
For a mere $15 ($20 if you weren't pre-registered), participants received a terrific goody-bag before leaving SCAT's premises. When digging inside, they found a T-shirt, a Wahoos Fish Taco lunch-ticket, and much much more. A nice way to start the morning, isn't it? A Poker Run was organized as well, with more prizes to win in the afternoon. By 8am sharp, driving directions in hand, all cruisers finally hit the road. The sun wasn't all that shiny yet, but we knew it was only a matter of time. The first leg of this excursion led everybody to West Coast Metric in Harbor City, one of the world's largest suppliers of vintage Volkswagen rubber products. The hosts of the place, Loren Pearson and his sons, left the doors wide open for all visitors, so they could take a look at the company's private VW museum in particular. It includes an eclectic selection of rides, displayed with great care and taste: Schwimmwagen, Kuebelwagen, '49 Bug, '51 Barn Door, ultra-low mileage Super Beetle, off-road racers, etc. It doesn't get any better than this! After the tour, it was time once again to jump in our VWs, and drive towards Orange County.
This stretch proved to be the longest--close to an hour. Was it too long? Not according to the partakers, who had a ball driving on Pacific Coast Highway! But then again and as stated earlier, some "potential cruisers" may have been intimidated by the distance traveled... We will consequently think about them this year, i.e., the 2003 VW Trends Cruise will be shorter.
In any case, the long caravan of vintage tin definitely impressed more than one onlooker while on its way to Kymco Motorsport. The scenic route included driving over the Vincent Thomas bridge (located next to what used to be Terminal Island Raceway), through downtown Long Beach (they run the Long Beach Grand Prix every year about a block away from our trek), before going through Huntington Beach, a.k.a. Surf City.
Once in Newport Beach, it didn't take long for Kymco's parking lot to be maxed out. Jeff Bancroft, the main person behind the company, displayed a few high-quality cars he has been wrenching on--among else, his own Cal Look Sedan powered by a 2332cc, soon to be featured in VW Trends. More chatting, more browsing, and the cruise was once again on the move! This shorter leg directed drivers and passengers to a concert theater named Galaxy, the final destination of our journey. On site, participants couldn't have been busier, and for most, the first item on the agenda was to feed that hungry stomach. The tacos supplied by Wahoos were muy perfecto, and the same should be said about Archie's ice creams. Galaxy Theatre had its doors open, which meant that everybody was invited to bring in their food and lounge in the club's groovy atmosphere.
Outside the action was frantic, starting with various booths that welcomed the cruisers and spectators alike. Commonwealth VW, a popular dealership from Santa Ana, had a bunch of new cars on exhibit. Further down the same aisle, people could do some shopping or check products from a variety of vendors: Westside Classics, Musty Putters (for the golf fanatics), BUGPACK, WCM, O.C. Weekly, Fish 'n Pox, etc. Kids and grown-ups also had the opportunity to participate in a few frenzied and sometime hilarious games.
To many the highlight of this day was the killer VWTrends raffle. The crowd loved every minute of it (well, especially the numerous winners!), as we definitely went that extra mile to find the best prizes. It would take too long to list here all the goodies we gave away. Let's just mention that a couple of lucky guys went home with a 1600cc engine and a stroker crankshaft, respectively supplied by Fast German Auto and BUGPACK. Not bad, huh? Check the box on Page 61 to find more details about this raffle...
VWTrends' 2002 Charity Cruise gathered 142 Volkswagens of all types--a few of them are featured in detail in this issue--and all participants we talked to said they were amazed by the quality of this event. Yeah, yeah, it sounds like propaganda, but it's true. Hey, the best thing you can do is checking it out yourself this year!
GOODIES, GOODIES, GOODIES!
Our list of raffle prizes seemed endless. Here is a condensed version of the products we gave away...
Fast German Auto: 1600cc engine
BUGPACK: Stroker crankshaft; header and exhaust
Kymco: Torque Meister tool
EMPI: Roof rack
West Coast Metric: A few $20 vouchers at their store
C.B. Performance: Valve covers; sump kit; T-shirts
Blimp: Fluted Euro lenses headlights; H4 headlights, and a bunch of VW accessories
Gene Berg Ent.: Berg shifter
Bug-Me-Video: Set of their tapes; a few T-shirts
Eagle One: Car care buckets
SCAT: Goody bags with T-shirts
Sector 9: Skateboard
Rocky Mountain Motorworks: Car cover; smoked taillight/headlight covers
Patti's Parts Palace: A few $20 gift certificates
Westside Classics: T-shirts
Musty Putter: Custom wood golf putters
Black Fly's: Sun glasses
Krispy Kreme Donuts: Gift certificates
The Real Source: Goody bags
A special thanks goes to our main sponsors: Commonwealth VW, BUGPACK, Chirco, SCAT; as well as our partnering sponsors: Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana, Wahoo's Fish Taco, Galaxy Theatre, Archie's Ice Cream, O.C. Weekly, and Westside Classics.
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 Above: A group of participants was nice enough to strike a pose for our camera!
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 Lorenzo Pearson, president of WCM and VW mechanic at heart, owns an amazing collection of our favorite toys. Some of the nice pieces include a Schwimm- wagen, a Kuebelwagen and a 1949 Split Window. Note the goofy military surfboard on the wall!
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 Time to hit the road! Partakers are now headed towards Orange County, home of Kymco Motorsport, our next stop.
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 A restored Oval and a rare Puma are followed by a bunch of cars belonging to Volksstyle, one of the many clubs that entered the event.
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 The first leg of the cruise ended at West Coast Metric. Driving top down in a convertible Ghia certainly seemed like a great idea.
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 Above: There seems to be a certain bond between Bay Window camper owners. These guys traveled together the whole time!
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 Editor Ryan Price and his '67 leads part of the cruise down Pacific Coast Highway, along the sand of Huntington Beach... It doesn't get any better than this.
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 The stretch between West Coast Metric and Kymco proved to be the longest. However, nobody seemed to complain. The drive was indeed very pleasant!
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 We discovered a pack of good-looking Volkswagen during this amazing journey, including this Cal Look Oval on its way to the Galaxy Theatre, our final destination.
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 VWTrends' Commonwealth VW New Beetle Turbo led the caravan most of the time, in the hand of our "ad guy," Rob Gonzales.
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 Brian Rivas' red Convertible looked excellent with its large diameter rims, a style popular in Germany for many years now.
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 Kids surely enjoyed the cruise as well. Who wouldn't in such a cool cabriolet?
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 VW Trends' Project '67, fitted with a Turbo City kit--see November 2002 VWT--covered flawlessly over 200 miles door-to-door during the day.
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 Above: West Coast Metric joined the fun with its "partly" restored '67 Sedan. In fact, only the left side of the Bug has been restored; the other half remains old and rough. Left: Do these people seem happy or what!
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 The list of raffle products was impressive, thanks to our numerous sponsors.
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 Michelle Mercado was the lucky one to win Fast German Auto's 1600cc engine. Well done!
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 Above: From vendor booths to entertaining activities, there was plenty to do once you arrived at the Galaxy Theatre.
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 Westfalias came pretty handy during the cruise. In addition, they end up being perfect to carry a family of dogs!
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 The Vee-Dubs can finally rest, while their owners went to lunch.
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 Wahoos Fish Taco was the official lunch caterer and main sponsor. Great food...Thanks guys!
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 Sometime in the afternoon, participants started to pile up in front of the VWTrends booth for the mega-raffle. This picture was taken from the tall ladder of a firetruck.
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 Seems like the guy on the right won something...
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 True custom VWs aren't that common these days. Take a look at this homemade convertible with smooth side panels--yep, there aren't any doors.
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