Last year, the V-Dubs Club Malta joined other VW clubs worldwide to commemorate the birth of the VW Beetle, otherwise known as World Beetle Day.  The event, conceived by the Fusca Clube do Brazil, is commemorated by encouraging members to drive their Beetles to work on the day on which the contract for the development of the car we all (at least air-cooled buffs) love so much to show the modern world what it was like to drive to work so many years ago when the VW Beetle was in its heyday.

The date, actually the 22nd June, was once again commemorated in Malta, but in a different manner, as we feel that a good number of owners still drive their Beetles to work every day.  So, as in the past year, we organized a car show, which due to the Euro 2000 football championships, had to be held on a Sunday morning, and the 25th June was the nearest date to fit the bill.  It was also different from last year’s event, when a drive to Hal Far was organized.  This year, a car show was held at the St Augustine’s School yard.  Although other clubs restrict this event to just Beetles, we also include water-cooled cars, as we do with all our other events.

The event was a success, with over thirty cars turning up for the show.  A good mixture of models ensured that viewers got a good perception of what the VW world is all about.  Cars were organized into seven categories, covering original and non-original Beetles, Vans, as well as original and non-original Water Cooled cars, sub-divided into Marks 1 & 2, and Marks 3 on.  In determining which water coolers fell into what category, the Golf was taken as the benchmark.

As the weather was considered to be hot, the Committee deemed it fit to organize some refreshments for members and viewers.  The bar was ‘manned’ by a couple of helpers, press-ganged into doing the job at short notice.  We also held a collection towards the school’s funds as a thank you gesture for the use of the premises.  The sum of Lm 10, collected from people present, was increased by Lm 15 from the club’s funds to round off the donation to a modest Lm 25.

At the end of the show, prizes were handed out to the first and second placed cars in each category.  The prizes for the first placed cars were splendid Burago models of the Beetle, air-cooled for the air-cooled categories and the New Beetle models for the water-cooled classes whilst prizes for the second placed cars were discounts on parts purchased from A Spiteri Auto Parts, one of the leading aftermarket suppliers on the island.

The results of the event are reproduced below.

RESULTS
 

Judging by the well turned out cars at this event, the show is very popular amongst members.  The Club is hoping to turn this into an annual event for which members may start planning in advance.

The next event was once again a repetition of last year’s summer event – a barbeque.  Although various members assure us that they would enjoy such social events, the turn out on the day was slightly below what we are now used to.  No doubt the rest of the members could not make it due to other family commitments on the day. 

Those present for this event, got round to some serious discussions about projects in progress during which useful hints and experiences were exchanged, mainly whilst waiting for our slow cook to dish up the various mouth watering burgers and sausages everyone seemed to opt for.  Another barbeque was held in early September, for which some other members turned up.  Again the event was an enjoyable night out by the sea for all those members who could make it.  We hope that next summer, those members who could not join us, will be able to do so. 
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