2014 GTI | The Spirited Drive

This past weekend, I was in Nashville, TN visiting some friends before my upcoming birthday. Birthdays are a pretty special time for someone young like myself, and my friends had planned out the entire weekend that turned out to be amazing. One of the things that they had planned was to go to the 2^nd Annual Volksfest. As I was told before we went, it is basically a German festival with all of the usual German trimmings: delicious brats and schnitzel, ice-cold German beer, and live Polka Music. But, to my pleasant surprise, it was also a car show featuring Volkswagens (hence the emphasis on the “Volks” in the event’s title). As we walked in, we could hear the guys on stage playing some German tunes, smell the mix of tasty beverages and cooked meats in the air, and see the line of Volkswagens on display.

Now, as my friends knew me all too well, they understood that I would eventually gravitate to the line of Volkswagens-I tend to have a tendency to be forcefully pulled towards anything automotive, especially German autos-and of course, after a beer or two, we walked over there.

While independent owners brought out their prized “Deutschen” vehicles at the festival, the entire event was sponsored by the local Volkswagen Dealer (Hallmark Volkswagen in Cool Springs) in the Nashville area. This meant that there were several 1960s VW Beetles parked next to new 2014-2015 VW Beetles. The iconic Beetle shape hasn’t changed much over the decades, and despite weight differences and technological differences, they still emulate a sense of fun and quirkiness. There were of course several VW vans parked along the line along with some unusual models, but there were some other models that were rarer finds that normally don’t come to mind when thinking of Volkswagens. After talking with the owner of a beautiful, unique, and sentimental 1966 VW Beetle, you understand that a car, whether it is used as show piece, a project build, or basic transportation, can become like a family member, particularly a car as inviting, fun, and quirky as a VW Beetle. Your car will endure most of the times that you go through, whether it be good or bad.

I admit, I am a sucker for German automobiles, especially ones designed and built upon the legacies of Porsche family, so to see these old air-cooled engines coupled with iconic shapes and design was quite a treat. As we were leaving the festival, I was just reminded of a simple, learned fact: German Beer and German Automobiles are similar in that they are well made and they perform very well. Prost!