MVVC gives Goodvolks some ink in latest newsletter
Aug 2, 2010 12:14:09 GMT -5
Post by dansam on Aug 2, 2010 12:14:09 GMT -5
If you dont get the MVVC newsletter I wanted to pass along taht we got mentioned in two articals one on the Frankenmuth show and one about the gathering at the Gilmore german event.
This is a copy sans pictures.
I'll start off with the negative aspect (and really the only negative) of this event to get it out of
the way, right away. This was the official June event for the MVVC and attendance by MVVC
members was, uh, to be charitable, minimal. In fact, it was mainly attended by members of
the Good Volks VW Club, some of whom drove from the other side of the state (or in
one case, from way up north) to attend. Now, I'm aware that June is a very busy
month for just about everyone, but even given that, turn-out was disappointing. This
especially so since this event was such a fun yet relaxing affair.
With the bad (if not ugly) taken care of, here's what was good. The event, organized by
MVVC and Good Volks Club member, and local resident, Dan Pierce, was actually a three
day event, giving greater opportunity for participation. As part of the annual Frankenmuth
Bavarian Festival, the MVVC and Good Volks Club were invited to show off their VWs as part of the multi-day celebration.
A riverside location in Frankenmuth's beautiful Heritage Park was reserved for our VWs, highly visible to the festival
-goers, right near the entertainment and steps away from rides and food and beverage concessions. The park, too, is a
nice walk away from Frankenmuth's famous downtown shops, restaurants and attractions.
Friday's participation amounted to (ahem) three cars, two of which belong to
Dan: his souped-up, screaming yellow '66 Beetle and his silver New Beetle.
These two VWs were joined by a local resident's red '79 Beetle convertible. Saturday's
showing was a bit better. Dan's two Bugs and the red convertible were
joined by a white '66 Beetle with (literally) splash-y graphics, my red '69 Beetle,
three Bay Window campers and a Laser 917 kit car (an early '70s Porsche 917
racer replica based on a Beetle chassis).
This day brought about 20 Volks folks in the aforementioned VWs. We enjoyed
checking out each other's cars while exchanging our stories about them, and meeting
the Festival-goers who wandered over to have a look at our cars. We relaxed
and conversed under the little tent set up by the Good
Volks Club members along the riverside while a riverboat plied the waters and a
band played music under the big tent not far away. Several of us took in the Festival
entertainment, including the Maypole Dance in which Dan's daughters participated
and a hilarious, hands-tied-behind-back pie eating contest won by a skinny little boy
taken by surprise by his victory (this little guy was one hyper-efficient eating machine!).
It was this laid-back fellowship of the day, with the VWs as a focal point,
that I appreciated most. In the evening, our group hiked into downtown for dinner
at Zehnder's, Frankenmuth's signature restaurant, taking advantage of their
casual cafeteria-style dining room (with a la carte choices from the regular dining
room menu) and the discount coupons we participants received.
On Sunday, Dan's Beetles and the '79 Convertible were joined by a red '68 Beetle, a '62 Sunroof Beetle with a cool metallic
blue and silver two-tone paint scheme, and a rare gold Brazilian Puma (a production
sports car, never officially sold in the US, based on a VW chassis and mechanicals).
This was the day of the Festival parade, in which Dan's '66 Bug and the red
'79 Convertible represented Volkswagendom.
While participation in the event was a disappointment, those who came had a fine
time. Thankfully, our VWs have been invited back for next year's Bavarian Festival
and hopefully more MVVC members will be inclined to join in and make it even
more fun. Please check out the photos of the event in the MVVC website
(www.mvvc.net) photo gallery and in Dan's Frankenmuth Festival posting on the
MVVC website's forum, under "Events". And please think about joining us at the
Frankenmuth Bavarian Festival next year!
And next the Gilmore event.
The day was beautiful, the cars were great and the Gilmore Museum was a perfect place for an automobile
show. The Gilmore Museum is situated just west of the sleepy village of Hickory Corners, Michigan
and north of Gull Lake.
The Museum includes eight historic barns, a re-created 1930s service station, a small town train station,
and nearly three miles of paved roads. Visitors can catch a glimpse of one of the vintage cars or the authentic
London double-decker bus traveling about the Museum grounds. If
you visit on a weekend or special show, don’t be
surprised if the driver asks you to hop in for
a nostalgic road trip! Besides the wonderful
collection of automobiles, the museum
has nearly 75 vintage pedal cars
on exhibit. One of North America’s
largest displays of automotive hood
ornaments and name badges can also
be found in the combined collections of
The Gilmore and CCCA museums.
The Museum is growing by leaps and bounds and
has recently added the Franklin Car Museum, Pierce-Arrow and a special area of cars manufactured in Kalamazoo.
It has been rumored that the Cadillac Museum will be moving to Gilmore. The nostalgic Blue-Moon
Diner, this eatery was a roadside landmark in Meridan, Connecticut, serving locals and travelers alike.
The Good Volks VW Club of Western Michigan hoisted the show that saw the Michiana VW Gruppe
and Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club, a couple of Porsches, and one BMW attend. The show was for all
German Automobiles. Attending the show were more than 45 Volkswagens.
The Good Volks VW Club is a low key, no requirements, no dues, air cooled Volkswagen Group.
What keeps them going is member participation. They hold monthly gatherings and attend
many car shows throughout the year.
At the same time as the All German Car was a Jensen-
Healey Show with cars from all over the country. If
you don’t know what a Jensen-Healey is you are not
alone. The Jensen-Healey is a two-seater convertible
sports car that was originally produced between 1972
and 1976 by Jensen Motors, Ltd. Roughly 10,000 were
produced at West Bromwich, England. A related fastback,
the Jensen GT was introduced in 1975. They
were fast and pricey. The Healey in Jensen-Healey is the
same as the Austin-Healey.
Besides the Jensen-Healey group there was a very small showing for a Mustang group. They had
This is a copy sans pictures.
I'll start off with the negative aspect (and really the only negative) of this event to get it out of
the way, right away. This was the official June event for the MVVC and attendance by MVVC
members was, uh, to be charitable, minimal. In fact, it was mainly attended by members of
the Good Volks VW Club, some of whom drove from the other side of the state (or in
one case, from way up north) to attend. Now, I'm aware that June is a very busy
month for just about everyone, but even given that, turn-out was disappointing. This
especially so since this event was such a fun yet relaxing affair.
With the bad (if not ugly) taken care of, here's what was good. The event, organized by
MVVC and Good Volks Club member, and local resident, Dan Pierce, was actually a three
day event, giving greater opportunity for participation. As part of the annual Frankenmuth
Bavarian Festival, the MVVC and Good Volks Club were invited to show off their VWs as part of the multi-day celebration.
A riverside location in Frankenmuth's beautiful Heritage Park was reserved for our VWs, highly visible to the festival
-goers, right near the entertainment and steps away from rides and food and beverage concessions. The park, too, is a
nice walk away from Frankenmuth's famous downtown shops, restaurants and attractions.
Friday's participation amounted to (ahem) three cars, two of which belong to
Dan: his souped-up, screaming yellow '66 Beetle and his silver New Beetle.
These two VWs were joined by a local resident's red '79 Beetle convertible. Saturday's
showing was a bit better. Dan's two Bugs and the red convertible were
joined by a white '66 Beetle with (literally) splash-y graphics, my red '69 Beetle,
three Bay Window campers and a Laser 917 kit car (an early '70s Porsche 917
racer replica based on a Beetle chassis).
This day brought about 20 Volks folks in the aforementioned VWs. We enjoyed
checking out each other's cars while exchanging our stories about them, and meeting
the Festival-goers who wandered over to have a look at our cars. We relaxed
and conversed under the little tent set up by the Good
Volks Club members along the riverside while a riverboat plied the waters and a
band played music under the big tent not far away. Several of us took in the Festival
entertainment, including the Maypole Dance in which Dan's daughters participated
and a hilarious, hands-tied-behind-back pie eating contest won by a skinny little boy
taken by surprise by his victory (this little guy was one hyper-efficient eating machine!).
It was this laid-back fellowship of the day, with the VWs as a focal point,
that I appreciated most. In the evening, our group hiked into downtown for dinner
at Zehnder's, Frankenmuth's signature restaurant, taking advantage of their
casual cafeteria-style dining room (with a la carte choices from the regular dining
room menu) and the discount coupons we participants received.
On Sunday, Dan's Beetles and the '79 Convertible were joined by a red '68 Beetle, a '62 Sunroof Beetle with a cool metallic
blue and silver two-tone paint scheme, and a rare gold Brazilian Puma (a production
sports car, never officially sold in the US, based on a VW chassis and mechanicals).
This was the day of the Festival parade, in which Dan's '66 Bug and the red
'79 Convertible represented Volkswagendom.
While participation in the event was a disappointment, those who came had a fine
time. Thankfully, our VWs have been invited back for next year's Bavarian Festival
and hopefully more MVVC members will be inclined to join in and make it even
more fun. Please check out the photos of the event in the MVVC website
(www.mvvc.net) photo gallery and in Dan's Frankenmuth Festival posting on the
MVVC website's forum, under "Events". And please think about joining us at the
Frankenmuth Bavarian Festival next year!
And next the Gilmore event.
The day was beautiful, the cars were great and the Gilmore Museum was a perfect place for an automobile
show. The Gilmore Museum is situated just west of the sleepy village of Hickory Corners, Michigan
and north of Gull Lake.
The Museum includes eight historic barns, a re-created 1930s service station, a small town train station,
and nearly three miles of paved roads. Visitors can catch a glimpse of one of the vintage cars or the authentic
London double-decker bus traveling about the Museum grounds. If
you visit on a weekend or special show, don’t be
surprised if the driver asks you to hop in for
a nostalgic road trip! Besides the wonderful
collection of automobiles, the museum
has nearly 75 vintage pedal cars
on exhibit. One of North America’s
largest displays of automotive hood
ornaments and name badges can also
be found in the combined collections of
The Gilmore and CCCA museums.
The Museum is growing by leaps and bounds and
has recently added the Franklin Car Museum, Pierce-Arrow and a special area of cars manufactured in Kalamazoo.
It has been rumored that the Cadillac Museum will be moving to Gilmore. The nostalgic Blue-Moon
Diner, this eatery was a roadside landmark in Meridan, Connecticut, serving locals and travelers alike.
The Good Volks VW Club of Western Michigan hoisted the show that saw the Michiana VW Gruppe
and Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club, a couple of Porsches, and one BMW attend. The show was for all
German Automobiles. Attending the show were more than 45 Volkswagens.
The Good Volks VW Club is a low key, no requirements, no dues, air cooled Volkswagen Group.
What keeps them going is member participation. They hold monthly gatherings and attend
many car shows throughout the year.
At the same time as the All German Car was a Jensen-
Healey Show with cars from all over the country. If
you don’t know what a Jensen-Healey is you are not
alone. The Jensen-Healey is a two-seater convertible
sports car that was originally produced between 1972
and 1976 by Jensen Motors, Ltd. Roughly 10,000 were
produced at West Bromwich, England. A related fastback,
the Jensen GT was introduced in 1975. They
were fast and pricey. The Healey in Jensen-Healey is the
same as the Austin-Healey.
Besides the Jensen-Healey group there was a very small showing for a Mustang group. They had
