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posted on July 14th, 2014 at 06:12 PM
What were the "few small errors"?
Tuned Type IV power - shaking out the rust.
Carl and Emily
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posted on July 14th, 2014 at 07:03 PM
Yes,.. thanks Jeff
1303Steve
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posted on July 15th, 2014 at 12:34 PM
it completely ignores later VW motorsport activities, like Greg Mackie’s hiilclimb and later sports sedan championship winning Beetle, the VW
dominance that even Peter Brook couldn’t beat at Catalina rallycross, the continuing success in hillclimbs and many other forms of motorsport
tar76
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posted on July 15th, 2014 at 05:17 PM
Peter Keegan in the Camel Bug drag racing.....???
"Obey your Dreams"!
62 Std beetle.
65 11 wnd Split "The Cross".
6? coming very soon!!!!
Phil74Camper
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posted on July 15th, 2014 at 07:41 PM
Hmm, a lot of those Australian historical photos used in the video were pulled straight off the Club VW Sydney website !
Joe Kenwright (the bald guy on the left who says 'Vokeswagen') is a motoring historian. If you pull out your Australian VW Power #16 magazine
(Aug/Sep 1991) and turn to page 64, you'll see his article on Australian VW Beetle Guide. But he is wrong to say that Harnett decided Australia
'wasn't ready' to make and sell the VW. It was 1946, when the factory was still in shambles and its future uncertain, that the British called for
interest in it. But the Australians didn't send Hartnett until 1948, by which time the factory had been significantly repaired and it looked like the
VW had a future. Harnett wanted the Kubel but bodies were not available - Ambi-Budd was in the Russian sector of Berlin. Instead , he wanted to
procure the factory press equipment for use in Australia. But at that late stage the British said no, and the Australians got nothing.
As for Mark Oastler (is it just me or does he sound like an ignorant smart arse?):
"It had the aerodynamics of a teapot." What is that supposed to mean? The Beetle had a Cd of about 0.48, poor by today's standards but excellent
for the 1950s. The VW had better aerodynamics than its competitors of the time (Morris Minor, Standard 10 etc).
The "fearful camber change" made the VW "very dodgy at cornering and braking, particularly at high speed." Rubbish. He is measuring by today's
standards, not of the time. SMH Motoring editor of the 1950s and 60s, Sturt Griffith B.E., praised the VW's handling and braking, and called its
oversteering tendency "delightful for the sporting driver" and "easy to correct." The VW's cornering and braking in racing speaks for itself -
see the Armstrong 500 results in 1963, for example, which he later describes.
Joe's story of the rise and fall of VW's local production is good (with more shots taken from the Club VW website). But local sales peaked in 1964
and dropped in 1965, as well as 1966. VW had already lost the title of Australia's favourite small car from 1961, as the Mini 850 outsold it from
then on.
Back to Mark. "The Beetles won the Redex, Mobilgas and Ampol trials year after year." No they didn't. There were 3 Redex Trials, 1953-54-55. A
Peugeot won in 1953, and Jack Murray's Ford V8 won in 1954. VWs only won one Redex, 1955, when they did finish 1-2 (Laurie Whitehead and Eddie
Perkins). There were also three Ampol trials, 1956-58. A Peugeot won in 1956 and a Holden in 1958, while Jack Witter's VW won the 1957. It was the
Mobilgas that VWs won every year, 1956-57-58. He was right though, VW's success did bring about the end of the 'round Australia' trials.
And he twice refers to the VW as the 'first generation Beetle.' Huh? The 1998 New Beetle, and the current Beetle, are Golfs underneath and aren't
the same vehicle.
Towards the end of the video, Joe says the VW put Australians on the road "who otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford it." Wrong, in Australia
the VW was not a cheap car. Most of its competitors such as the Standard Ten, Renault 750 Deluxe, Morris Minor, Ford Anglia, Fiat 600 and Austin A30
were cheaper, and especially the later Mini 850. The 1962 VW Standard was an attempt at a cheaper VW but was a sales failure. The 'Cheap VW' myth
comes from the USA, where it was indeed cheap compared to the big US cars. But not here.
And while VW sales did drop off in 1966-67 (and indeed 1968-69 too), Beetle sales did increase in 1970 (with two models, the 1500 and 1300), and again
further in 1971 (Superbug). Only from 1972 did Australian sales go into permanent decline. In 1974 the Passat outsold the VW 1300 and Superbug 1600
combined; but Joe and Mark don't mention struts at all.
The VW Club of Vic segment is great. Well done to our friends in Melbourne!
MY68VW
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posted on July 16th, 2014 at 09:09 AM
Thanks Phil
Tuned Type IV power - shaking out the rust.
modnrod
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posted on July 16th, 2014 at 12:13 PM
Quote:
Originally
posted by Phil74Camper
The "fearful camber change" made the VW "very dodgy at cornering and braking, particularly at high speed." Rubbish. He is measuring by today's
standards, not of the time. SMH Motoring editor of the 1950s and 60s, Sturt Griffith B.E., praised the VW's handling and braking, and called its
oversteering tendency "delightful for the sporting driver" and "easy to correct." The VW's cornering and braking in racing speaks for itself -
see the Armstrong 500 results in 1963, for example, which he later describes.
Bravo Phil! But just in case we all get too upset at a TV program not telling the truth (like THAT would ever happen........), here's a little
something to make you grin about that terrible rear-engine weight bias and skinny tyres.
