When did your obsession begin?

[vujade]

Hey guys, I got this idea from another forum. When did your fascination or obsession begin with Volkswagens?

For me it all began right here... :D

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid99/p9047ff28c8682ca0afbf6c4b96beb364/f9f00e45.jpg

*Read the fine print on the photo
*Photo was taken in May of 1971

[volksdragon]

1981 at the age of 10
sitting in my dads 74 ford ltd in the gas station when a grey ghia pulled in and i was in love. my dad said "yeah thats a volkswagen, or as i like to say LEMON" i knew at that point i had to have a volkswagen. i knew it had to be a damn good car cause every car my dad ever bought was a LEMON, and he never owned a vw.

[Supa Ninja]

Very well where do I begin...the winter of '76 riding home from the hospital after being brought into this world in my mom's '68 Ghia. I still have fond memories of that car. She sold it when I was 8. Before that my father got a Rabbit, then at age 14 I got my 1302 (the same one that is getting GL'd), three years later my sister got a '84 GTI. She now has a Lexie and a '99 Jetta. There has always been a VW in my life and this summer I will have owned my 1302 for half of my life, wow that's crazy.

Nick

[oasis]

Summer of 1968, I drove my dad's '66 Beetle on Sundays at the age of 12½.

May 1986, I bought my first VW -- an '86 Jetta GLI. It gave over a quarter million miles to us.

Sept. 2001, lifelong desire for a convertible went from a Thing or a Karmann Ghia to a 2002 Cabrio. May 2002, desire for a daily driver for my wife went from a Type 4 to a 2002 Golf TDI. At some point, a US magazine had an article on Beetle styles/looks. Read splurb on German Look and was hooked -- an air-cooled solution that fits my style.

[boygenius]

Back in high school my friend had a white baja bug that we used to get in trouble in. My girlfriend had a 1968 white baja bug that we would take to the nearby lake during lunch breaks. My buddy Zeb had a purple manx buggie that we would take off road every chance we got. That was also the first car I ever drove. I was hooked from that moment on. :)

[Bugnutz]

Literally while still in diapers. My dad was buying beetles in the 1950's before there was much of a dealer network and you had to go to NYC to get them. We always got a Deluxe Sunroof Sedan, and he would get a new one every year or two, so we had a bunch of 'em- until 1974 when the price got out of hand and the dealer wouldn't talk price because of the oil embargo.

I remember as a little kid getting the really cool HO-scale toy cars that they used to sell at the dealer parts counter. Wish I still had 'em, but at least I inherited the spare tire accessory tool kit!

-Mark.