viawest december 2012

December 2012 Via West

Your stories and photos can also be in the magazine...just email them to... [email protected]

Seasons GreetingsSeasons Greetings



CONTACT US YOUR COMMITTEE (cont’d)

VOLKSWAGEN CLUB OF WA (Inc) EDITOR: 0407 347 340

MAIL: PO Box 175 Ray Willis [email protected]

Victoria Park CONCESSION LICENCE: (08) 9332 6919

Western Australia 6979 Rod McSwain

ABN: 31 610 140 537 CMC LIAISON OFFICER: (08) 9342 8703

TELEPHONE: (08) 9342 8703 Richard Hines

E-MAIL: [email protected] PROPERTY OFFICER: (08) 9342 8703

WEBSITE: www.vwclubwa.com Richard Hines

MERCHANDISE OFFICER: (08) 9332 6919

YOUR COMMITTEE Rod McSwain

PRESIDENT: 0408 183 396 SOCIAL SECRETARY: 0408 183 396

Jamie Barrett [email protected] Jamie Barrett

VICE PRESIDENT: 0415 165 175 SPORTS ORGANISER: Currently grouped under

Graham Tibbs As above “Events Coordinator”

SECRETARY: 0407 347 340 PUBLICITY OFFICER:

Ray Willis [email protected] As above

MEMBERSHIPS: 0407 347 340 GENERAL COMMITTEE: Patrick Spiteri, Dave Moore,

Ray Willis [email protected] Kim Muste (country liaison South West)

TREASURER: 0438 819 443 WEBMASTER:

Justin Bayley [email protected] Tina Moore [email protected]



VIAWEST MAGAZINE

VOLKSWAGEN EVENTS

Advertising:

Please send your ‘for sale’ or ‘wanted’ adverts by mail or email to the Editor before the publication deadline.

Normally one event will be nominated as the club run each month. Some months will have more than one event. Not all events attended by the club will be club organised.

Please note that non-members are welcome to come to the club organised events. If you have any friends you would like to accompany us, please bring them along.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for club organised events give a Committee member a call or an e-mail and the committee so we can put it on our calendar.

The VW Events Calendar lists the upcoming events and club runs for some months in advance in chronological order.

Fees:

Members - 1/4 page adverts are free.

Non-Members - 1/4 page adverts are $5.00

Please contact the Editor to find out about commercial advertising in the magazine, inserting flyers or advertising on the website.

Publication Deadline: The ViaWest magazine’s dead-

line for articles for the next issue is . January 13

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Volkswagen Club of WA (Inc), its Committee or members.

Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month at John Hughes Volkswagen in Victoria Park, starting at 6:30pm. Committee meetings are open to all members and invited guests.

Membership and Birthdays IN THIS ISSUE page

The Club ............................. p 2

The Club (contd) ................. p 4

President’s Spot .................. p 5

Club Event Calendar .......... p 6

VW Club Plates ................... p 7

February Club Run .............. p 9

NSW 2013 Bug-In ............... p 10

SHANNONS INSURANCE

2012 Day of the VW ........... p 11

VW Hilton Trip (part 2) ........ p 18

Volkswagen News

Passat Alltrack .............. p 21

Oz Best Car Awards ..... p 25

Drive’s Awards .............. p 26

5 Star Golf VII ............... p 27

Ute of the Year ............. P 28

TopGear Magazine ....... p 28

Vw Convertible USA ..... p 29

FRONT COVER:

Season Greetings VW style

Happy

Birthday

to our

members…

Peter Abetz

Ross Booth

Sally Duxbury

Deborah Evans

Alan Grover

Mitchell Hawke

Paul Hunt

Rosalie Instone

Nevil Jones

Reilly Jones

Sam Karamfiles

Christopher Larkin

David Moore

Kim Muste

Rachael Potter

Bettylynn Richards

Christopher Ridd

Paul Rossenrode

Tim Waters

Peter White

Ray Willis

Welcome

to the new

members… Cassidy Austin

Helen Barnett

Shaun Lawrence

Joe Baroni

Jim Steers

Craig Morris

Chris Mannon-Savage

Chris Ridd

Joel Beaver

Carl Guntrip

Darren Roddy

Peter White

Brendan Wood

Tony Wilde

Vince Tuck

Alfio Catalano

Stuart Blagg

Graham Dow

Greg Suosaari

Mitchell Hawke

Wayne Pearce

Aletia Artemis

Andy Cotton

Alan Avice Du Buisson

Steve Robinson

Rob Whitelaw

Dean Barnett

Rob Brown

Andy Macey

The club now has 152 active

memberships



I can now relax knowing that Shannons Day of the Volkswagen is behind us. As much as I love the day, the build up can be quite stressful. This year the stress level was far lower due to the fact that we had over 17 volunteers helping on the day. Without this support DoVW could not happen in its current capacity. On behalf of the Club “A BIG THANK YOU” goes out that team of people for their contribution! Many more helped out prior to the event so a BIG thank you goes out to them too!

The day had a great feel to it in my opinion, the feedback received has been great too and some ideas have been shared with us. These ideas and more are being considered to help improve the DoVW in the coming years.

It is worth mentioning that memberships are at a high. This is awesome news – welcome and thanks for joining the Volkswagen Club of WA. Remember that we have a committee made up of volunteers that give lots of their own time to the club. We are always up for more help and suggestions in ensuring we deliver on the constitution and more.

Here’s to a fun and safe 2013 Happy New Year!

Jamie Barrett

Club President



Next month... January 2013

# indicates a club run Wednesday 2nd ALFRED’S of GUILDFORD

7pm cnr of Meadow & James St Guildford

Wednesday 9th MONTHLY COMMITTEE MEETING Contact: Ray Willis 0407 347 340

6:30pm @ John Hughes Volkswagen, Victoria Park

Sunday 13th SOUTH WEST MONTHLY GATHERING Contact: Kim 0408 914 400

BUSSELTON Contact: Mark 0449 947 782

Wednesday 23rd EVENTS COORDINATION MEETING Contact: Ray Willis 0407 347 340


February 2013 Wednesday 6th ALFRED’S of GUILDFORD






Saturday 16th RAAFA AVIATION HERITAGE MUSEUM Contact: Ray Willis 0407 347 340

See page 9 for information

Wednesday 27th EVENTS COORDINATION MEETING Contact: Ray Willis 0407 347 340


March 2013

February February 2013 February 2013 Wednesday 6th ALFRED’S of GUILDFORD






Saturday 16th MUNDARING HOTEL RUN Contact: Jamie Barrett 0408 183 396

Details to follow in next magazine.

Wednesday 27th EVENTS COORDINATION MEETING Contact: Ray Willis 0407 347 340


April 2013 29th March - 1st April 2013

NEW SOUTH WALES BUG-IN 2013 See page 9



Here are some sample plates already on VW Club Member vehicles.

The end of VW Club Plates is

coming... About 10 years ago the club came up with the concept of having its own identifying club plates. Since then the club has sold a number of plates to members and they are proudly dis-played on their cars.

Last year we received a letter from the Department of Transport (Government of WA) that they intended to retire our club plates because of falling sales.

DPI has introduced a mini-mum sales requirement of ten (10) sets of plates per annum.

Unfortunately one of the rea-

sons for falling sales is the continual price hikes by the department. Last year they were priced at $315 per set of plates...now they are $327 per set.

Last year the club gained an extension of time to be able to give you, our club members at least one more chance to buy our club plates...the deadline was December 2011.

Now….

The VW Club committee has now been able to negotiate, what appears to be a FINAL EXTENSION, until 2nd

January 2013.

Extension past this date is solely at the

discretion of the Department of Transport, primarily if enough plates are sold.

However, the VW Club committee has decided that when the Department of Transport retire our plates, that will be end of the series. It could be as early as January 2013.

Once more, in an effort to make it easi-er for the club members to afford our

club plates, the club has decided to keep the discount price of $300 per set…yes now you save $27

per set.

If you are interested, you can contact the club at any time for an application

form and information sheet or just to discuss your ideas.

You can purchase these and put them into storage if you do not have a vehicle for them yet.



Member Story of the Month wins a 50 fuel voucher .

The VW Club Committee is pleased to announce the competition for the

“Member Story of the Month” IS BACK!

Members will need to send in ‘their’ stories with photos

to the editor at [email protected] (or by post).

All stories received & published will be in a monthly

draw, the f irst drawn winning a 50 fuel voucher.

The adjudged (committee) best story received and published in a f inancial year will earn the member a

free membership.

The Editor and Committee always have the discretion not to pub-

lish stories deemed unsuitable.

Starts from 1 July 2012 until further notice.

Only open to current financial memberships.

Stories or articles from another source are not eligible (although welcome in the maga-zine) nor are stories or articles submitted by

the VW Club Committee.

A ‘multiple part’ story is only counted as one

story in the first month it is published.

There is a limit of 1 fuel voucher per member-

ship per financial year.

GET YOUR STORY IN NOW....

V-neck Polo - design for the ladies & girls 30.00 each A name can be added for another $5.00

Polo Shirt - for the men and boys 30.00 each A pocket is an extra $5.00 A name can be added for another $5.00

T-shirt - unique design with the club 3D logo on front and back

25.00 each Stand out in the crowd.

VW Club stickers 2.00 each Official club logo 3D club logo “I’M A VW CLUB MEMBER”

VW Club Cloth badge 5.00 each

Day of the Volkswagen collectors cloth badge and annual stickers (limited numbers)

2.00 each

VW Club Peak Cap with the traditional club logo - adjustable velcro band at the rear

15.00 each

2011 Toodyay Bug-In - 42nd National Bug-In Metal car badge (limited number)

25.00 each If you have any ideas for merchandise, please let the club know.

Merchandise Officer: Rod McSwainMerchandise Officer: Rod McSwain

Phone:Phone: (08) 9332 6919(08) 9332 6919

Email:Email: [email protected] [email protected]

Purchases can be made by cash, cheque or credit card Purchases can be made by cash, cheque or credit card (Visa or MasterCard) (Visa or MasterCard) -- postage charges may be extra.postage charges may be extra.



Cruising

there Freestyle To take you own route to the museum.

To arrive at Museum by 10:30am.

North of the River To assemble in Kings Park, location and coordinator to be advised, for a 10:00am departure and run down the Freeway.

Exit at Leach Highway (left hand turn) for the first turn on the right (at lights) into Bull Creek Drive.


South of the River To assemble in Bull Creek Shopping Centre, location to be advised, coordi-nator will be Rod McSwain for a 10:00am departure and short lap around the suburbs.


Location:

The RAAFA Aviation Heritage Muse-um, Bull Creek Road, Bull Creek is on the corner of Bull Creek Road and Leach Highway, just to the east of the Kwinana Freeway.

Opening Hours:

10.00am to 4.00pm

Features:

There is a shop that sells, drinks, ice-creams, books, models and other souvenirs.

There are two planes for children to play in.

Inspections of the Lancaster are $100 with no concession and a maximum of 4 people at any giv-en time to stop overcrowding.

It takes about 4 hours to get a good look at the whole museum.

Event

details... Date:

Saturday

16th February

Club Run Entry:

Adults 6

Children* 4

Club Member Children* FREE * children ages 4 - 16 years

Note: Normal entry fees are Adults $10; Children $5; Family (2 adults & 2children under 16) $25; Students & Pensioners $7.50

For ease of entry into the museum we will collect the entry money before we enter

to eliminate a long queue.

Special Event: Because it will be a Saturday the Arm-strong Siddley, Cheetah 9 engine will be run by our VW Club and Committee Member Richard Hines at 1:00 pm

It is a 13 litre radial engine, with a big propeller, which makes all the right noises and which is quite impressive.

Richard would like someone with a good video to film the whole process and then put it on the website and/or the net.

BBQ: If there is enough interest, the VW Club will consider putting on a sau-sage sizzle at the museum’s BBQ. Tables and chairs are available.

Meeting time at Museum: To be there by 10:30am for a GROUP entry at 11:00am into the museum. Monies will be collected in the car park from 10:30am onwards.

RAAFA Aviation Heritage Museum ...the Club Run for February 2013



New South Wales Bug-In 2013 The “OLD Buggers “ of NSW have pleasure in announcing & inviting you to what may be the last ever Bug In in NSW, in

the Beautiful Blue Mountains, just outside Sydney from 29th March to 1st April 2013.

Accommodation is available from “Blackheath Caravan Park” Prince Edward St, Blackheath NSW

Telephone: 0247 878101 Website: www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au

They are currently installing 8 brand new cabins, prices & reservations are not available for a few weeks. But you should make an inquiry. Mention the Bug In but unfortunately it will not get you a discount. 4 nights are required @ Easter. Next

door is Lakeview Holiday Park who also have cabins Telephone: 0247 878534 for prices & availability.

Please Note: Easter is a busy time so you should not delay in booking accommodation.

Alternative accommodation try Googling caravan parks Katoomba Blue Mountains or if you want to go a little upmarket try Blue Mountains accommodation for Hotels, Motels, Cottages, B&B’s etc. etc.

DON’T WAIT, BOOK NOW.

Bug In Events

Friday Night will be held @ Blackheath Caravan Park

Saturday we will hold a Car Display on the shore of Wentworth Falls lake with visits to tourist attractions in the area after-wards.

Saturday Night will be left open but we will have a suggestion for a get together probably in the main street of Katoomba where a multitude of restaurants are available.

Sunday Sunday we will be holding a Driver Education Day @ Hampton, aboutwe will be holding a Driver Education Day @ Hampton, about 45 mins run 45 mins run away.away. This will give you the opportunity of practicing your car handling & obstacle This will give you the opportunity of practicing your car handling & obstacle avoidance skills. There may also be the opportunity to do some driving on dirt avoidance skills. There may also be the opportunity to do some driving on dirt roads.roads. All participants will be required to sign an indemnity against all damage & acci-All participants will be required to sign an indemnity against all damage & acci-dent. NO responsibility will be held by the ground owners or organizers. Those not dent. NO responsibility will be held by the ground owners or organizers. Those not wishing to do the driver education canwishing to do the driver education can do a tour indo a tour in Jenolan Caves.Jenolan Caves.

Sunday Night Sunday Night venue has not been finalized as yet, nor has venue has not been finalized as yet, nor has

MondayMonday..

We should have a Bug In shirt, cap & other souvenirs avail-We should have a Bug In shirt, cap & other souvenirs avail-ableable but will be limited to prepaid orders only!but will be limited to prepaid orders only!

RegardsRegards Christopher HarperChristopher Harper



2012 Shannons Day of the

Volkswagen Each state holds their own Day of the Volkswagen

regularly across Australia. The Volkswagen Club of

Western Australia holds its Day of the Volkswagen

on the first Sunday of December every year. For

2012 that was the 2nd of December. Shannons In-

surance once again sponsored what is the biggest

show of the year in the WA Volkswagen calendar as

they have done now for over 10 years.

The venue was Taylor Reserve, a lovely tree lined

grassed area on the banks of the Swan River with

the city buildings providing the backdrop on the

horizon. The weather was a fine and warm 30° with

near cloudless skies. The many attendees used the

free sunscreen provided by the VW Club and a num-

ber of hats and caps were sold from the merchan-

dise tent.

The Committee and many other member volunteers

arrived around 7:30am to prepare the site for the

big day. The stalls and entertainment along with the

food and drink suppliers arrived and set up in their

allocated bays. All was ready for when the gates

opened to the public at 09:30.

This year the club trialled a new format with vehi-

cles not wishing to be judged, paying their entry fee

and being directed where to park up for the day on

the concourse by the Club marshals.

Those that wished to be judged paid their entry fee

and were directed to join the line at a judging tent.

While in line, competitors had the option of some

last minute cleaning and shining before the judges

reviewed their vehicle. The judging tent allowed the

judges to remain at the tent reviewing the cars as

they passed through the judging area. Judging re-

sults were sorted and ready as soon as the car

moved on.

It was a great success with judging finishing earlier

than in previous years where the judges had to

move around the concourse reviewing the vehicles

where they parked. All the rosettes were on the

winning cars well before the trophy presentations

and announcements.

There were 28 trophies up for grabs; 5 for each of

the best Beetles; best Kombis/Transporters; and

best water-cooled categories. The balance of the

trophy classes were awarded for the various exam-

(Continued on page 13)

Best Buggy Modified..........Sean Jones

Best Rat Look............Graham Tibbs

Presidents Choice.............Bernie Brix

Judges Choice...........Dave Moore



Best Type 1 Beetle Standard pre ’67.......... Colin Seth

Best Type 1 Beetle Standard ’67 on..........Dirk Sheldon

Best Type 1 Beetle Karmann Convertible .........Michelle Dufall

Best Type 1 Beetle Modified..........Sean Duffin

Best Type 2 Kombi T1 Passenger............John Terpu

Best Type 2 Kombi T1 Commercial...........Peter Kopic

Best Type 2 kombi T2 Passenger ............Alan Du Buisson

Best Type 2 kombi T2 Commercial..........Patrick Spiteri



ples of the VW brand in-

cluding the likes of best

Rat Look. This was the one

to win as it was a very im-

pressive trophy hand made

by the sponsors from Mun-

ster Garage.

Also new this year, was the addition of the Telethon

children’s charity. Judging entrants were required to

donate a gold coin on top of their entry fee, while

the donation containers were made available at the

Club tent along with the additional regular circuit

amongst the crowd.

One member went to a great effort and collected a

VW powered 1835cc Benson Gyrocopter kindly lent

to the club by the RAAFA Aviation Heritage Museum.

It was one of the features of the day and a big hit.

The other was the Club’s newly acquired Kombi Pan-

el Van that was on display with a “Help required to

restore” sign attached. Members could see the task

in hand and were given the opportunity to put their

details down to join the restoration team. It should

look a lot different at next year’s show.

The old favourites were still the Club Beetle floor

pan with the cutaway sections that shows every-

body, especially the young ones the workings with-

out the body on and the Rocker Cover Racing,

where people designed some very novel racers and

contested them against each other for the age-

group prizes. For those that have not seen this be-

fore, VW rocker covers have wheels attached to

them (and some are ‘decorated for fun’) and raced

in pairs down a 4 metre 2 lane track…the fastest is

the winner. Heats are held in age-groups until only

one winner in each survives.

The usual was there for the kids again, a free

bouncy castle, ice cream van, face painting and the

colouring-in competition with prizes awarded to the

best colouring-in in the different age groups. In ad-

dition there were two blackboards with VW outlines

that the kids could colour in with the chalks provid-

ed. These activities kept all the kids busy and let the

parents view the cars on show in relative peace.

Swap n Sell stalls are always encouraged to attend

(no fee charged) and this year plenty of trading

went on with early bargains snapped up quickly! Do-

nations are usually made to the club based on how

well the stall went on the day.

Food and drink were provided through the Lions club

holding their usual sausage sizzle and other foods

(retaining all the monies for their club fundraising)

while Boost Juice was there in their T5 Transporter

and the ice cream van is of course a bay window

Kombi that fits right in with the VW event. Also the

(Continued from page 11)


Robin Bailey award.........Daniel Garcia

Best Engine Bay ..........Peter Kopic

Best Original Interior ..........Graham Tibbs

Best Exterior............Steffen Linke



Best Transporter T3, T4 & T5.............Chris Larkin

Best Type 3 or 4.............Jeff Maginnes

Best Golf I - IV Standard..............Josh Grey

Best Golf V – VI Standard............Steven Jung

Best Water-cooled Standard.................Dave Mitchell

Best Water-cooled Performance.................Lionel Koh

Best Water-cooled Modified

Best VW Affiliate...........Adrian Acquado



obligatory coffee van com-

pleted the range of re-

freshments made available

on the day.

It takes a lot of work to

put the “day” together and

it could not be done with-

out the Club volunteers

that contributed to the make the event a success.

The adage that many hands make light work is

never truer than at events like this. The special ef-

fort put in by the organising committee in the 12

months leading up to the event and on the ‘day’ is

not questioned.

However, the event would not exist without the

participants bringing their cars along on the day…

everything from projects that arrived on trailers

from 200km away to the new enthusiasts on ‘L’

plates and some too young to have a licence yet, to

the concourse restorations that are the envy of

many and to the high performance and modified

water cooled that have many hours of work spent

on them and finally to the daily drivers that are the

pride and joy of their VW owners.

We thank every one of them for coming along.


The Bay Window Ice Cream Van

The VW Club of WA Tent...kept busy all day

OUR SPONSORS...SHANNONS INSURANCE

The VW T5 from Boost Juice

VW Powered Gyrocopter from RAAFA Museum

FREE Kids Corner



Beetlemania...one section of all the cars on show Rocker Cover race track...before the competition started

The young and the old water-cooleds VWs as far as the eye can see...

There must be something here that you want... VWs against the City back drop

Swap and Sell went very well The VW Club of WA - Club Kombi before restoration



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next get together is on Sunday 13th January...see you there.



VW Hilton’s “Kimberley

Trip 2012” (part 2)

by Dave Beckley

After restocking in Broome we

headed out of town on the 1st

June and up the Cape Leveque

road. From the turn off to Willie

Creel Pearl Farm the road north

deteriorates and there is 100 km

of corrugated, sandy road before

re-joining the bitumen south of

Beagle Bay. This 100km stretch

of dirt road is specified as ‘4WD

Recommended and No Caravans’.

In spite of this recommendation

there are quite a few 2WD cars

on the road and caravans, alt-

hough the Kooljaman Resort at

Cape Leveque will not accept car-

avans in the camping area.

Our first stop for the day was at

Beagle Bay where we had a look

at the famous Church with its

pearl shell decorations. From

Beagle Bay it was a short drive

along a dirt road to Middle Lagoon

where we stayed for 4 nights.

Middle lagoon offers a range of

camping sites in shady, grassed

areas but we opted to stay in a

sandy area on top of the cliff with

a magnificent view over the la-

goon. While at Middle Lagoon we

woke one day to find that the

contents of our 3 way fridge were

not very cold. I cleaned the gas

jet and we also moved to a pow-

ered site to use 240V power to

get the fridge cold again as quick-

ly as possible. (We subsequently

had the fridge checked when we

returned to Broome and it was

given a clean bill of health and

worked without any further prob-

lems for the rest of the trip).

Middle Lagoon is a beautiful spot

on the west coast of the Peninsu-

lar with great sunsets. There is a

sandy beach offering safe, croc

free swimming, and lovely walks

in the bush. There were lots of

wild flowers in full bloom when

we were there.

After leaving Middle Lagoon we

drove to the small Aboriginal vil-

lage at Lombardina, but as it was

after 11am we could not get a

pass to look around! We then

went to the east coast and found

our way to Djoodoon and Bully’s

Camp which was about 7 km

along a rough track. Bully’s camp

is an Aboriginal outcamp with

very basic facilities for tourists

and is run by an eccentric white

fella. When we were there was

no bore pump and consequently

the loos had to be flushed with

buckets of dirty creek water.

The next day we returned to

Lombardina on the west coast

and paid the customary (in these

parts) $10 to be allowed into the

town. Lombardina has a bakery

with a wood fired oven and the (Continued on page 19)

Dampier Peninsular, Derby and Fitzroy Crossing

The church at Beagle Bay

Middle Lagoon at sunset



prospect of fresh bread tempted

us but unfortunately they had

sold out when we arrived. Lom-

bardina is a an excellent example

of how well a grog free Aboriginal

town can be run; it has lovely

well kept green lawns, the streets

are free of any litter and it has a

beautiful little church, which is

made of timber with a paperbark

roof. After our tour of Lombardi-

na we went to the Cygnet Bay

Pearl farm, where we went on a

conducted tour and also had an

excellent lunch in their small café.

We then returned to the east

coast to another Aboriginal camp-

ing spot at Gambanan, just north

of One Arm Point.

We stayed at Gambanan for three

nights, enjoying the peace and

quiet. For those up early enough

there were also some fantastic

sunrises. There is an Aboriginal

stone walled fish trap on the

shore at Gambanan that the out-

camp owner Frank says was there

when his grandfather was a boy

and possibly a lot longer. The

massive tides in this area provid-

ed an ever changing scene in the

bay as islands disappeared and

then reappeared during the day.

From Gambanan it was a short

drive to the Kooljaman Resort at

Cape Leveque where we checked

in to the highly organised and ful-

ly booked camping ground, where

we had a reservation for 2 nights.

For anyone planning a trip to

Cape Leveque, you need to book

in advance if you want to stay at

the Resort. There are excellent

beaches on both sides of the

headland and the famous red

cliffs are a big drawcard at sun-

set.

On Monday 11th June we retraced

our steps down the 240km to

Broome where we stayed for a

further four nights at the Ta-

rangan Caravan Park. While in

Broome we went to the open air

picture theatre (claimed to be

world’s oldest operating theatre


(Continued on page 20) Derby wharf at low tide

The fish trap at sunrise at Gambanan

The Red Cliffs at Cape Leveque



of this type), Cable Beach at sun-

set complete with the camels and

tried out a couple of restaurants.

After restocking the pantry etc in

Broome we headed to Derby

where we stayed for a couple of

nights in the caravan park before

driving to Fitzroy Crossing. The

immense tides at Derby provide

interesting views at the town

wharf, particularly at sunset.

The drive to Fitzroy crossing is

through varied country from open

savannah with lots of Boab trees

and termite mounds to quite

dense bush. The Caravan Park at

Fitzroy Crossing is close to the

1974 built, supposedly all weath-

er road, over the mighty Fitzroy

River. The main reason for trav-

elling to Fitzroy Crossing was to

visit Geikie Gorge. We made two

trips to this gorge; on the first

day we joined the 3 pm boat trip

up the gorge and on the second

afternoon went for a walk along

the western side of the gorge.

There are lots of freshwater croc-

odiles in the Fitzroy River and

presumably some decent sized

fish. When driving back to town

on the first evening we spotted a

couple of Brolgas close to the

road, David quickly grabbed his

camera and followed the birds

into the bush where they pro-

ceeded to put on a dance display,

unfortunately it was too dark to

get decent photos.

From Fitzroy crossing we took the

back road to join the 600km long

Gibb River road to Wyndham,

which I will write about for

next month’s magazine.


Freshwater croc Fitzroy River Geikie Gorge

Geikie Gorge at sunset

Brolgas dancing near Geikie Gorge

The VW Club Committee is pleased to announce this

series of articles as the...

Member Story of the Month for October

2012. For this Dave wins a 50 fuel

voucher .



Volkswagen’s Sporty, Versa-tile, Rugged Passat Alltrack Volkswagen Passat Alltrack Closes

the Gap Between Estate Car & SUV

Over the past four decades, well over 15 million Passat cars have been built. Along with its favourable all-round qualities, the success of this bestseller - sold on all of the world’s continents - can be attributed to the Passat’s wide and diverse range of versions. Now, Volkswagen is extending the Australi-an model series with another special-ist: the Passat Alltrack. This new ver-sion is offered in an Wagon configura-tion, and closes the gap between the conventional Passat wagon and SUVs such as the Tiguan. The rationale is clear: many drivers who use their car as a towing vehicle, or in light off-road situations, desire a versatile, sporty and roomy passenger car that has rug-ged qualities. Volkswagen has devel-oped the Passat Alltrack for this clien-tele. In comparison with the familiar Passat wagon, the new model is de-fined by new, SUV-style bumpers – with wheel well and side sill flares. Its greater off-road ramp angle, approach

angle, departure angle and higher ground clearance all make the Passat Alltrack an excellent SUV alternative for driving on unpaved roads.

Power and Performance

Featuring a powerful Volkswagen 125kW TDI engine, the Passat Alltrack also comes standard with 4MOTION all-wheel drive and a dual clutch trans-mission (DSG). While the Alltrack’s turbocharged diesel engine makes a potent 350Nm of torque, the Alltrack maintains the kind of frugal fuel con-sumption Passat owners have come to expect, with a combined fuel cycle of 6.3* l/100 km (166* g/km CO2).

High torque value: The new Passat Alltrack is designed for larger towing capacities (up to

1,800 kg braked) and for handling of-froad situations. That is why the Passat Alltrack uses a torque-strong turbocharged engine with a maximum torque of 350 Newton metres requiring no more than 1,750 - 2,500 rpm to achieve its maximum torque output.

Protected engine: When driven over unpredictable ter-rain, the engine is protected by a solid engine underbody guard made of a steel plate. This protects the engine, gearbox, oil sump, exhaust system (front section) and various hoses from damage.

Parameters of offroad capability: The Passat Alltrack is almost exactly the same length as the Passat Wagon at 4,881 mm, and its width is an identi-cal 1,820 mm despite the wheel well flares. The vehicle’s key offroad pa-rameters are telling: compared to the Passat Wagon, its ground clearance has been increased to 165 mm. The front approach angle has increased from 13.5 to 16 degrees, and at the rear, the departure angle has in-creased from 11.9 to 13.6 degrees. Another parameter that is no less im-portant in offroad situations is the ramp angle for crossing over a hill; this value was improved from 9.5 to 12.8 de-grees.

Alltrack packs a lot: The car has a maximum payload of 656 kg. Other key parameters of the Alltrack’s cargo space: 0.72 m pass-through height and 0.83 m interior




height; 1.0 m width between the wheel wells. Largest width in the cargo area: 1014 mm. When the rear bench seat is folded down, the length of the Passat Alltrack’s cargo loading surface is in-creased to an impressive 1.94 m. Car-go capacity is 588 litres with the rear seats up, and 1716 litres with the rear seats folded.

Visual Modifications

Good styling always visually reflects a car’s conceptual parameters. In the case of the Passat Alltrack, these in-clude the vehicle’s much more versa-tile performance parameters for driving on rough terrain than would be found on a conventional wagon. The de-clared goal of the designers was to reflect its competence off-road with very functional styling. In the area of the side profile, for example, the clas-sic wheel housings and side sill flares are used, which are functionally orient-ed and offer rugged protection. The elements do not simply have the ap-pearance of being tacked onto one another, rather they are harmoniously integrated into the Passat’s overall design. The same applies to the new design of the bumpers. Firstly, they show greater volume and are very rug-ged in construction; secondly, they completely fit in with the styling of the Passat. In interplay with the higher ground clearance, the underbody pro-tection panels in stainless steel-look are integrated front and rear, projecting an overall link between the passenger

car and SUV design.

Dimensions in Detail

At a length of 4,881mm, the Passat Alltrack is slightly longer than the Passat Wagon (4,771mm). Despite the wheel housing arches, its width re-mains identical at 1,820mm. The Passat Alltrack has a ground clearance of 165mm, an approach angle of 16 degrees and a departure angle of 13.6 degrees. No less important in off-road use is the ramp breakaway angle, cru-cial in crossing the crest of a hill; here, the value has been improved from 9.5 to 12.8 degrees.

Off-road Driving Program

Volkswagen SUV drivers are familiar with the ‘off-road driving program’ on the Touareg. For the first time at Volkswagen, this clever, multifunction-al system is being transferred to a pas-senger car in the Passat Alltrack. The driver activates this program by press-ing an Off-Road button on the centre console. An LED symbol in the instru-ment cluster indicates when the sys-tem is ‘active’. Specifically, the settings for the safety and driver assistance systems and DSG control are modified as follows:

Safety systems: The anti-lock braking system (ABS) is now characterised by higher thresholds for control intervals; on loose road surfaces, such as grav-el, a wedge of road substrate is formed in front of the tyres to decelerate the vehicle even more effectively. At the same time, the electronic differential locks (EDS) react quicker to prevent wheel spin at individual wheels. The engine’s torque control (ASR) is modi-

fied in parallel.

Driver assistance systems: Hill descent assist is automatically activated (when the off-road function is selected) at a descent angle greater than 10 de-grees; braking the Passat Alltrack while functions of the optional adaptive cruise control (ACC) and Front Assist are deactivated. Dual clutch transmis-sion: A f latter accelerator pedal char-acteristic makes it easier to meter en-gine power in off-road situations. At the same time, gear shift points are raised, automatically giving the driver a higher engine rpm and therefore more power to work with. If the DSG selection lever is switched to the manual shift gate, the transmission no longer upshifts automatically. The Stop/Start system and coasting function are also deac-tivated.

4MOTION all-wheel drive

The Passat Alltrack is delivered with 4MOTION all-wheel drive as standard in Australia. Normally, the front axle is the primary drive axle in the Passat Alltrack 4MOTION; the rear axle only gets ten percent of the drive torque, saving on fuel. The rear axle may be gradually engaged – step by step – depending on the specific driving and road situation. This is done via an elec-tro-hydraulic all-wheel coupling. The advantage of the electronics: no en-gine speed differences are necessary between the front and rear axles to activate the all-wheel drive coupling,





because pressure is built up via an electric pump.

Alltrack Standard Features

Passat Alltrack features: Along with the Off-road driving pro-gram, modified chassis and body mod-ifications, the Passat Alltrack is char-acterised by a whole series of specific feature details. These include the new ‘Valley’ type 17-inch alloy wheels (new ‘Canyon’ type 18-inch wheels are an-other option included in the Sport package) and a low tyre pressure indi-cator. Trimmed in ‘chrome’ on the Passat Alltrack are the roof rails, win-dow surrounds, door mirror housings and radiator grille. Standard features also include front and rear underbody protection in stainless steel-look, fog lights, stainless steel door sill plates with ‘ALLTRACK’ signature, comfort seats (Vienna leather appointed as standard, or optional Nappa leather appointed as part of the Sport pack-age), interior accents in ‘Titanium Sil-ver’ (with ALLTRACK signature on ashtray cover), pedals in brushed stainless steel and Dual Zone auto-matic climate control. Other ‘ALLTRACK’ signatures are located at the front and rear of the vehicle. On the screen of the instrument cluster the new Passat Alltrack also ‘greets’ its driver with the ‘ALLTRACK’ signa-ture. Visible from exterior are the dec-orative dual exposed chrome tailpipes left and right.

Safety features: Of course, the Passat Alltrack has such features as eight airbags, day-time running lights and the ESP elec-tronic stabilisation program. Additional standard features: fatigue detection and ESS Effective: automatic brake light activation under severe braking. Ingenious: if the driver parks the Passat Alltrack and unbuckles the seat belt before the engine is shut off, the electronic parking brake is automati-cally activated (when Autohold is se-lected), which prevents unintentional rolling.

Child-friendly: in parallel to the stand-ard Isofix fittings for suitable child seats, Convenience features: In the interior, standard features include vari-ous storage compartments (such as in the centre console and roof liner con-sole) and the analogue clock on the dashboard. Other standard conven-ience features: automatic climate con-trol, electro-mechanical steering as-sist, electric windows front and rear, outside temperature indicator, elec-tronic parking brake with auto-hold function and central locking (with wire-less remote). There are also comfort seats in front with pockets on the backrests, manual lumbar supports and electric backrest adjustment (driver’s side). Multifunction leather-trimmed steering wheel, leather-trimmed shift lever grip and carpet floor mats are also part of the standard specification. The multimedia AUX-IN socket, automatic running light switch-ing, automatically dipping rear-view mirror, Parking sensors for the front and rear, safety-optimised head re-straints with additional longitudinal

adjustment and a rain sensor com-plete the range of standard features.

Key Technologies of the Passat Alltrack

Fatigue detection: This system detects waning driver concentration and warns the driver with an acoustic signal lasting five sec-onds; a visual message also appears in the instrument cluster recommend-ing that the driver take a break from driving. If the driver does not take a break within the next 15 minutes, the warning is repeated once.

Fatigue detection counteracts this ten-dency. Right at the beginning of each car trip, the system analyses the driv-er’s characteristic steering behaviour. The fatigue detection system then continually evaluates signals such as steering angle, use of the pedals and transverse acceleration. If monitored parameters indicate a deviation from the steering behaviour recorded at the beginning of the trip, then visual and acoustic warnings are produced. Inde-pendent of this monitoring, whenever the system is activated it recommends a driving break to the driver after a certain period of continuous driving.

The assistance system does not warn in acute cases of ‘microsleep’; rather, fatigue detection aims to detect phas-es of waning concentration even be-fore this happens. Fatigue detection is standard in the Passat Alltrack.

Tyre pressure indicator: The tyre pressure indicator system makes use of the wheel speed sen-





sors of the ABS system for its opera-tion. How it works: when air pressure decreases in a tyre, this also reduces the rolling radius at that particular wheel; therefore, the wheel turns faster at the same vehicle speed, and the system detects this deviation. The Alltrack driver is warned via the tyre pressure indicator. Nonetheless, the system does not relieve the driver of the responsibility for independently verifying correct tyre pressure at regu-lar intervals.

Optional Features

Optional Driver Assistance and Visibil-ity package Offering drivers additional levels of safety and assistance, the Driver As-sistance and Visibility package in-cludes bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime driving lights with static and dynamic cornering lights, rear LED tailight and Lane Assist, a lane depar-ture warning system that reduces the likelihood of the vehicle leaving the lane. The Lane Assist function moni-tors the road ahead with the aid of a camera which recognizes lane mark-ings, and takes corrective steering ac-tion for up to eight seconds.

Side Assist including Lane Assist: Also making a significant contribution to improved safety is the optional com-bination of Side Assist (lane-changing assistant) and Lane Assist (lane-keeping assistant). Compared to the individual systems – the combination of Side Assist and Lane Assist repre-sents a functional extension and offers a significant gain in safety, due to its reliable and urgent warning if a specific hazard is detected. Here is how the two assistance systems operate as separate systems: Side Assist makes the driver aware of vehicles located in the blind spot next to the Passat Alltrack or vehicles approaching from the rear by f lashing LEDs in the door mirrors. Side Assist operates using radar sensors. Meanwhile, Lane Assist accesses signals from a camera; as soon as it becomes evident that the driver is leaving the driving lane or is driving over the lane markings without setting the direction indicator,Lane As-sist countersteers.

Here is how the new systems operate together: Side Assist Plus including

Lane Assist merges the two assistance systems. If another vehicle is located in a spot that is not visible to the driver during a lane change, the dual assis-tance system pack warns the Alltrack driver via a f lashing signal of the LEDs in the right or left door mirrors as well as via a steering wheel vibration, and it simultaneously assists the driver with a corrective steering intervention. These steps are taken regardless of whether or not a direction indicator is set. The combination of these two systems can make an even more effective contribu-tion towards avoiding collisions with other vehicles in the blind spot. How-ever, the driver still assumes responsi-bility for the entire process.

ACC plus Front Assist with City Emer-gency Braking: Volkswagen designed City Emergency Braking as a functional extension of the automatic ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) plus Front Assist system. The new system operates over a speed range of up to 30 km/h, and it automat-ically initiates hard braking if an immi-nent collision is detected. City Emer-gency Braking can reduce the severity of collisions in city driving or even avoid a collision entirely.

Front Assist becomes active at a vehi-cle speed of 30 km/h. This system, which is integrated in ACC, helps to avoid front-end collisions as an ‘alert front passenger’, even if ACC is turned off. It does this by continually monitor-ing the traffic situation over a speed range of 30 km/h to 200 km/h with its front radar, warning the driver of any critical situations. The system assists the driver even before a situation be-comes critical by preconditioning the braking system and sensitising the braking assistants.

As the risk of front-end collision in-creases, visual and acoustic warnings are initiated, and the driver is alerted to a necessary intervention by a jolt of the brake pedal. If the driver reacts with braking that is too weak, the vehi-cle automatically builds up as much brake pressure as necessary to avoid a collision. If the driver does not apply the brakes at all after the warning pe-dal jolt, Front Assist brakes so that, under optimal conditions, the speed at impact is reduced.

Overall, automatic adaptive cruise con-trol makes driving very comfortable and convenient. On an open road, ACC can theoretically accelerate the

car to its top speed. If a slower vehicle appears in the car’s own driving lane, the system automatically brakes to maintain the set distance ahead. The driver can calibrate this distance over various levels within the legal range.

Park Assist, Generation II: In contrast to first generation systems, which only supported parking parallel to the carriageway, the latest parking assistant also assists in perpendicular parking – i.e. at right angles to the driv-ing lane. The system is activated at speeds up to 40 km/h by pressing a button on the centre console. The driv-er indicates the side of the carriage-way for parking by activating the indi-cator for that side. As soon as Park Assist detects a sufficiently large park-ing space – utilizing its ultrasonic sen-sors – assisted parking can begin: The driver engages reverse gear and then only needs to accelerate and brake. The Alltrack handles the steering.

The driver is assisted by acoustic and visual cues on the multifunction dis-play. While parking, Park Assist reduc-es vehicle speed to seven km/h. For the first time, this system can also ac-tively brake the car if a collision is about to occur. Nonetheless, the driver remains responsible for braking, since the new braking function of Park Assist cannot guarantee that damage will be prevented in all cases.

Vehicle Dynamics Systems

Adaptive chassis control: Adaptive chassis control offers three programmes: ‘Normal’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Comfort’. These are selected by a but-ton next to the gearshift lever. Crucial here is the fact that adaptive chassis control is constantly working to im-prove driving properties. This is be-cause it continually adapts damping to road conditions and the driving situa-tion. The system also reacts to accel-eration, braking and steering inputs. The system resolves the apparent con-flict of goals between tight, sporty tun-ing and a comfortable ride. The signifi-cantly enhanced comfort is perceptible to both driver and passengers.

Cargo Space

Variable cargo space of the Passat Alltrack The cargo capacity of the Alltrack’s bootspace is 588 litres. Cargo capacity when seats are folded is 1,716 litres – in this case, the Passat Alltrack is





loaded up to the roofliner and to the backrests of the front seats. A cargo net barrier may be mounted behind the first seating row and/or behind the sec-ond seating row to prevent luggage from entering the passenger space when braking.

Other key data on the Alltrack cargo space: 719 mm tall cargo opening and 831 mm interior height; 1000 mm width between the wheel wells. Largest width in the cargo space: 1014 mm. The loading surface of the Passat Alltrack when the rear bench seat is folded down is a minimum 1941 mm long.

Remote unlatching of the rear bench backrest No less practical is the remote unlatch-ing of the rear bench backrest. Levers mounted in the trim on the right and left sides of the boot make it easy to unlatch the left and/or right section of the 1/3 to 2/3 split backrest so that it can fold forward in a controlled way.

Note: TDI is a registered trademark of Volkswagen AG or other companies of the Volkswagen Group in Germany and other countries.

Features and technical data apply to model offered in Australia. They may differ in other countries.

All fuel economy and driving perfor-mance data cited in this press release are forecast values as of October 2012.

Volkswagen’s Polo and Touareg win again at Aus-tralia’s Best

Car Awards Volkswagen has received two industry accolades at this year’s Australia’s Best Car Awards event earlier today. The frugal Volkswagen Polo 66TDI was once again named Best Light Car over $20,000 for a third consecutive year, while the well-appointed

Volkswagen Touareg V6TDI defended its 2011 title as Best Luxury SUV Over $60,000.

Volkswagen Group Australia’s Manag-ing Director, Anke Koeckler, was de-lighted to accept the awards for these two vehicles.

“This is the third time the Polo 66TDI has won its category and the fifth time a diesel Polo has collected an Austral-ia’s Best Cars award,” said Ms Koeck-ler.

“Our Touareg also showed why it is such a remarkably capable vehicle, with back-to-back titles in the Best Luxury SUV category. “

Since its launch in May 2010, the Polo 66TDI has outclassed its rivals in a hotly-contested segment with remarka-ble fuel efficiency and class-leading build quality. The Australia’s Best Car judges once again lauded the Polo 66TDI for its third win.

“On the road the Polo continues to be a standout...On winding sections of road, the Polo is nimble and fleet foot-ed.”

“From the moment you step in, and hear the reassuring thud when you close the door you know you’re in a special vehicle.”

Volkswagen’s Touareg emerged as Best Luxury SUV Over $60,000 among more expensive competition. The Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDI was praised by Australia’s Best Cars judg-es for its outstanding fuel-efficiency and value for money.





“The Volkswagen Touareg has done it again and with a country mile between it and the rest of the field”, commented one of the judges.

Australia’s Best Car Awards is now in its twelfth year, a co-operation be-tween Australia’s Motoring Clubs. The Australia’s Best Car Awards repre-sents the nation’s most comprehensive and independent consumer-focused vehicle testing and award program.

Volkswagen a Triple Category Winner at Drive’s Car of the Year 2012

Awards Volkswagen Polo 77TSI Best City Car for the third consecutive year

Iconic Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet vot-ed Best Convertible

New Volkswagen up! takes out prestig-ious Safety Innovation Award

Volkswagen has once again been rec-ognised with multiple category wins in

the annual Drive Car of the Year Awards, with Polo, Golf Cabriolet and all-new up! each receiving awards. Launched in 2010, and crowned Drive Car of the Year the same year, the Polo 77TSI continues to collect tro-phies in the light car segment, winning its third consecutive category win as Drive’s Best City Car.

The Polo was described by one judge as being “the benchmark setter in this category – if not the one above,” while another judge found it “hard to fault anything about it,” pointing to the re-fined and confident nature of the car during cornering and highway cruising.

The Golf Cabriolet, another repeat award winner, has yet again led the way in its class to collect the Best Con-vertible award, thanks to its competi-

tive price, robust safety package, and outstanding driving capabilities. In the words of the Drive judges, the Golf Cabriolet “delivers a healthy reality check with great bang for buck, fuel economy and the fact that four people get to enjoy it at once.”

Volkswagen’s smallest car, the up!, was awarded Drive’s prestigious Safe-ty Innovation Award, for its much-lauded innovative City Emergency Braking function. This life-saving tech-nology can reduce accident severity via automatic brake intervention and potentially avoid a collision, and to date the up! is the only car in its seg-ment equipped with such premium car safety technology. The Volkswagen up! was voted a unanimous winner, with all Drive judg-es applauding the inclusion of its City Emergency Braking function in such a price-sensitive segment of the market. Drive’s judges applauded the inclu-sion, stating, “most car makers do eve-rything they can to cut the price and often lop safety equipment.”

Anke Koeckler, Volkswagen Group Australia’s Managing Director, com-mented on the wins.

“Time after time our Volkswagen Polo continues to receive recognition for its class-leading abilities, and the beauti-ful Golf Cabriolet has once again taken the top spot over some respected ri-vals.”

“Winning Drive’s Safety Innovation Award is a truly great achievement for our new Volkswagen up!. The safety





offering in our smallest and most af-fordable car truly sits in a class of its own and the Safety Innovation Award confirms this further.”

The 2012 Drive Car of the Year Awards was judged by one the most experienced group of road testers in the country over a week of testing en-compassing 15 categories. The Drive Car of the Year Awards is regarded as the ultimate consumer guide in Aus-tralia.

Five Stars and Four Innova-tion Awards for the New Volkswagen

Golf The new Golf has received a top five star rating by the European consumer protection organisation Euro NCAP. It also won the award for innovations in the area of integral safety at the highly esteemed “Euro NCAP Advanced Awards”. Along with Lane Assist and Front Assist, the key systems proac-tive occupant protection and the stand-ard multicollision brake were recog-nised as pioneering safety innovations. This is further confirmation of the ex-cellent competitive position of the Golf in its class.

The overall safety package of the new Golf − consisting of occupant protec-tion, child protection, pedestrian pro-tection and driver assistance systems − was recognised by the European consumer protection organisation Euro NCAP for its top results. Once again, in its seventh generation, the Golf is confirming its top position, which it has held in Europe for decades now.

Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management for Research and Development, Volkswagen Brand, had this to say: “We are very pleased that our new Golf was once again suc-cessful in fulfilling the challenging re-

quirements of the Euro NCAP and earned its top rating. We are especially proud of the no less than four Euro NCAP awards for excellent safety in-novations with which the new Golf was recognised. But this success is not just coincidental, because it reflects our corporate philosophy: safety must be made affordable for everyone. Right from the start, we worked intensively with our engineers to develop a safety package whose scope is so far unique in the compact class.” He continues: “These results once again confirm that we are on the right path. We will sys-tematically continue this development work into the future with the best inter-ests of our customers in mind.”

The new Golf was awarded top ratings for its occupant protection. Evaluated here were frontal and side impact tests, a pole side impact test and what is known as the whiplash test, in which loads to the cervical spine are meas-ured in a rear end collision. Not only adults, but children too can feel safe in the new Golf. This was verified in tests, some of which utilised dummies sized to represent 18 month old and three year old children. The new Golf also impressed testers with its pedes-trian protection capabilities.

Supplemental to its excellent occupant protection, the seventh generation Golf also offers a broad array of driver as-sistance systems. In addition to the standard multicollision brake and the optional proactive occupant protection system, the safety package can be further customised and extended with the optional adaptive cruise control, Front Assist with City Emergency

Braking, fatigue detection and the Lane Assist lane-keeping assistant. This makes a total of seven driver as-sistance systems that are offered in the new Golf and which significantly improve vehicle safety.

The multicollision brake, which ADAC has already recognised with the “Yellow Angel” innovation award, auto-matically brakes the vehicle after a severe collision to reduce residual ki-netic energy. The goal here is to either prevent a secondary collision altogeth-er or at least significantly reduce the speed at impact. Accident statistics show that around onefourth of all acci-dents involve these dreaded second-ary collisions. They are especially haz-ardous, because occupants no longer have the protective effects of airbags and seatbelt tensioners. As is the case in all assistance systems from Volkswagen, the driver can choose to override the multicollision brake at any time.

Volkswagen transferred the proactive occupant protection system as well as the fatigue detection function to the Golf from the premium class. The for-mer detects, in combination with other vehicle dynamic parameters, especial-ly critical driving situations and reacts with either ESP interventions or full braking. In case of a subsequent colli-sion, it automatically pretensions the safety belts of the driver and front pas-senger to ensure the best possible occupant protection by the airbag and belt system. In case of impending skid-ding accidents, the system closes the side windows to just small openings





and closes the sliding sunroof so that safety systems such as the head and side airbags can offer optimal support and the best possible effectiveness. As soon as the hazardous situation has ended, the safety belt is untensioned. This is one way in which Volkswagen fulfils its corporate standard for provid-ing advanced safety technology that must be attainable for a broad base of buyers.

Since its debut in March 1974, over 29 million Golf cars have been sold world-wide, and the Golf has influenced au-tomotive history more than nearly any other vehicle with its timeless and un-mistakable design. It even defined a vehicle class that was named after it. Together with its also very successful and popular derivatives, e.g. the Cabri-olet and the Wagon, the Golf is one of the world’s most successful vehicles.

The seventh generation Volkswagen Golf will be launched in Australia in the second quarter of 2013. Full specifica-tions and pricing will be available at the time of launch.

Amarok Wins 4x4 Australia’s Ute of the Year

Award Again The Volkswagen Amarok has defend-ed its title as 4x4 Australia Magazine’s 2012 4x4 Ute of the Year, confirming its benchmark position in the segment.

4x4 Australia’s Ute of the Year award, judged by Australia’s most experi-enced 4x4 road testers, comprises of a mix of freeway, secondary back-roads, dirt roads and very steep, challenging national park and state forest tracks during a rigorous four-day test route.

Throughout judging, the Amarok was praised for its effortless off-road abili-ties and remarkable new eight-speed auto transmission; while its roomy inte-rior, class-leading dimensions and car-like handling sealed the Amarok’s po-sition in the top spot.

On the Amarok’s success, the judges

commented:

“It was no surprise that the Amarok auto, like the manual last year, im-pressed with its roomy cabin, large tray, composed and comfortable on-road handling, car-like refinement, and quiet, smooth and effortless bi-turbo engine’’.

The Amarok launched in Australia in February 2011, and saw the 8-Speed Automatic transmission along with Sin-gle Cab Amarok variant join the range in July this year. Loaded with specialist features such as ESP with brake as-sist, “Off-Road Mode” – activated by the press of a button, Hill Descent As-sist – which holds driving speed con-stant on steep descents by means of targeted brake actuations, electronic differential lock (EDL) and a standard mechanical rear diff lock, the Amarok is equipped to withstand the toughest challenges off the beaten path; all while claiming one of the best fuel con-sumption figures in its class, as well as being the first dual cab ute to receive a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Philip Clark, Director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, was delighted with the Amarok’s consecutive Ute of the Year win.

“Despite increased competition in the ute segment, the Amarok still sits in a class above its rivals. Thanks to its versatility, efficient drive technology and new eight-speed automatic trans-mission, the Amarok has again staked its claim in its category, and 4x4 Aus-tralia’s accolade proves this even fur-ther.”

The contenders for 4x4 Australia Mag-azine’s Ute of the Year award were assessed on five different criteria, in-cluding value, doing the job, breaking new ground, built tough and ‘bushability’; which determined each vehicle’s suitability for off-road and outback travel.

New Golf: "All the Car You’ll Ever Need" says UK Top-

Gear Magazine The new Volkswagen Golf has claimed its first award – the inaugural and pres-tigious accolade of ‘All the car you’ll ever need Car of the Year’ in the UK TopGear Magazine Awards 2012 – a month before it is even on sale in the UK.

Every UK TopGear Magazine Award is judged by a group of expert and ex-tremely opinionated motoring journal-ists, including the presenters of Top-Gear television. Summing up the judges’ views on the new Golf, Top-Gear’s Consultant Editor, Paul Horrell, said:

"Stopped or on the move, it feels like it’s made of stronger materials than the hatches of other nations. Top and bot-tom: a Golf is no more car than you





need, yet it can be all the car you want.“

"Sometimes, it can be hard to find a question for which Golf isn’t the an-swer. It’s right-sized for the city and nimble in the country. Yet at normal motorway speed, a Golf is more re-laxed than many big-tyred luxury barg-es.“

In recognising the Golf’s achievement, Editor in Chief, Charlie Turner added:

"For a car to win is recognition of a truly exceptional vehicle. Only the re-markable are even considered for a TopGear Award, and this year, the Golf has proved to be the stand-out machine in its category. The best of the best."

The seventh-generation Golf was un-veiled earlier this year, 38 years and 29 million units after the original model redefined the small family car. Based on the new MQB platform, the new Golf is bigger, lighter and safer than ever, bringing technically advanced features previously reserved for higher classes to a new audience.

The link to the following article provid-ed by member Don Yates.

2013 Volkswagen Beetle Con-vertible debuts at LA Auto

Show By Vincent Rice

Gizmag was on hand when Volkswagen unveiled the convertible variant of its new second-generation Beetle at the LA Auto Show ... second generation of the modern front-

engined modern version, that is. The first generation was a relatively suc-cessful exercise in retro nostalgia, complete with dash-mounted bud vase, that appealed to a distinctly fem-inine demographic. This time things are more serious and less “cartoony,” with a wider, longer, lower body shape and a level of design and finish that offer real value and less novelty. It’s only right and proper that the iconic rag-top version should be launched in California.

Compared with the 2006 version of the car, the latest Beetle Convertible is 3.3 inches (8.4 cm) wider at 71.2 inches (180.9 cm); 1.1 inches (2.8 cm) lower at 58.0 inches (147.3 cm) tall; and 6.0 inches (15.2 cm) longer at 168.4 inch-es (427.7 cm) overall.

A convertible bodyshell is less rigid than a coupe's because the upper part of the structure is open, so the Beetle Convertible's body needed reinforce-ments. This included the use of partial body reinforcements and sheet metal with greater strength, such as:

The A-pillar's interior bar is 0.5 mm thicker and made from ultra-high-strength hot-formed steel instead of cold-formed metal. There is also a reinforcement in the "bend area"

The front roof crossmember has an additional central plate





Additional tubing made of ultra-high-strength (hot formed) steel between the B-pillars as well as a stronger heel plate

More sheet metal in the lower body sidemembers

An extra rear panel that integrates the Automatic Rollover Support System is made of high-strength steel

With the top up, the Beetle Convertible has an even lower roofline than the Coupe. The top lies flat when it's low-ered, giving good visibility. The flexible leatherette top boot tidies up the ap-pearance and is also a nice retro touch – though it’s an added pain when you need the roof up in a hurry. Volkswagen decided to stick with a traditional softtop because it allows for a roofline that's more like the original 1949 type 15's. Also, a softtop takes up less space than a folding hardtop, thus giving more trunk space. The heatable rear window is made of tem-pered safety glass.

The top takes 9.5 seconds to stow and 11 seconds to be raised. It can be raised and lowered at speeds of up to 31 mph (49.8 km/h), which is unusual-ly high for a convertible.

Of the interior, VW Head Designer Klaus Bischoff says: "The shape and use of color for the dashboard harkens back to the design of the very first Beetle models and helps to create a

highly individual cabin. The simple layout and clean graphics are the same as the Beetle Coupe's." The metal dash really does look rather good and the glovebox is an absolute spitting image of the original (if my memory serves correctly). All the mod-ern conveniences are still present and correct however, and the Turbo and Turbo Diesel get an extra set of gaug-es located Porsche-style, on top of the dash.

In fact, all the 2013 Beetle Converti-bles are pretty well equipped. The base 2.5-liter model has standard 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels; a leather-wrapped steering wheel; an eight-speaker sound system with aux-in; Bluetooth technology; a Media Device Interface with iPod cable; 3-color ad-justable ambient lighting; heatable front seats and exterior mirrors; cruise control; and V-Tex leatherette seating.

Available extras include a multifunc-tion leather-trimmed steering wheel, keyless access with push-button start, leather seating, the RNS 315 naviga-tion system, a Fender Premium Audio System, and Sirius XM satellite radio.

The following powertrain combinations are available: the 2.5-liter 5-cylinder engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission; the 2.0-liter TSI turbo-charged 4-cylinder gasoline engine with 6-speed manual or 6-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmissions; and the 2.0-liter TDI turbocharged Clean Diesel with the same manual or DSG options.

The 2.5-liter inline 5-cylinder has dual chain-driven overhead camshafts with variable timing on the intake side, four valves per cylinder, and an aluminum-alloy cylinder head. The engine makes 170 horsepower and 177 pound-feet (239.9 Nm) of torque. The turbo-charged dual-overhead-cam, 16-valve, 2.0-liter, direct-injection, 4-cylinder engine in the Turbo makes 200 horse-power and 207 lb-ft (280.6 Nm) of torque, delivered from just 1,700 rpm. The Beetle TDI uses the company's 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct-injection Clean Diesel engine that makes 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet (319.9 Nm) of torque.

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