Follettmotors VW Audi Blog

SHOW NOTES

Summary:

Music:
“Only You For Me” – courtesy of Alphaspin

The song “Only You For Me” is from the album “Through the Solar Waves”

! Competition !
We have three (3) copies of Alphaspin’s album “Through the Solar Waves” to give away.
To be in with a chance to win, answer the following question:

Which band did Alphaspin support at Hedgestock 2006?
1/The Smiths
2/The Who
3/The Clash

Send your answer (1,2 or 3) to podcast AT follettmotors.com (*replace the AT with @) as well as your name.
You must be a subscriber to our Aircooled VW Newsletter to enter (*enter your email address in the box marked ‘Aircooled VW Newsletter’ here to subscribe to our newsletter which will offer weekly discounts and special offers). Closing date for entries is Saturday March 10th.

About the Follettmotors Aircooled Volkswagen Podcast

Listen now: click ‘play’ below (duration: 32:08)

Listen Now:

 Follettmotors Aircooled Volkswagen Podcast #2 - Working Aircooled Volkswagens [32:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Video Summary

Contributors include:

Music:
“Only You For Me” – courtesy of Alphaspin

The song “Only You For Me” is from the album “Through the Solar Waves”

*We will be running a competition from Wednesday 28th onwards to win copies of the album “Through The Solar Waves”. Watch this space !*

About the Follettmotors Aircooled Volkswagen Podcast

Click on the video image below to play (duration: 3:11)

Picture 1: Comparison between an ‘old’ and new bump stop - VW Golf Mk 3 (1998)

Picture 2: How the bump stop is fitted to this particular shock absorber

Shock absorbers act to dampen the ’springiness’ of the ride.

Bump stops are fitted to the vehicle to prevent the top of the wheels from coming into contact with the body. This can occur if heavy weight is carried in the vehicle or if a vehicle, for example, goes around a roundabout at a fast speed.

When shock absorbers become faulty, they lose their ability to dampen the ride and consequently the suspension will feel very ‘springy’ and the roadholding will be affected.

In this case, Picture 1 the bump stop has perished and has gone back to its natural state. Compare it to the new bump stop.
Picture 2 shows how the bump stop is fitted to this particular shock absorber.

“Ostalgie” : The 2003 German bittersweet comedy “Goodbye Lenin”, set in the few weeks before and after German Reunification.

The “Communist Answer” to the VW Beetle celebrates its 50th birthday

An article in The Times today highlights the preparations being made to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Trabant which started production in 1957 and was billed as “the Communists’ answer to the Volkswagen Beetle”
Originally planned as a three wheeled motorcycle with an envisaged production extending only as far as 1967 at the latest, the production line, in fact, ended only in 1991.

An interesting, but often overlooked aspect of the Trabant’s history are its links with Volkwagen and Audi.

Sachsenring: The Trabant was built by East German manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerk Zwickau in Zwickau, Saxony. Before WW2, the factories in Zwickau were the home of Horch, a manufacturer of large, expensive high quality cars and Audi. They were both part of the Auto Union group which also included DKW.
After WW2, the factory became part of IFA which was the state owned group which operated all of the East German motor industry.

Kubelwagen: The Trabant P601 model, produced from 1963 to 1991, was available in 3 basic forms (saloon, estate and a convertible jeep version) The Trabant “Tramp” was the civilian version of the military Kubelwagen

VW Polo four-stroke engine: The last upgrade to the Trabant came in 1989 when, as a result of a trade agreement between the two German States, a smaller version of the VW Polo engine replaced the two stroke engine. This model was known as the Trabant 1.1 model but was comparatively short lived owing to momentous historical events (German Reunification : “Deutsche Wiedervereinigung” - 3rd October 1990). Production of the Trabant ceased in 1991, by which time over 3 million Trabants had been produced.

Of course, much has been written about the Trabant in popular culture. My own personal favourite is the award winning German bittersweet comedy “Goodbye Lenin”, set in the few weeks before and after Reunification.
The story focuses on an East German son’s efforts to ensure that his committed Communist mother who fell into a deep coma just before reunification does not realise what is going on, for fear that this could threaten her fragile health. One of the most memorable scenes comes shortly before the end of the film when the mother is finally well enough to go out with the family for a trip in the new Trabant, acquired whilst she was in a coma. She is utterly astonished at how they have been able to move so quickly up the considerable waiting list - (they’ve only been waiting 7 years…) - of course, not realising that the general preference has switched to non GDR produced cars which are now possible to acquire ……

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