No beating them

Bonding time

Beetle & You’, which was  organised by Volkswagen on Sunday, sparkled fond memories of a robust past and paid a remarkable tribute to a heritage gone by. The event celebrated a few memorable moments and stories which owners of Beetle shared with each other as they got together with their families at Sunny’s restaurant, Lavelle Road.

In a customer-engagement drive, about 30 car owners drove to the restaurant, talked about how the Beetle had become a part of their family over the years and enjoyed the morning as they bonded over breakfast and music. However, apart from sharing iconic stories, the highlight of the event was a sneak peek into ‘The New Beetle’ of the 21st century, which was also on display for an exclusive  preview.

  Chitra Sham Sundar, a proud owner of six Beetle cars and a dozen other vintage cars and bikes, says that she enjoys coming to such events so that she can meet other owners and network with her friends.

     “My husband has a craze for many vintage cars and is extremely fond of German cars and we have a dozen of them at home. We got our Super Beetle from a forest officer for about Rs 58,000. I call my husband a ‘Beetlenut’ as he is extremely crazy about Beetle.” Chitra drives the car too and takes them out especially on weekends.

She adds, “We generally take our Beetle cars and drive down NICE Road, usually on a Sunday, when there is less traffic. The roads aren’t very conducive for our vintage cars so we don’t take them far off.” Srinivasa Gowda, another Beetle lover and proud owner of many vintage cars, was excited about the launch of the 21st century car, ‘The New Beetle’. He says, “Every vintage car of mine has various stories behind them and it’s a pleasure to own vintage cars. My other cars are currently under maintenance. The Beetle is surely one of my favourite cars.”

There was also a live band from Mumbai which performed a few iconic songs to celebrate old times and added vibrancy to the event with classic numbers such as ‘Stand By Me’ by Ben E King and ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz. Interesting games and goodies were also lined up for the Beetle owners.