42 » OpenRoad Driver
“A Beetle was one of the first cars I was
ever driven in,” says the soft-spoken
56-year-old father of three, who recalls
memories of sharing a backseat with his
sister on cross-country family road trips.
Since being bitten by the “bug” at an
early age, Wawzonek has owned 30-odd
different models at varying times, ranging
from little more than a bare shell out of
someone’s back yard costing $50, to more
complete examples needing a little TLC.
Made between October 1952 and March
1953, the Bugs were known as “Zwitters,”
the German word for hybrid, boasting
either a split rear window or an oval style
that eventually became the standard.
Today the Bug now belongs to OpenRoad
Auto Group after Wawzonek parted ways
with it last year. So for the time being,
Wawzonek is Bug-less. He satisfies his Das
Auto craving with a 2008 Golf and a 1973
Westfalia Camper Van. “I love the feel of
driving a Beetle. It always felt comfortable
whenever I bought another one. Kind of
like an old friend,” recalls Wawzonek.
AN INTERVIEW WITH
B U G E N T H U S I A S T, B R I A N
WAW Z O N E K
What’s your favourite memory in
the ’52 Beetle?
The first time I drove it. After the car had
been left sitting for 25 years or so, it almost
brought tears to my eyes to cruise around
the block. I could feel the car breathe a
sigh of relief that it had been brought back
to life. It’s inspiring to know how this car
helped to change the attitudes of people
about small cars, and the way they would
drive in the future.
What was the most difficult or
challenging task in restoring the
’52?
Turning the car from a bare shell and
boxes of parts into what it looked like in a
Volkswagen showroom in 1952. It took a
lot of phone calls, e-mails and long hours
by VW guru Geoff Peterson and myself to
get it done.
How did the ’52 compare to the
other Beetles you’ve owned?
To a Beetle owner, an old Beetle is an old
Beetle, whether it’s a fully restored car
or a dust-covered restoration project in
someone’s barn. VW fanatics can see past
the state of what’s in front of them, and see
themselves in the driver seat. Only having
a 25-horsepower motor, getting to highway
speeds takes a little while but once there, it
purrs down the road.
Would you do anything differently
if you could go back to before you
purchased it?
Overall, no. People who love old
Volkswagens are always willing to help you
find parts, sending e-mails to let you know
about items for sale. If I had to restore the
car before the age of the internet, it would
have taken years and lots of phone calls
to start to collect the small items the car
needed. Although some thought I spent
too much time on tracking down the right
original part for the car, I always felt good
that I had done the best I could to make
the car back to what it was like when it
rolled off the assembly line in 1952.