One of the best things you can do for your classic beetle is to make sure you are running it in a regular basis. There’s probably no better way of making sure that happens than by joining a VW club.
Clubs range from organized get togethers with no limitations, to groups that have organized meetings, dues, charity events, etc. So there are quite a few opportunities to get that beetle to a meeting.
You can even live in a different geographical location and still be a member. We once joined the Circle City Volkswagen Club in Indiana while living in Wisconsin. This club has over 1700 participants, made up of folks who live nearby, and folks that live hours away. In our case it was a four hour drive, about 235 miles.
We joined the club primarily because the leadership and members were so nice. We knew we wouldn’t be making that journey except once a year for their car show. It would be fun to go again, but that’s 900 miles now, a bit too much to drive. So finding a club nearby was of interest to me when we landed down here in 2013.
Fortunately I was adopted by a group of great people that meet monthly with their air cooled VW’s. We have quite a few beetles, a van, a thing, and a couple karmann ghia’s. It’s a great group, and it isn’t a formal VW group.
If you’re looking for structure, then the VVWCA, is a great place to find a club near you. I would recommend that you join their group at vvwca.com . They have free memberships. On their site VW clubs are listed by state, and you may find one near you, although that’s not always the case. For instance there are three in Texas, but all are well outside the distance I am willing to drive (in my bug).
However, there are many more clubs in Texas than those affiliated with VVWCA. Thesamba.com lists clubs by state as well, and there are three clubs that are quite close to me. Simply doing a google search in your area will turn up even more clubs.
So if you are interested, this might kick-start your search for finding a VW club and some good conversation.
