Waterfest 15 | Conceptcarz.com

Waterfest 15
By: Evan Acuña

Waterfest was founded fifteen years ago as an annual refuge for an up and coming group of car enthusiasts. As its name proudly announces, the show was for water-cooled Volkswagens only. Long before Waterfest, air-cooled Volkswagens and the people who drove them had created an entire culture of car mania. VW Bugs, Buses, Things, Ghias, and others were frequently gathered in parking lots for makeshift exhibitions. Supremely fast Volkswagens sat next to slammed lowriders. Substance and style, both of a distinctly unique variety, intermingled in a group of diverse cars with individuality on their minds and air in their hearts.

The air-cooled fanatics clung to their lifestyle and to the culture they had founded. As air-cooled cars were phased out by Volkswagen in the U.S., owners of the outdated autos continued to flaunt their pride in large and loyal displays of antifreeze-free gatherings.

As all this was happening, a new generation of water-cooled Volkswagens was discovered by a new legion of fans. Realizing that Volkswagens were still great and unique cars, these new enthusiasts bought up Rabbits, Foxes, and GTIs, caring for them and modifying them as thoroughly as the air-cooled crowd. Looking for venues to showcase their vehicles, the water-cooled folks brought their cars to air-cooled VW shows.

Too often, these new fans were given the cold shoulder by the air-cooled purists. The new VWs were ignored and slighted, with even the very best being constantly upstaged by relatively mundane Beatles and Squarebacks.

Years later, with the waning popularity of air-cooled VWs, a small group of people put together a little show for water-cooled Volkswagens only. The idea was a great one: create a comfortable environment where lovers of the ever-growing movement of water-cooled VW tuning could enjoy their hobby far from the disapproving eyes of frustrated purists. Waterfest was born.

The show moved from venue to venue as it constantly outgrew its confines, until landing at the enormous Old Bridge Raceway Park in Manalapan, New Jersey. Organizers never thought they would actually fill Raceway Park, but time has proven them wrong. The event now occupies all of the space within the venue over two days. The ¼ mile track is used for bracket racing and burnout contests. The huge parking lots are used for a grand exhibition of show cars in many different classes. Audio systems battle in a 'Sound-Off' competition, and vendors freckle the blacktop with tents and booths selling the performance parts, accessories, and clothing of a new lifestyle that just keeps spreading.

Growing to include any cars produced under VW-owned Audi, Waterfest has become the largest Volkswagen/Audi show in North America. Such a title is deeply impressive now that the water-cooled culture has replaced the air-cooled scene as one of the largest and most devoted groups of car enthusiasts on the planet.

This year's show, Waterfest 15, once again occupied the entirety of Raceway Park. Saying that cars came from as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida seems ordinary when the cars came from as far east as Europe. Europeans coming to America for a European car show? It's not surprising when the sheer size of Waterfest is considered.

The quality of the show cars this year, as with other years, was excellent. Most of the cars on display were modified tastefully, with high end deep-dish wheels and sophisticated air bag suspension kits considered the most impressive improvements. Show car owners spent the morning cleaning wheels and using detailing sprays before judging began, exhibiting the dedication and enthusiasm typical of this crowd. The drag strip was busy all weekend, and saw some incredibly fast cars pass down the asphalt. A 1990 Audi Coupe quattro, looking almost stock aside from the drag tires, pulled an 11-second flat quarter mile.

In all contests, unique and wonderful Audis and VWs proved their worth and reinforced their owners' pride. Waterfest holds such great examples of Volkswagen/Audi products, and so many of them, that Volkswagen itself has become one of the event's largest sponsors. The show has grown from a simple gathering of displaced VW owners to a world-class display of an entire automotive culture where individuality is embraced and where cars, people, music, and fashion come together for one of the most exciting events of its kind. Spectators and participants alike are constantly reminded that there's nothing quite like Vee-Dubbin.'

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