May 1, 2008: We need your help: Volkswagen
owners have always been people with a heart, and that's why we really
need your help. SuperBeetles was approached by Mitch Petty to help out
with a fund raiser for the Hospital
for Sick Children located in 
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada. The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), affiliated
with the University of Toronto, is Canada's most research-intensive
hospital and the largest centre dedicated to improving children's health
in the country. As innovators in child health, SickKids improves the
health of children by integrating care, research and teaching. With
a staff that includes professionals from all disciplines of health care
and research, SickKids provides the best in complex and specialized
care by creating scientific and clinical advancements, sharing knowledge
and expertise and championing the development of an accessible, comprehensive
and sustainable child health system.
Mitch's inspiration comes from his 8 month old daughter (Veronica) who got a bad blood infection (possibly Meningitis) and has spent a lot time in the Hospital. She has since been diagnosed with a kidney abnormality which means she will be a regular visitor to SickKids for monitoring. Needless to say, he TOTALLY believes in Sick Kids and wants to raise money and have some fun at the same time. The fund raising event is a 40 hour drive-a-thon featuring an 'Eye Catching' vintage Volkswagen Baja Bug followed by a charity Picnic. The drive-a-thon route will take the ‘Punch Buggy’ up and down Toronto’s busiest streets and will offer great visibility and exposure for Punch Buggy 4 SickKids. The event will begin in the very early morning hours of Thursday May 29th and will end after 40 hours of driving on Saturday May 31st at 1:00pm with the ‘Punch Buggy Picnic’ and 'Beetle Invasion' of Coronation Park.
For the last few hours of the drive-a-thon, other Volkswagen Beetle enthusiasts are invited to join in the drive-a-thon on the streets of Toronto for a Punch Buggy Parade. The goal is to fill the streets with the distinct sights and sounds of Volkswagne Beetles strutting their stuff for a good cause. The Punch Buggy Picnic will follow the drive-a-thon at Coronation Park which is located at the main entrance to the Canadian National Exhibition. Food and drink will be served and Volkswagen Beetle Clubs from all over southern Ontario will be displaying their cars. Everyone is Welcome! And with your help, we believe that we can exceed our goal of raising $10,000.00. See you there!
For more
information visit http://www.punchbuggy4sickkids.com
Can't attend? Click
HERE to donate
Thank you!
May 09, 2008: Bugs for Lunch: I went out for lunch today to get away from work for awhile and to get a chance to finish the book that I am reading. The nice weather is almost here and soon I'll be able to start my walking at lunch one again. While I was parked something told me to look up and I saw a white Beetle with one of those fake rear spare tires on the back driving by. I've seen this VW before and have spoken to it's owner at the local mall. It's funny because he thinks of his vintage Beetle as just his car and doesn't realize just how special it is.
Later in the
day Emilio from Progress
Motors dropped by my work to say hello. He thanked me for sending
Kim and her convertible Beetle to his shop to get some work done.
He told me that her Beetle is in great shape but will need a new engine
block in the future as it has a crack near the oil pressure switch
that is leaking slightly. Kim also dropped me an email thanking me
for referring her to Emilio. She said, "I wanted to write and
thank you again for recommending Emilio to me. I just got back with
my Bug, and I really feel like I have finally found, as you said,
a 'trustworthy' mechanic. I also found him (and his son) such nice
people, down to earth and all around - lovely. I'm just so happy and
relieved to have met Emilio. Thanks again, Kim." 
May 10,
2008: A Rare Find: I just received an email from Robert Horsburgh,
a fellow Super Beetle owner from the GTA. He has been into Beetles
for as long as I have and I usually run into him at some VW events
during the summer months. He told me that a fellow coworker was doing
some cleaning and found some VW brochures. One of them was this one
from Oct, 1974 and is for the 1975 La Grande Bug. He sent me a PDF
of it and I was blown away! I have never seen one of these before
and it confirms that my gold Super Beetle in indeed a La Grand Edition.
He said it in full colour and in great condition too. He's going to
give it to me when we see each other at the next event. What a "Super"
guy! 