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Fiftty Years of Volkswagens in New Zealand, Philip Coyle
Transpress
Reviewed by Rex Trye (Courtesy of Taranaki Daily News)

At last the definitive book on the Volkswagen motoring legend in New Zealand.

The air-cooled VW beetle and van are well-recognised motoring icons to many around the world and here in New Zealand. To this end, Philip Coyle of Wellington has written a well-balanced, 176-page hardcover book, with 130 black-and-white photos and 206 in colour. The 50 years from the VW's official introduction into our country in 1954 up to today is covered.

There are great chapters on the early VW assembly plant at Otahuhu in Auckland, the processes and personalities connected with the factory, its technical training courses, the dealer networks in both islands (including here in Taranaki), the mechanics, sales and parts people, in fact anything you wanted to know will probably be found in this book regarding earlier Volkswagens in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

And of course the book takes us through to the introduction of the water-cooled VW Golf as a replacement of the beetle, the car that in many people's opinion saved VW from ruin in the 1970s. Many of the early Golfs in New Zealand were in fact assembled in Taranaki at the Waitara assembly plant.

Coyle brings us up to date with the resurgence of VW here in New Zealand; all the new models that can be seen on New Zealand's roads today are shown in many lovely photos. And he adds some great information on the modern VW technical service departments.

Interspersed are some great reproductions of period and modern VW advertising. A chapter is devoted to people and their Volkswagens, a cross-section of society who have a love of the quirky German machines. Included also is some history on unique VWs, both old and new, including a number of locally-made variations for farm and country usage.

I would thoroughly recommend this book as a great Christmas present for anyone who has a soft spot for the Volkswagen.