CLUB B5 - VW Passat Page

Backseat Driver Found by rpaller
June 29, 2004

Volkswagen has used a clever advertising gimmick to lure prospective car buyers into their showrooms with Drivers Wanted™. They have even played with the concept in more recent ads enticing viewers to Drive It. You’ll Get It™. This is great for audiences old enough to drive, but what about the potential drivers that merely ride along in their child safety seat?

Little does my son, Ian, or Volkswagen know, but he is one of the first Backseat Drivers Found. His obsession with Volkswagens began slowly as he watched his uncle work on a 97 VW GTI. It was a labor of love, blood, sweat, and the occasional obscenity that slipped in Ian’s presence. We didn’t know until Ian was nearly a year old that he quietly learned the sound of an uncorked VR6 motor as it approached from several hundred meters away, and the unique shape of a MKIII GTI. As soon as he could say the words “Doo” for his uncle Drew and “car” that was all you would hear until either Ian made it to the window or his uncle Drew walked in the house.

In December 2003, it was time to make the next step in the development of my Backseat Driver. I had spent months reading up on Volkswagens over at VWVortex and once I realized that a Passat would be a perfect addition for a young family I found Club B5. It was love at first sight. I had to have one. Just before Christmas, Diane and I decided that it was time to include a Volkswagen of our own in our stable. I will admit, I was first tempted by a 1999 A4 Quattro but she was already well on in life at 77,000 miles. Then I found her, a CPO 1999 Satin Silver Passat. Within three days I was signing the papers, satisfied that I had finally joined the “club” and Ian had acquired the title Backseat Driver Found. Daddy’s car was now the preferred method of travel to Oma’s and Opa’s.

When uncle Drew’s GTI was totaled after hitting a patch of ice and sliding off the road this past winter, Ian reminded us for months that “Doo’s car owie” each time he saw a GTI. Each time a “bug” goes past, he chimes in with “Daddy Bug” from the back seat. Ian is also quick to spot Oma’s Jetta variant, Daddy’s Passat, or Drew’s GTI in parking lots or on roads across West Michigan.

Rest assured Volkswagen, this Backseat Driver Found will become one of your Drivers Wanted™ in 15 or so years.

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