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15000
members - 11/04 |
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12000
members - 03/04 |
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10000
members - 10/03 |
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9,000
members - 07/03 |
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7,000
members - 01/03 |
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5,000
members - 06/02 |
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3,000
members - 12/01 |
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B5
of the Month – October 2002
James
Wie (gufi21)
Lakewood, CA USA
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After
serving gallons of Haagen Dazs ice cream and Mobil 87 octane,
four years of putting aside every nickel and dime finally paid
off. My dream of
owning a VW Passat had become a reality.
But it didn’t play out exactly as I had planned.
I originally wanted a B5 but eventually, I drove off the lot
in a B5.5. I will
admit that it wasn’t love at first sight when I first saw
the facelifted New Passat.
My search for an OG B5 in March 2001 proved futile and
I was somewhat forced to order a B5.5. But once my 1.8T Reflex Silver beauty was mine, I knew it was
going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
I threw a party to celebrate the arrival of my new baby and
thanks to Eric at SPP, she had new shoes awaiting her –
19”x8.5” ADR M-Classics.
Her love for these shoes was shown by the worn rubber
marks on the Falken Ziex 502’s.
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Halfway through her first six
months and 17,000 miles, she started to feel sluggish.
The problem was quickly diagnosed as her vacuum hoses
had only the stock 6psi of pressure contained within them.
Jeff Moss at Velocity installed a GIAC 1 bar chip and
the change resulted in an immediate kill on the I5.
The victim was an IS300 that responded with a
respectful flash of her emergency blinkers.
With newfound confidence, she was off and would never look
back. In April, I
entered my very first show – the 28th Annual
Bug-o-Rama in Arizona. I
was placed in a class with the Cabbies and Corrado’s but was
the proud and surprised 1st place winner.
But with the good comes bad.
After finishing my first semester at the University of
Arizona, I was on my way home from the New Dimension Charity
Event in NorCal when the unexpected happened.
My right rear blew and threw us across the I-10
performing a 540 spin before being thrown into the center
embankment. I
stumbled out of my car and thanked the Lord no one else was on
the highway. I
quickly assessed the damage that appeared minimal – a blow
rear tire, 3 damaged rims, no front grill, and minor
scratches.
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VW roadside assistance replaced my flat tire with my 16”
spare and I was on my way.
But I couldn’t stop shaking for the next 350 miles.
Once back in SoCal, the car was sent to the master
cosmetic surgeon – Joe of WetWorks Garage – who repaired
my rims, my grill, and the other minor damage.
I've had my share of set backs but the love and bond I have
with my car will not allow me to give up on her. After surviving a fire, a blown tire, and a broken front lip,
I realize that we can get through anything.
I would like to thank ClubB5 for supporting me though
the hardships and honoring me for all of my hard work.
It is a true honor to be selected as the B5 of the
Month. Thank you
very, very much!
Special thanks to WetWorks Garage, VWCOLA, SPP, P&P
Motorsports, PG Performance, the Potters and all that have
helped me reach this honor.
Fun Dubbin!
-James
Wie (gufi21) |
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