LukesWagen

I fell in love with VWs when I saw Herbie, The Love Bug at Northfield Cinema in 1969. It’s an amazing film.

Luke’s Story

In 1971, my uncle bought a new Beetle, and he naturally called it Herbie. It's the first car I worked on. I was 13 years old. He's still got that car. I used to go around there on Saturdays and just get involved.

We used to buy barrel pipes, we got a radio and mud flaps, that sort of stuff, bolt on goodies. I financed my degree in Economics at Roehampton by buying, selling and restoring Beetles. After my graduation, I bought a garage with my business partner at the time.

Catching the love bug

I've restored cars here ever since then. I met my wife Helen through the garage. She used to be a customer of mine and I’d give her good discounts, you know, when my business partner wasn’t looking. After being a customer of the garage for a while she asked me for a job. It wasn’t long after she started working here that nature took its course.

We went out for our first date in my green convertible. We went to a pub in Chiswick. Neither of us drank, we just enjoyed each other's company. That evening, when we were about to leave the pub, we were sitting in the car chatting, and I asked if I could kiss her. Do you know what she said? “Where?” We just got on really well, and one thing led to another. We got married and had three lovely children. She's passed away now, but the memories are all still there.

Off to the races

Back in 1989, when we first started dating, we were both very into drag racing. We used to visit the track a lot. Eventually Helen decided she wanted to compete. So, we built her a car to race in the Street Class.

We had a traditional Greek wedding in ’93. After the ceremony we had a good knees-up. It’s tradition for relatives and friends to pin money on you rather than buy you presents. We bought a new race engine with our wedding money. It was the first time one of those had been bought over from the States.

This time it's personal

My business is in West London. We restore cars to a very nice standard. We do custom work, but I prefer to make them look the way they did when they left the factory.

I personally own around 30 cars, two of which are particularly important to me. My two favourites are easily, my green convertible, which we call ‘Olive,’ that's the car I had my first date in with my wife... and Herbie.

Driving a Hollywood star

From the very first time I saw the film, way back in 1969, I always had a love for Herbie. I’d been collecting parts to build a replica. I even managed to buy the original registration – OFP 857 from the DVLA. I heard the real Herbie might be for sale. I managed to get the owner's details and we emailed each other for a good year before he sold me the car. What I didn't realise was that his wife was reading these emails and judging me on the way I spoke about Herbie, she loved that I was referring to him as a person. I was saying things like, “We'll have to send Herbie over on an empty stomach,” meaning, no petrol in his fuel tank, in case he got seasick. They loved those sorts of references, and they decided to sell me the car. I take such good care of him. Anything he needs, he gets the best quality. Genuine VW only, no reproduction parts on Herbie.

A new generation

My first grandchild is to my son, Louis, and his fiancée, Bev. He's two years old now, and he's already making his mark. Little Harry’s got two VW Beetles, both electric and he loves them. His favourite pastime is driving in his little cars. Hopefully he'll be a car fanatic as well. My whole life revolves around VW. Running the business has bought me my house and put a roof over the heads of my children. I’ve loved it, you just enjoy every day. I've got so many fond memories, sitting with my cousin watching the original Herbie film way back in ‘69. Driving to car shows, racing... But, there’s one thing that beats all of that, you know, that really makes your hair stand on end, and that’s the first kiss my wife gave me in my green convertible. Yeah, that's up there.

Meet the Volks and their Wagens

This film is dedicated to our fans. Each story within it reflects the sincere affection Volks hold for their Wagens. It includes people from every corner of the country, from all walks of life, driving all kinds of Volkswagens, from vintage Beetles to contemporary SUVs and the all-electric ID Range.