The "Dub" scene
Discussion
I like old Vw's, Golf's and to a certain extent the Air Cooled stuff but the whole "Dub" thing makes me cringe, someone does something and then they all seem to copy, just been to VW Northwest and there seems to be a few distinct trends,
20 inch Bentley Wheels
A roof rack with all the crap from the back of the garage mounted on it
Tyres that dont fit the wheels.
Sanding all your paint off
I think all these things kind of have their place but there seems to be a lack of subtlety and they
seem to go ott and do all of it, to the same car, just seems so contrived.
Dont get me wrong there were some nice vehicles there but there were a lot of self conciously "scene" cars there when I was hoping for some serious sleepers or interesting conversions but they were thin on the ground.
20 inch Bentley Wheels
A roof rack with all the crap from the back of the garage mounted on it
Tyres that dont fit the wheels.
Sanding all your paint off
I think all these things kind of have their place but there seems to be a lack of subtlety and they
seem to go ott and do all of it, to the same car, just seems so contrived.
Dont get me wrong there were some nice vehicles there but there were a lot of self conciously "scene" cars there when I was hoping for some serious sleepers or interesting conversions but they were thin on the ground.
It's also now full of the people who used to f
k up old Corsas and Novas unfortunately.
If these people get a whiff of something else being the new fad they descend on it like locusts, using their single collective brain cell to decide that VWs are indeed 'well wiked innit'.
It's a shame, a few years ago it was a legitimate movement, full of creativity, along with the usual sheep of course, but now it's deinatley a tired cliche and bottom feeders now hurf and durf their way through crappy old Polos like they have descended into greatness, strtching tyres and scrabbling to buy Wolfrace multi fits that bear any slight resemblance to BBS rims.
R.I.P. VW we bareley knew ye.
k up old Corsas and Novas unfortunately.If these people get a whiff of something else being the new fad they descend on it like locusts, using their single collective brain cell to decide that VWs are indeed 'well wiked innit'.
It's a shame, a few years ago it was a legitimate movement, full of creativity, along with the usual sheep of course, but now it's deinatley a tired cliche and bottom feeders now hurf and durf their way through crappy old Polos like they have descended into greatness, strtching tyres and scrabbling to buy Wolfrace multi fits that bear any slight resemblance to BBS rims.
R.I.P. VW we bareley knew ye.
I bought an original Mini off some Dubbers. Didn't learn this until later, but somehow it got me from Bolton to Nottingham with leaking rear brake hoses and the fuel hose touching the exhaust manifold. It wasn't an unstoppable fireball down the M1, but it oh so could've been, had the rear brake shoes not been covered in fluid themselves... 
Hungry Freak said:
I bought an original Mini off some Dubbers. Didn't learn this until later, but somehow it got me from Bolton to Nottingham with leaking rear brake hoses and the fuel hose touching the exhaust manifold. It wasn't an unstoppable fireball down the M1, but it oh so could've been, had the rear brake shoes not been covered in fluid themselves...
That's because the average New Dubbers mechanical knowledge begins and ends at sticking chequred stickers on their roof and fitting a fking car bra.It's this seasons Lexus Lights.
The classic VW scene does seem rather... characterful... at times. Much as I appreciate that they're often highly individual cars, I can't get my head round the current fad for 'rust-look' paint on aircooled VWs. I find rust an ugly, unsightly thing that strikes fear into the hearts of most classic enthusiasts so the idea of someone trying to make their car look like it's had it is just beyond me I'm afraid.
Also, it's interesting to see the VW Polo two-door saloon becoming recognised as a classic amongst young enthusiasts, and seeing one the other day reminded me actually how elegant it looks, almost like a Lancia Beta coupe:
But what's with the trend for fitting them with wheels that look like they came off an upsized Scalextric car? They foul the arches too, which makes me wonder whether the owners put a different set of wheels on them come MOT time.
Also, it's interesting to see the VW Polo two-door saloon becoming recognised as a classic amongst young enthusiasts, and seeing one the other day reminded me actually how elegant it looks, almost like a Lancia Beta coupe:
But what's with the trend for fitting them with wheels that look like they came off an upsized Scalextric car? They foul the arches too, which makes me wonder whether the owners put a different set of wheels on them come MOT time.
tossbag said:
Hungry Freak said:
I bought an original Mini off some Dubbers. Didn't learn this until later, but somehow it got me from Bolton to Nottingham with leaking rear brake hoses and the fuel hose touching the exhaust manifold. It wasn't an unstoppable fireball down the M1, but it oh so could've been, had the rear brake shoes not been covered in fluid themselves...
That's because the average New Dubbers mechanical knowledge begins and ends at sticking chequred stickers on their roof and fitting a fking car bra.It's this seasons Lexus Lights.
So they can paint too!
To me it was understandable when Vws were air-cooled. They stood out from other vehicles for this reason. The Type 1s and 2s particularly enjoyed an enormous following, but Golfs???? Polos???? they are shopping hatchbacks FFS, little different from their Ford or Vauxhall rivals. Sad.
Ferg said:
To me it was understandable when Vws were air-cooled. They stood out from other vehicles for this reason. The Type 1s and 2s particularly enjoyed an enormous following, but Golfs???? Polos???? they are shopping hatchbacks FFS, little different from their Ford or Vauxhall rivals. Sad.
There is not many better sights than a nice MK2 Golf in that metalic green sitting well on som BBS alloys to be fair though.The problem is that the people snapping them up decreasingly think so, and here we are today in a wildersness surrounded by t
ts in rusty slammed heaps of ste, high fiving each other over their latest Minisrty Of Dub sticker.tossbag said:
Ferg said:
To me it was understandable when Vws were air-cooled. They stood out from other vehicles for this reason. The Type 1s and 2s particularly enjoyed an enormous following, but Golfs???? Polos???? they are shopping hatchbacks FFS, little different from their Ford or Vauxhall rivals. Sad.
There is not many better sights than a nice MK2 Golf in that metalic green sitting well on som BBS alloys to be fair though.Ferg said:
tossbag said:
Ferg said:
To me it was understandable when Vws were air-cooled. They stood out from other vehicles for this reason. The Type 1s and 2s particularly enjoyed an enormous following, but Golfs???? Polos???? they are shopping hatchbacks FFS, little different from their Ford or Vauxhall rivals. Sad.
There is not many better sights than a nice MK2 Golf in that metalic green sitting well on som BBS alloys to be fair though.I'm not a massive hatch back fan, they are cars designed from the ground up generally speaking to make a Morrisons run nice and easy, but I do think a MK2 Golf is a cracking example of that kind of car.
Ferg said:
To me it was understandable when Vws were air-cooled. They stood out from other vehicles for this reason. The Type 1s and 2s particularly enjoyed an enormous following, but Golfs???? Polos???? they are shopping hatchbacks FFS, little different from their Ford or Vauxhall rivals. Sad.
I actually think the first generation of Giugiaro-styled FWD VWs are quite elegant things. Obviously the Mk1 GTI was a classic from the off, and is now commanding prices increasingly heading towards the £10k mark, which obviously has raised interest in the cheaper, 'lesser' alternatives - Mk2 Golf GTIs, Sciroccos, Polo coupes and two-door saloons. They're all good-looking cars, still reliable, and a great way for young people to get into driving older semi-classic cars without being walloped over insurance, or being stranded with unreliable mechanical bits.In fact it speaks volumes about the current car manufacturers' inability to build anything of interest for young drivers that they're still turning to cars that were made 20 years ago.
Having owned a corrado I try to keep as far away from the dub as possible. The whole scene scares me, stretching tyres is just wrong. Also when they build something new and exiting its instantly robbed of its rarity by hundreds of people with too much money and not enough creativity to make something unique for themselves. Line up over here you will see 100 abf mk2's and over here a hundred air ride polo mk1's.
Twincam16 said:
Ferg said:
In fact it speaks volumes about the current car manufacturers' inability to build anything of interest for young drivers that they're still turning to cars that were made 20 years ago.
I agre with your post, but this bit, not so much, come back in 20 years and I think we will see young drivers drivibg cars that are 20 years old, it's the circle of life!/Elton John mode
Twincam16 said:
Obviously the Mk1 GTI was a classic from the off....
You think??I disagree.
Indeed, had that been the case there would be more about. It was a great car until it was superseded by subsequent models. From memory we were onto the Mk4 before people realised we'd sleepwalked into a lard-bucket version of the Golf.
Certainly the retro-tinted specs have been kind to the Mk1, but only if we can stop thinking that we really NEED a hatchback full of driver aids and safety devices. The Mk1s ability is largely due to it's light weight (relatively) which gives it lovely handling to help out it's fairly underpowered (by modern standards) engine. Remember, when it came out GTI Engineering were offering bigger capacity engines fairly swiftly.....
Nope. I don't get the water-cooled VW 'scene'. I honestly suspect it's populated by kids who can't afford anything much more powerful, but are trying to get a little of the air-cooled 'coolness' to rub off on their euro-hatch....
Twincam16 said:
Ferg said:
To me it was understandable when Vws were air-cooled. They stood out from other vehicles for this reason. The Type 1s and 2s particularly enjoyed an enormous following, but Golfs???? Polos???? they are shopping hatchbacks FFS, little different from their Ford or Vauxhall rivals. Sad.
I actually think the first generation of Giugiaro-styled FWD VWs are quite elegant things. Obviously the Mk1 GTI was a classic from the off, and is now commanding prices increasingly heading towards the £10k mark, which obviously has raised interest in the cheaper, 'lesser' alternatives - Mk2 Golf GTIs, Sciroccos, Polo coupes and two-door saloons. They're all good-looking cars, still reliable, and a great way for young people to get into driving older semi-classic cars without being walloped over insurance, or being stranded with unreliable mechanical bits.In fact it speaks volumes about the current car manufacturers' inability to build anything of interest for young drivers that they're still turning to cars that were made 20 years ago.
In regard to the 'Dub' scene I find the both the air and water-cooled scene way too cringe-worthy at times.
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