Volkswagen Bugs, buses, and Corvairs welcome

The Volkswagen enthusiasts of San Diego Air Cooled have lined up at least 200 cars — Bugs, Karmann Ghias, and vans — for the First Annual Air Cooled Fiesta at Southwestern College on Sunday, May 5.

Club president Mario Peña is bringing the '56 Bug he's owned for 26 years, but right now he's working on a 1966 model, one of about 30 he's rescued from the scrap heap, rebuilt, and sold in the past nine years.

"I worked on other cars," says Peña, "but the VW scene is global, it's a people's car. Our intent is to keep them out of the junkyard. A lot of clubs are really strict about the cars, but we're very accepting...."

Despite their name, the club is welcoming a few water-cooled VWs from the 1980s and Chevy Corvairs, which were air-cooled.

Peña said the money raised at the event will go to Abilities Beyond Limitation in Education (A.B.L.E.), a campus club for people with common concerns about programs and students with disabilities.

"They are great people and they've become part of the Air Cooled family," Peña said. It's a big family. The Air Cooled club counts chapters in Baja and Los Angeles among the enthusiasts showing cars and setting up stands at the swap meet Sunday. There will also be food and music (and no alcohol) at the event, from 9 a.m. to 3 pm.