Drew with VW
Right on the heels of Southern Worthersee, Wuste gave us west coast gear nuts something to write home about last weekend. After three blisteringly hot days in Las Vegas, I counted approximately 1,800 cars and 8,000 people in attendance, with their spirits unfazed by the desert heat and amplified by the nonstop automotive action.
Originally called “Wustefest,” which is German for “Desert Gathering,” Wuste has quickly become one of the largest gatherings of Volkswagen enthusiasts in the nation. This year, the organizers rented out the entire Palace Station Casino for the weekend to take on the large crowd, just minutes from the strip.
To kick off the weekend’s activities, on Friday the first folks to arrive went on a 45-minute cruise out to the iconic Hoover Dam. Most enjoyed the twisty and scenic drive but didn’t bother to get out at the stop as temperatures reached over 100 degrees.
By Saturday morning, most attendees had arrived at the Palace Station and were eager to set out on the larger cruise to Mount Charleston. The group participating was so gigantic that just leaving the parking garage took the entire caravan over 30 minutes! Unlike last year, where those distracted by the view of hundreds of V-dubs didn’t find the top of the mountain, this year everyone made it all the way up, despite the overflowing parking lot.
That evening, the place to be was back at the Palace Station Casino parking garage for the Show and Shine competition. While the cars were being judged, attendees visited vendor booths including Unitronics and Eurotech, rocked out to live DJ music, and, naturally, strolled the lot to check out the wide variety of GTIs, TDIs, Golf Rs, and slammed Buses on display… you name it, if it had a VW logo, it was there.
Back by popular demand from SoWo, Volkswagen brought “VW Director,” which offers owners a chance to have their car professionally shot and enhanced with Photoshop in a mobile photo studio. In case you missed it, this revered feature will also be at Waterfest and H20i later this year.
In true Vegas style, our diehard enthusiasts kept the event going long after the planned activities ended. Our Twitter handle even had folks tweeting us at 4:30 in the morning! Man, our fans know how to have a good time. If you attended, we hope you made it home safely and are resting up for Waterfest in July!
How far would you or have you traveled for a VW car corral?