Cape Town – So what, you might ask, does DUB actually mean? You’ve seen it stickered on to cars in your hood, and you might have guessed, correctly, that it has something to do with customising.
That much you’ve got right, but what exactly? It has never been an exact concept; in some car cultures Dub means any car with 20 inch or bigger rims – but in the Cape it means something more specific.
When you say V-Dub, this specifically refers to air-cooled Volkswagens, and is important in that the term makes sure the cars are not to be confused with non-European cars such as Hondas, Subarus and Toyota.
Here’s where another often misunderstood acronym comes in – VAG. All Dub cars are VAG but not all VAG cars are Dub. VAG has been understood to stand for Volkswagen Audi Group, and designates all cars that are manufactured by the VW group – including Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini.
Some say, however, that VAG stands for Volkswagen Aktien Gesellschaft, and designates only VW.
Whatever the meaning, a Cape crew got together a huge number of VAG cars on one field last weekend, 479 in all, including 22 different clubs. All in all it was one big representation of VAG car culture, in this show described as “the true VW, Audi, Seat and Porsche enthusiast”.
Bragging rights
For the second consecutive year Vincent Cekiso won “Best of Show”, after travelling from Port Elizabeth with his chocolate-coloured custom Golf Mk1. He also scooped bragging rights for Best Mk1 Old Spec and Best Engine Bay, and took first in the Old Custom Class.
As far as Cekiso is concerned, Dub means VW, and he happens to work for VW. When we spoke to him at the 2015 show, he said he intended to strip his car down and prep it for this year. Looks like that was a successful project.
"I took the engine out," he said, "resprayed the bay a clean white and waited three months for side indicators, they’re hard to find. Then I put roof racks on top and drove down.”
For organiser Joe Klein, Dub refers to the Dub in W (as in Vee Double You).
He said: “The show was a huge success, especially considering all the other shows that were held on the same weekend; we had about 1500 people through the gate.”
Red carpet
Waseem Inglis, one of the judges, agreed: “The experience was phenomenal, the quality of cars was great and you could see that many owners had spent the year polishing every bolt to a shine. I’d like to thank Team DAF for the opportunity to be part of the judging panel at such an extraordinary event.”
He admitted he was nervous of this year's new red carpet judging plan, where the fans sat one side on stands and each car to be judged was driven in turn on to the red carpet in front of them; the judge then went over the details while MC Rashaad Voight interviewed the driver.
"Usually it’s just you and the driver," Inglis said, "and now you’ve got hundreds of people watching your every move. But it got easier as the day went on – and my sunburn deepened!"
Cape Polo Crew took first place with their finely crafted display of Polos, Polo society took second and Krazy Krew third.
For the kids there was jumping castles, rides, paintball shooting and face painting, while MC Rashaad Voight kept the info flowing and DJ Jeanne Voight kept the heads bouncing, along with entertainers The Unknown, Lester the singer and the Dylan dance group.
Charity beneficiaries
Shamiela Kader, who has been involved with Team DAF since the beginning of 2016, said: “The build-up was excellent, we did lots of advertising, but my top moment was the handover of funds to our chosen charities.”
The beneficiaries were the Abundant Life Palliative Care Programme and the Mitchells Plain Organisation for Abused Women and Children.
“It was great that fans could see who was benefiting," Kader said. “Abundant Life is an organisation close to my heart; this programme gives support and quality of life to people suffering from chronic illnesses as well as their families.”
"What was especially moving is that the Mitchells Plain Organisation for Abused Women and Children did a short theatre act describing what actually happens in some homes, to bring awareness to the reality of abuse and the need to do something about it."