South Florida Get-Together

For VW/Audi enthusiasts across most of the nation, mid-February means hibernation. In fact, thoughts of the upcoming 2006 show season are simply a cruel tease, seemingly a lifetime away as you scrape the ice from your windshield. Not so for those lucky folks who either live in the Southeast or are willing to travel there, because mid-February signals yet another iteration of the wildly successful South Florida Get-Together (SFL-GTG).

Organized by seven VW/Audi freaks - Lou Romero, Rick Romero, Nate Santa Maria, Justin Miller, Drew Zoeller, Jose Siera de Leste and Jose Luis Monge - the 2006 Get-Together marked the fourteenth year of the annual event.

While we love big VW/Audi shows as much as the next guy, SFL-GTG actually prides itself on not being a show at all. It is what it is: a big, organized meet for VW and Audi enthusiasts to hang out and have a good time in the beautiful South Florida climate. What's not to love?

Aside from the $1 park entrance fee and $5 dollar "all you can eat" BBQ, SFL-GTG is a free event and totally non-profit. Due to hurricane damage at last year's Markham Park venue, SFL-GTG 14 was held at the Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah, FL. Not quite as picturesque as the regular venue but it worked out nicely, with easy access and plenty of room.

With the new location, questionable weather forecasts and higher fuel prices, this year's attendance was slightly down from '05. And yet over 500 cars and more than 1,200 people are nothing to sneeze at. Even the weather did its best to cooperate by offering attendees partly sunny skies and temps in the mid-70s.

There was lots of quality on show, with no shortage of Mk5 GTIs and Jettas, as well as a few B6 Passats sprinkled in. Many of the new releases were modded, and there's little doubt these new cars will prove just as popular as their older siblings.

Speaking of older siblings, there was a definite shortage of earlier models, with the Mk3s being the only "older" cars that showed up in large numbers. Still, there was a healthy mix of machinery, including some cool rat-look air-cooled Dubs.

The SFL-GTG exists thanks to the participation of its sponsors, and we'd be remiss if we didn't give them a mention here. Title sponsors Gunther VW and Wolfcars were in attendance, as were the other sponsors, Euro Auto Tuning, JL Audio, Unforgettable Sound & Performance, Forge Motorsport and D&N Performance. Each sponsor brought a few interesting cars with them and added to the event.

Our tireless heroes are already on the job organizing SFL-GTG '07 and we're told the date is Saturday, February 24, 2007. They're hoping to bring it back to Markham Park (hurricanes permitting) but keep an eye on www.sflgtg.com for info.