Few people in this modern day believe that cars are built to last, but for 89-year-old Mr Lorraine Kritzinger, his ‘Volksie’ has been a life-long companion. When he first saw a Volkswagen, he just knew it was the car for him.

At 32 years old, he was a successful vice-principal at a school in Empangeni and married with an expecting wife. He tried to purchase a VW from Lawrence Motors in Durban, but when they realised he did not own a VW to use as a trade-in, they were not interested.

“I had a 1948 Chev, but the salesman told me the cars were so popular they would only sell them to VW owners, as the secondhand VWs were easy to sell. “They only had five VWs on the showroom floor. Nobody called them Beetles in those days. They were simply ‘Volksies’.”

A short time later, he managed to sell his old Chev for 300 SA pounds. He then bought a secondhand VW at a garage in Pietermaritzburg for 400 pounds, so he finally had a car to trade in for a new one.

When he contacted the garage, he asked to buy a new green VW.

However, when he arrived at Lawrence Motors to collect his car, he was told he was getting the “yellow one”.

I told the salesman I had asked for a green car, but he simply told me straight, “The yellow one is yours.” And so it was on August 2, 1958, that a young Lorraine Kritzinger drove out of Lawrence Motors with his yellow ‘Volksie’.
It came with three suitcases and a roof rack, all of which he still has today.
His eldest son, now 57, grew up with the car. “I made a bunk bed for the kids on the back seat. They would sleep on long trips. The car radio was an ordinary transistor radio with the aerial out the side windows.

“It has taken me and my family all over South Africa, including 12 trips to the Cape from Ladysmith.”
Over the years, he has progressively upgraded the engine from its original 1100cc to its current 1600.

It now starts with a throaty roar and you can see a man truly at home behind the wheel.

All the original signage and artwork still grace the car, despite numerous engine upgrades.
The car served him well as the former principal of Klipriver Senior Primary and while he was mayor from 1987 to 1989

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