Our Super 74: The Love Bug

People naturally want to share their stories. Especially big ones that involve fixing something as complex as a car. Few people, though, have the tools to do that quite as well as Jason Cole, director and subject of a short documentary called Our Super 74.

The film, which shares some of its aesthetic with Petrolicious, is an ode to a 1974 Super Beetle that was handed down to Cole. Originally, it was bought by his wife’s father in San Jose and it’s never been out of the family.

Originally, Cole wanted the car to save some money on gas, but about seven years ago he started wrenching. We spoke to him about the process.

“I always liked the car,” says Cole, “but as I slowly began to work on and tinker with it I totally fell in love with the damn thing.”

As with any love, though, there was a learning curve. Cole was by no means a mechanic. “Before the bug I’d maybe changed oil on a car, but that was it,” he explains.

So he started reading and researching.

“That’s where VW Vortex and other VW communities came in,” he says. “As I read more about the car and asked people questions I got less and less intimidated. Whenever I ran into a roadblock I could usually find an answer. That’s how I was able to rebuild the engine, lower the car, install disc brakes, retrofit MK2 GLI Recaro seats into the car, figure out individual engine problems, and tons of other stuff I’m forgetting.”

Eventually, the Beetle started looking good and Cole started attending shows, so he decided to shoot a video about the car.

Cole works as a video producer at Wargaming Seattle—you might recognize them as the makers of World of Tanks and other video games. There he handles internal and external video production for the video game maker. Ever since he was a kid, though, he’s been making videos and in his career he’s worked on TV and even for Nintendo.

Cole admits that he didn’t really choose to become a VW guy. Instead, he says, it chose him. And the community is a big part of that. “It’s also a great crowd to be around with your kids,” he says. “VW people are just cooler than normal people.”

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