Member: Katherine Allard                      

Location: Taftville, CT

VW/Audi’s Owned: 1991 Volkswagen GTI.

Member Since: June 2007

Wasserwerks: How long have you been involved in the VW/Audi hobby?

Katherine Allard: Going on two years now.

WW: What first got your interest in these types of cars?

KA: Well, my boyfriend’s obsession rubbed off on me. I think that's the best way to put it.

WW: What cars do you presently own?

KA: ‘91 T-Red GTI. (Straight 8Valve)

WW: What cars do you wish you owned?

KA: ‘92 GTI 16Valve Magic black, mk2 Jetta Coupe, mk4 R32 or 20th Anniversary GTI, and T-Red mk5 GTI.

WW: What cars do you wish you still owned?

KA: None so far, my current is my first and only..

WW: What do you like to do with your car(s) (show/race/etc.)?

KA: I like going to shows because I enjoy the company of most the people at them. (Well, the people in our club
anyway) And I really enjoy showing my car with my boyfriend. He’s the one who really showed my car at first. But then I went around with him judging a couple times at shows and I started to catch on to this whole show thing and I really like it. (Not to mention I know a lot more about cars in general now)

WW: What are your future plans for your car(s)?

KA: Rid it of all the rust, solve my mystery leak, get exhaust, get snowflakes on with new tires, buy a new euro-plate, put my new stock grill on and chuck that ugly badgeless, and maybe some touch up paint. Yes, I’ll be busy, and probably broke.

WW: What other hobbies do you have?

KA: I really enjoy photography, flea-marketing, camping with the boyfriend and Angus (the dog that everyone knows from the shows), and traveling. (The little I get to do)

WW: What is your best personal VW/Audi story?

KA: My Volkswagen filled day last June... It was the day of our show at Wallingford and the day I went to "test drive" my GTI. Except Matt did all the test driving.. At that time I didn't know how to drive standard. Later that night Matt and two of his buddies decided to pick up this free '91 Passat. And yes, I tagged along on this. It was raining out and got dark within 20 minutes of being there. We broke both the front door handles trying to get it to see if the engine would turn. (The car hadn't moved in years so it didn't) But Brent had to climb in from the back seat to find that out. Remember, Matt got this car for free. He didn't really need this car either, he had four all together at the time. (Before he got the Cabby back from the ex) But, who in their right mind would pass that up?! Anyway, the wonderful Gleason brothers, Matt, and myself were up there in the pooring rain trying to jumped it. Took a couple tries and some scraping with a screwdriver on the battery terminals.. But eventually it's engine turned. Then we realized it was leaking brake fluid. So, Brent cut and crimped the back breaks. And the first attempted to crimp the breaks didn't work well but with the second attempt successful we were able to throw a random plate on it and get it to Lisbon in one piece somehow. Yet it was puking smoke the whole time. It made a good parts car for them. Except I think we all went home with the beginning of a cold that night. And yes, that unnecessarily long.