While I broke my car and enjoyed a vacation with my friends, a team of my colleagues was hard at work representing ECS on a more professional level at European Experience. We were excited to bring our own booth setup, cars, unique merchandise, and some of our lovely staff to the show for the first time, and it definitely did not disappoint. From the warm, sunny weather, to the pristine cars and their amazing owners, EUEX 2019 was an absolute blast.
If you have attended past EUEX events, you may remember we teamed up with Black Forest Industries to bring down our MK7.5 GTI that we gave away. This year, after months of planning, designing, and organizing, we were fortunate enough to send a full team and our own booth space. We made merchandise exclusively for our run of shows this season, finally acquired a full tent setup and sent a fantastic mix of representatives to engage with all you lovely people.
During the planning process, while we were working with one of the event organizers, Matthew Bounds, an idea was introduced to go a little beyond just bringing our ECS presence to the show. For those who don’t know, Matt is also heavily involved with Forge Motorsport. After some discussion, we decided a partnership between the companies for the show would be a wonderful project to display for you all to enjoy. The MK5 GTI wide body we had neglected for some time turned into the perfect candidate for the Forge/ECS treatment.
Forge was happy to send us parts to include in the re-build of the car while we sent some of our knowledgable VW Product team to assist with their booth. The MK5 itself received Forge silicone hoses, an intercooler, fuel pressure regulator, a brand new ECS/Forge livery, and more. It sat, shining in the Sun, a representation of car community collaboration at the highest level. Frankly, I think the car looks stunning and couldn’t have asked for a better joint venture than the one with Forge.
The MK5 was certainly a highlight of the show, but there was so much quality and detail present, it was hard to distinguish it from the onslaught of visual stimuli from the other cars. It was almost hard to take in all the beauty from builds present. Volkswagen/Audi enthusiasts are responsible for much of current car culture, so it is difficult to think of builds becoming more detail-oriented, cleaner, shinier, lower, unique, and creative. Yet, somehow, the community never ceases to amaze.
The show was something of a whirlwind. Two days of speaking with all our wonderful supporters, answering questions, and displaying our cars felt amazing.
The limbo, of course, made the trip even more exciting. We love the goofiness that goes on with the EUEX limbo, and this year did not disappoint. The Volvo was particularly thrilling to watch. Everyone clearly enjoyed themselves.
Now that we’re back home, we are left reflecting on the trip with memories made from good times and great photography. We are excited to attend more shows this year, like Waterfest and the BMW CCA Octoberfest, so we hope to make more memories through amazing experiences and expect you all to join us. See you at the next one, EUEX.
