‘How much horsepower does it have? Don’t ask me – it’s a car!’ Tina Kraßowski from the town of Kleve in North Rhine-Westphalia appears to have a sincerely pragmatic relationship with her Golf. That’s just how it is – and yet it is also something completely different, because it is actually both pragmatic and sincere. She has been driving her Dragon Green Metallic Golf III CL for twelve years, ‘bought from the original lady owner, who previously drove a Golf II and Golf I and had each of her cars serviced by the authorised garage.’
‘I wouldn’t want any other car!’
We present people who drive the Golf. Personal stories of life with the automotive icon. This time, we visit Tina Kraßowski, who drives a 1996 Golf III CL in Dragon Green Metallic.
Tina Kraßowski from the town of Kleve in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
When names of colours still sounded mythical: the 1996 Golf CL in Dragon Green Metallic
You can still see it today: resplendent look, vibrant paintwork. ‘To be honest, I cleaned it especially for the photo shoot, but left the dust on the dashboard – gleaming plastic reflects off my glasses …’ Well, of course it does, Tina!
Living in the Golf
All the same, she treats her Golf to two washes a year, ‘but then I give it the full works by vacuuming it, cleaning the windows and even polishing the plastic.’ Tina pauses and thinks for a moment: ‘otherwise, I tend to live in my Golf.’
Her Golf III has around 196,000 kilometres on the clock; the vehicle log book states that it is a 1.6-litre petrol model that delivers 75 horsepower. Tina mainly drives it mainly locally and regionally: ‘the motorway isn’t really my thing; my heart starts racing!’ laughs the 39-year-old doctor’s assistant, who also talks to her car.
‘When it behaves itself, I praise it with “Karl-Otto”. If it plays up, I severely admonish it with “Gustav!”. As she says: ‘It’s only a car’ …
An all-rounder
At the same time, Tina really does appreciate the Golf’s pragmatic virtues: she finds it extraordinarily spacious and yet versatile, a car that ‘does it all, from the trip to the furniture shop and subsequent journey home with purchases to the bucket of manure for my private greenhouse.’ In other words, a real ‘Golf from the country’. In addition, Tina says it is cheap to maintain and buy spare parts and it has never let her down, which is why she quickly and confidently replies to the question of how she would characterise her Golf in one word by simply saying ‘reliable’.
The Golf is a trustworthy all-rounder, so it is little wonder that Tina never wants to part with it: ‘I wouldn’t want any other car!’ she says fervently. She has known the Mk III since her driving school days; it is a good old friend, which is why she wants to drive her own personal model for as long as it remains roadworthy. That being the case, it is likely that this relationship between human and Golf will last a long while yet.
It goes on and on: a ‘real Golf from the country’
‘My Golf of all cars’
Tina only takes longer to think on one occasion and that is when she is searching for an answer to the question of the most dramatic experience she has had with her Golf to date. Then she suddenly smiles, pats the green endurance runner on the roof and says: ‘The fact that Volkswagen wanted to portray my Golf of all cars in word and on film!’.
Late fame after 23 years – and another chapter in the shared lives of Tina, Karl-Otto and Gustav.
A perfect match: Tina and Karl-Otto – or maybe Gustav …
