© Copyright 1996 - 2023, KGCNA.

The Karmann Ghia Club of North America

Please note:

KGCNA has obtained permission in writing to publish copyrighted materials from both Volkswagen AG and Wilhelm Karmann GmbH. Please do not attempt to save a copy of materials from our site, as this may jeopardize our permission to use the materials.

Thank you.

And note:

The French Karmann Ghia Club has a similar domain name. Find them at http://karmann-ghia.org/

 

Special Announcements!

1) THIS SUMMER is the 10th Anniversary of KGCNA!

2) NEXT SUMMER IS THE 50th Anniversary OF THE KARMANN GHIA!

You can find out about it at this page: https://KarmannGhia.org/50th_anniversary.html. Please also note that the 50th Anniversary Committee is seeking your volunteer assistance! You can contact Richard or Larry about it.


Contents:

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The KarmannGhiaClub E-mail list

KGCNA now hosts an email list so you can communicate with other K.G. enthusiasts world-wide in real-time. (A digest mode with daily collections is not yet available.) As of March 30, 1999, the email list has aproximately 500 Karmann Ghia enthusiasts, from Europe to Australia, to the Philipines, this list is broad-reaching....

Membership in KGCNA is desired, but not required for membership on the e-list.

To sign-up and for more information, please follow this link.


About The Karmann Ghia Club of North America

The Karmann Ghia Club of North America (KGCNA) is an Educational, non-profit corporation (under IRS 501c(3) rules) dedicated to the serving the needs of the Karmann Ghia community. (Note that we are not a charity, and dues are not deductible from your taxes.)


KGCNA Member Services

Members have a wide range of services available. Chief among membership benefits is a subscription to a newsletter called the Karmann Chronicles The Club also sponsors various car shows, performs appraisals, and offers a large selection of regalia items including everything from T-shirts to books.

Soon, a more exhaustive list will be posted here.



How to join KGCNA

Membership is easy: Simply send us your vital statistics - name, address, that sort of thing - along with your dues to our Club address, and we'll sign you up!

Club dues are presently $25 per year for US addresses, and $40 for all others. Dues should be made payable to KGCNA, and must be in US funds only.

Note that we are interested in aiding the Karmann Ghia community through maintenance of a database. One of the most important uses of this data is helping to protect members from the ravages of Insurance Companies, who love to consider your pride and joy "just an old VW." To perform this service, we need to keep up to date with the market, and want to know your actual selling prices for Ghias you buy or sell, not just what you report to your Department of Motor Vehicles. Please provide, for all Ghias you can:

This information is kept strictly confidential!


Regular Meetings

All KGCNA meetings are open to interested parties. Membership is not required, and neither is ownership of a Karmann Ghia - only an interest in the marque. Feel welcome to bring a friend along, and your Ghia of course!

How to contact KGCNA

Our address is:

The Karmann Ghia Club of North America
4200 Park Blvd, #151
Oakland CA 94602

You may also contact any of the members of the Leadership, at their various addresses, published below.



KGCNA History

The Club was founded in 1994 by Richard Troy with lots of help from many other Ghia enthusiasts. There is an interesting history to how the Club was started... (Please be patient - we'll be posting it here soon!) 

Current KGCNA Leadership

Richard Troy
KGCNA Founder and current President
Richard@KarmannGhia.org

https://KarmannGhia.org/Richard/
510-717-6942
FAX: 510-none presently

Richard has been an active Karmann Ghia enthusiast, and collector for over a decade. His collection is presently focused on the pre-60 Ghia, though over the years he has owned a good number of nearly all types and years of Karmann Ghia. He performs as many tasks as he can in his restoration and maintenance efforts, so it's hard to find something he hasn't done to his cars himself.

Richard's is meticulous and slow, but his approach to perfection shows. As a case in point, Richard has spent 8 years restoring 1991940, and completed it in the spring of '95. The vehicle was nice enough to be honored to represent Karmann at the Behring Auto Museum in Blackhawk, California in an exhibit on Carrozzeria Ghia, featuring the famed "Chrysler d'elegance" - The d'elegance is arguably the fore-runner of the Karmann Ghia. (There is some debate on the exact heritage, but there is no debate that the two designs are very closely related.)

Richard, in addition to his role as President, also authors several columns in the Karmann Chronicles, and is active in reproducing a number of rare parts for the Vintage Karmann Ghia.

His other automotive interests include the Porsche 356, and the Rometsch, and he is very active in Vintage Racing engines. In particular, Richard loves to play with Okrasa, Denzel, and early Porsche high performance engines. Amazingly, he is presently making reproduction parts for all three types! ("Ya gotta do, what ya gotta do when it comes to making these things work!") Oh yes, and he has a Judson super charger too, though it's just an aside. Richard plans on benchmarking each engine type in the same vehicle, for "apples to apples" comparisons of performance.

For his day job, Richard is a Computer Scientist. He recently founded Science Tools Corporation to commercialize the results of his research at the University of California at Berkeley. And, he is Co-Investigator of the OceanESIP project.




Vacant Position
KGCNA Vice President

KGCNA needs a volunteer, preferably in the San Francisco Bay Area to take on the role of Vice President. The role of VP is as fun and exciting as you care to make it! A successful candidate should have good communication skills, and strong interests in representing the club. Any current members in good standing are eligible. Please contact Richard or Larry for more information.




Vacant Position
Editor, The Karmann Chronicles

Larry Edson, Acting Editor

662 Hawthorne Av.

Campbell, CA, 95008-2117

408-379-4158 (PST)
SonOfEd@KarmannGhia.org

Larry, as editor, is obviously is one of the real work-horses of the organization, but never seems to be too busy to call up and say, "Hey! Did you see that Ghia in the paper for $200!" Larry owns a gaggle of Ghias - all type 3s... He's brave about saving them, and is a real hero when it comes to the lengths to which he will go...

Larry is also a family man and has two daughters. Larry is a Computer Software Consultant, and has other outside interests. Mostly, he's into music and is a part of a local choir, but he also loves to deliver balloons and party favours for Valentines Day!




Bill Alaimo
Karmann Chronicles Ad Coordinator
richard@karmannghia.org


Bill and his wife Gene have been Vintage VW fans for some time. They own a '69 Ghia convertible, and also own a "water-pumper" Porsche!




Vacant Position
KGCNA Membership Coordinator



Vacant Position
KGCNA Regalia Coordinator

KGCNA presently is in need of a Regalia Coordinator, preferably in the San Francisco Bay Area, though not necessarily so. The role involves accepting orders for regalia items and filling them. Work with others in Leadership in placing orders for more Regalia items, and perhaps come up with new and creative ideas for new items. Occasionally, new ad copy for the Karmann Chronicles will be required. Any member of KGCNA in good standing is eligible for this position.

Any interested party is encouraged to contact Richard  regarding this position.