RESTON, Va. (December 9, 2024) – Nearly four decades ago, U.S. citizen Charlene Johnson was hired for a teaching role in the Netherlands. To celebrate, Johnson purchased her first new car, a 1987 Volkswagen Cabriolet through Volkswagen’s Tourist Automobile Shipping Program (TASP). At the time, this was a purchase option that allowed customers to purchase select Volkswagen vehicles in Europe, and then have them delivered to the U.S.—typically after touring Germany and neighboring countries. Johnson chose the compact and affordable Golf convertible with plans to ship it “home” after a teaching opportunity abroad.

“It was the coolest car, and I loved driving it around with the top down,” said Johnson. “We went to our wedding in the Cabriolet. I taught my kids how to drive in it. We traveled all over Europe, and it’s become a part of the family. I never imagined keeping the car for 37 years, but I just fell in love with it.”

Johnson’s teaching job in the Netherlands became a career, from which she recently retired. As she began planning her return to the United States, the thought of parting with her beloved Cabriolet was not a pleasant one. “The TASP program is long gone,” said Johnson. “But I always kept the paperwork.”

With her original program documentation in hand, Johnson contacted Volkswagen of America in hopes an exception could be made to help her and the 37-year-old Cabriolet to her family’s home in Montana. Her request caught the attention of a number of VWoA employees, in particular Director of Public Relations and Reputation, Mark Gillies. “It threw us for a loop,” said Gillies. “The program has been expired a long time. But when we read Ms. Johnson’s story and felt her love of our product, we decided to honor the program.”

Earlier this year, the Cabriolet arrived in Houston, Texas on a cargo vessel and was shipped to a Volkswagen dealership in Montana. Overjoyed for its arrival, Johnson and her daughter went to collect it. There was just one problem; the car would not start. “Come to find out, there was no gas. Put the gas in and it fired right up,” she said. “It’s been super reliable. And I think that’s just part of the Volkswagen brand. For me, the memories about the car, they’re really about the people and it was always part of those memories.”