and if empi .............

[speedwell]

wasn't sold in 71/72 to the FILTERS DYNAMICS int ,whom would be empi those days It would be always a well know performance engines builder ,would always sell  high performances parts and equipments  or crappy chineses seller parts (like mr bug or the new empi)  , or Darrell would be turn to water-cooled engine prep like he do with techtonics tuning ??

may be that darrell would have continue to campaign the INCH PINCHER TOO, and must never built the 850spyder and his 67 white, who knows which other crazy projects  would have been able to be born under the empi banner

But this would have been  to be another story  

[bugnut68]

Part of the problem was VWOA's fussiness, from what I've read.  Maybe if VWOA and VWAG had gotten on board, the original EMPI would still be here today.

[rick m]

Yeah....In American the car manufacturers encourage R&D and people promoting the brand, whereas VW was busy suing people in the 80's and 90's for having their logo's appear on shop walls, business cards or other what was termed "similarly confusing uses of their logo".  Still, the early days were great to experience, witness and see first hand.

Today we are fortunate that so many of the original guys are still around.  Maybe gray and older, but the hobby lives on stronger than ever.  We lost some of the special people who were part of the rise of the hobby and industry, like Dean Lowry and Gene Berg, but we still have many people with us. The Schley's are going strong, Darrell Vittone is still around, Gary Berg is back in So Cal, Bear's still in Hawaii building great stuff, RIMCO is still going strong, SCAT has emerged as a heavyweight not in just VW parts but the V8 industry as well.  CB is kicking out some affordable stuff for the hobbyists who constitute 90% of our hobby, and many other shops businesses an talented newcomers never cease to amaze me with the level of their restorations, street cars and projects.

While original EMPI may not be around, the spirit of the hobby is still strong and alive.  It is great to still be involved in it after 40 years of building and enjoying a HOT VW!  Long live the litte V8 eaters!

Rick Mortensen

P.S. We still have a lot of great things happening and a whole new generation of people raising the bar on what this hobby is all about.

[deano]

Very interesting topic. It is my feeling that Joe Vittone would have suffered increased difficulties trying to market the GTV lineup to other VW dealers as time went on. With increased smog and safety concerns, VWoA would have really leaned on Joe to stop offering those parts to their dealer network. So, from 1972-1975, he would have gone through tougher times, with limited sales, but.... once the street market began to boom in the mid-70s, I think Empi would have been the driver's seat! Now because NHRA's Modified Eliminator was evolving in the mid-70s, the original Inch Pincher would have found itself a car without a class. Remember, Darrell moved from the IP#2 to the Fiat for a reason. Once the VW was no longer a player in NHRA (other than A/MC perhaps), Joe Vittone might have shifted gears to more street promotions, and become a larger part of the so-called California Look movement. He might even have made more batches of BRMs, even though VWs were all 4-lug by then. Empi would have been more involved with the Bug-Ins as time went on as well. It's fun to think about, what if?

[MacRavens]

I agree with Dean about the way of VWOA and VWOG was whit Joe Vittone. He was buizness man, I think he feel the end of his dream and the limits of VWOG.
If indeed the original EMPI has not endured with exactly the same spirit of quality in mind... in some kind, EMPI line of accessories continued. And since the vast majority of car accessories Original EMPI parts would probably have been made in indonesia ?
Race shop has also continued and mutated in Techtonic Tuning, following the vway of history. After the Beetles, the Golfs...
I believe, EMPI is like Marilyn Monroe or James Dean... stars who left us too soon in full glory... and for me it's a part of the legend !
Anyway, at the end I dont think Marilyn would have married JFK !