Airhead Parts brings "Max" to Life

Parts and Technical expertise makes Max ascoop:
commercial star in record time.Bob begins, "My part in the Max project started in the
Seems VW's is now aware of what air-cooled VWmiddle of December 2007, when I received a call from
enthusiasts have known for years….That theBrian Schultz of CP&B. We had worked together on a
vintage air-cooled VW Beetle is an icon.previous project, and he knew that I was his man for
In Volkswagen's newest series of TV commercials,an upcoming project to restore a number of Beetles
Max, a black 1964 VW Beetle (AKA Bug), is given afor the new "08" ad campaign.
German accent and hosts a little talk show completeBrian put me in touch with Dave Sherman from AMCI
with celebrity interviews, a band, and once in a while, aInc. Dave in turn hired me to locate and purchase the
new VW model.Beetles as well as all the parts that would be needed."
In a June 2008 Hot VWs article by Lynn Anderson;Bob adds, " I was also in charge of authenticity, and
Scott Linnen, Vice President of VW's Ad companythe mechanical restoration portion of this HUGE
CP+B Stated, "Something we thought a lot about asproject
we worked on this was how to expand the brand toNext, we had to find a shop to do the paint and body
lead toward volume success…. To once andportion. Many shops were screened for quality work,
for all balance our past with our future and create abut also had to be Vintage VW fluent, not to mention
new true VW brand in America,… a brand thatthe tight timeline. A local VW enthusiast, and shop
has a great history and heritage".owner, John Bickell of State of Mind Customs stepped
From an enthusiast's point of view, that's like discoveryforward, and turned out to be the perfect man for the
the sky is blue and puppy's are cute.job. John, his apprentice Drew, and I, all took absences
So VW's ad company is going for what enthusiastsfrom our day jobs for 3 months and took on a
see as the obvious, but CP+B followed up in a smartrestoration project that we'll never forget.
way. From the Detroit News story by MaureenWe all moved in for the duration, including my 3000 LB
McDonald on April 18th, 2008, Brian Shultz, anothertoolbox. The first 2 cars were done in 14 days, the
member of the ad company team explained, "Therethird in 7 more days, and the other 2 were at a more
were a large field of vendors to select from, but werelaxed pace. 80% of the parts were from Airhead
wanted a team with passion for the brand to bringParts".
Max to life".The restoration was videotaped using time-lapse
First to be contacted was soon to be Projectphotography and can be seen on YouTube. The
Manager Bob Ellis of Airhead Parts. Bob writes techcommercials are also there and feature celebrities
articles and helps Airhead Parts customers with partsHeidi Klum, David Hasselhoff, Leonard Nimoy, NCAA
and restoration tips. Airhead Parts was the companyCoach Bob Knight, Napster's Sean Fanning, and NASA
that supplied the majority of the beetle restorationShuttle commander Rick Seafross, and Max of
parts, including the "hard to find" Steering Wheels. Bob,course.
a VW enthusiast to the bone gives us the inside