WHAT THE FAQ?!?

 So who are you, and why are you doing this? 

 The core group of VW Trends magazine is Dan Leadbetter (Publisher & Editor in Chief), Rich Crafton (Co-Publisher and Business Development), Paul Morton (Editorial Director), and Ron Petro (Art Director). All of us are die-hard VW enthusiasts, and have been for years. At the same time, we also founded STA Publishing LLC, the core publishing company that produces VW Trends Magazine.

 The VW Trends re-birth was the brainchild of former VWT Editor, Dan Leadbetter. He felt that VW Trends Magazine died WAY too early, and never reached its full potential. Corporate greed, poor decisions, and bad management is what killed it. People who weren't enthusiasts we're telling people who were what to put in the magazine. Plain and simple. Then when readership and ads dwindled because it sucked, they put it out to pasture. And there it lay ... for 16 long years waiting for someone to pick it up. So he did, and tapped several of his most trusted friends to join in on the fun.

So tell me about this "Limited Edition Signed & Numbered" Issue.

Here's the deal; It's basically the premiere issue of VWT in all its glory, with a special variant cover. Only a limited number of that issue with that cover will be produced, NEVER to be reprinted with that cover. It's a one-off, a collector's item, and it comes with a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity signed by the founding members and the cover model. The first subscription issue will the the same content as the Limited Edition magazine, but it will feature the "public" cover, available in subscription, and newsstand. 

 Okay, pretty clear on that now. So what's the deal on these, "Founder's Packages."

 It's a fundraiser, plain and simple. Look, for the first 30 days or so, we wanted to get the VW community involved...some skin in the game, if you will. Lots of people said they wanted VW Trends back, so we made this a community effort. Rather than take out a bank loan or pay out the Go Fund Me or Kickstarter fees, we thought we'd go direct and use 100% of the funds raised to go toward making the magazine. To be clear, NONE of the staff is taking a draw for the seed money! All of us have day jobs, and we've invested a ton of our own money into bringing VW Trends back (it costs a lot more than you'd think).

 We developed different "Founder's Packages" each with varying levels of perks based on the level of involvement:

 PLATINUM PACKAGE: $199.99

• Special Edition First Issue with variant cover (only a certain amount of these will be printed. After that, no more with that cover will ever see a reprint)
• Signed & Numbered Certificate (lowest issue numbers are in this package)
• Exclusive Invitation to the VW Trends Jam Party 2022
• 1- Year Subscription (4 issues, including the first issue with the public cover)
• VW Trends Founder's Club T-Shirt
• Two VW Trends Stickers
• Our undying gratitude

GOLD PACKAGE: $159.99

• Special Edition First Issue with variant cover (only a certain amount of these will be printed. After that, no more with that cover will ever see a reprint) 
• Signed & Numbered Certificate (next lowest issue numbers are in this package)
• 1- Year Subscription (4 issues, including the first issue with the public cover)
• VW Trends Founder's Club T-Shirt
• Two VW Trends Stickers
• Our undying gratitude

SILVER PACKAGE: $99.99

• Special Edition First Issue with variant cover (only a certain amount of these will be printed. After that, no more with that cover will ever see a reprint)
• Signed & Numbered Certificate (next lowest issue numbers after Gold are in this package)
• VW Trends Founder's Club T-Shirt
• Two VW Trends Stickers
• Our undying gratitude

BRONZE PACKAGE: $59.99

• Special Edition First Issue with variant cover (only a certain amount of these will be printed. After that, no more with that cover will ever see a reprint)
• Signed & Numbered Certificate (next lowest issue numbers after silver are in this package)
• Two VW Trends Stickers
• Our undying gratitude

Plus, we went ahead and added some donation buttons, for those of you that wanted to support the magazine, but didn't want to invest in one of the Founder's Packages...heck, you could do both and we'll know who you are!

Okay, so tell me about VW Trends Magazine. What's it going to look like?

Great question. It's going to be 96-pages, heavy stock paper, full color, with a 60/40 split of editorial to advertising. As the advertising grows, the magazine will grow to accommodate. We don't want a catalog of ads with a couple features thrown-in. We want to create a magazine that goes beyond what VW Trends was, while maintaining the fun and unique side that made VW Trends as popular as it was and will be.

We'll be covering ALL aspects of the VW industry...air-cooled, water-cooled, electric, daily drivers, trailer queens, drag cars, off-road, sand, rat-rods...bottom line? As long as it's really cool, we'll feature it. And NOT just California cars and shows. We'll be traveling the globe to bring you the best of what's out there, and we've already got a solid team of freelancers who are just as excited about this project as we are! Of course we'll have tech stories, reader's rides, some columns, and of course the Pile of the Month.

Wow ... sounds like an ambitious project!

It is, but it's going to be totally worth it!  All of us LOVE Volkswagens and the community and industry behind it. Like I said before, we've all sunk a ton of our own personal money into this, because we BELIEVE in it. Everyone we've mentioned this to has not hesitated to say this is a great idea and the perfect time!

Will there be an online presence? 

Absolutely! The online presence will much more than just a digital version of the magazine, it will actually be a companion to the print version. You'll see outtakes from cover shoots, behind the scenes stuff, video interviews, and daily news updates. Plus, we'll be on all the usual social media haunts, as well.