Splitterz VW & Aircooled club started as an informal meet in Chelmsford, Essex in January 2004 and rapidly became very popular. In 2005 a second meet was added near Stansted Airport on the Herts border and 2006 saw further expansion into Cambridgeshire. The club remains informal, family-friendly and free to join. Anything aircooled and anything at all VW . V-A-G of any age of condition is always welcome.

Splitterz Air-Cooled Club started as an informal meet in Chelmsford, Essex as the result of a discussion thread between Essex based Aircooled dubbers on the largest online VW forum www.volkszone.co.uk/VZi

The first meeting was held in something approaching a monsoon on 15th January 2004 and was very well attended in spite of the weather.

As 2004 progressed Splitterz continued to meet in larger and larger numbers at the Army and Navy pub in Chelmsford chosen partly for its huge car park and partly for its prime location on one of the major junctions in the county town of Essex which served as good exposure for the fledgling club until, on the 1st anniversary meet the club was given the news that the pub was to close within a month. A few of the long-term Splitterz took this as an excuse to take a tour of some pubs and sample some beer and found a new location at the Horse and Groom pub on Galleywood Common Chelmsford and continues to meet there on the second Thursday of every month in ever-increasing numbers much to the delight of the hugely supportive Landlord.

The Chelmsford meets had attracted regulars from the Essex Hertfordshire border. A second thread on the Volkszone forum gave birth to a second Splitterz meet at the Nag's Head, Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire on the last Thursday of every month. The first meet was on the 24th February 2005 and in true Splitterz style the inaugural meet had its fair share of adverse weather, snow in fact! Even the blizzard on the M11 didn't stop a cruise from Chelmsford to the new meet, and cruises continue to be organised between the two meets every month. The Bishop's Stortford meet outgrew its location fairly quickly and moved to the Bury Lodge Hotel near Stansted Airport in September 2005 and continued to meet there for some time.

June 2006 saw the addition of another venue for a Splitterz meet, this time in Cambridge. Initially meeting at the Lion and Lamb in Milton, the Cambridge branch has gone from strength to strength since its inception.

The club ceased expansion and consolidated its position within the VW scene for a number of years. The Bishop's Stortford meeting moved venue once again to the Three Horseshoes, Hazel End Farnham and the cambridge meeting moved to the Lazy Otter, Stretham, Ely.

The Splitterz BBQ became an annual event from 2007 - 2009 held on Galleywood Common in Chelmsford as a fundraiser to keep the club running by its original principle of free membership to all, attracting over 200 people in all manner of VWs of all ages and conditions. The BBQ event was rested for 2010 but will return again in future years.

As the club entered its eighth year it was time for a revamp, not only of the club website, but of the club itself. A changing world and a changing VW scene and ridiculous prices meant a change in policy. A VW Beetle is no longer the cheap first car for a new driver that it was so retaining a purely aircooled and pre 1990 constitution would result in nothing more than an ageing and declining membership an a stagnation. A lively club needs lively young blood in it so the decision was taken to open up the doors to all VW marques including Audi, Seat and Skoda of all ages.

Club meets have taken on themes, the first new style meet was the Chelmsford May 2011 meet, a free photoshoot meet with some fantastic results and a huge turnout. Other specific activities will be included in future meets to add variety and interest around the subject of VWs not just within it.