A local vet from Thurles, Co. Tipperary reached an important milestone in style recently when he received a brand new Volkswagen Polo from his local dealer in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Jack celebrated his 100th birthday in May and was presented with his 41st Volkswagen passenger vehicle from Tom Harvey Volkswagen in Thurles Co. Tipperary, to celebrate this exceptional milestone. A loyal Volkswagen customer, 100 year old Mr Powell purchased his first Volkswagen in 1953 and drove out of the showroom in his 41st vehicle, a Volkswagen Polo.

Jack, was born on May 29th 1913, the youngest of five children of Bob and Ellen Powell. He has lived through two world wars, the War of Independence and the Civil War. Mr Powell bought his first Volkswagen vehicle in Tipperary in 1953, in this time, Tipperary has won the All-Ireland hurling final a total of ten times and eight Irish Presidents have held office.

"My first Volkswagen was a Beetle and it had a split window and six-volt lighting and it suited my job. In my experience Volkswagen is the best car for my profession as a veterinary surgeon so I stuck with them," said Jack. "I had thirteen consecutive Volkswagen Beetles, eleven Volkswagen Variants, two Golf GTis, four Jettas, four Golfs and two Volkswagen Polos amongst others."

Jack's favourite Volkswagen was his first Volkswagen Golf GTi. "It often got me in trouble, because the trouble with the GTi was it couldn't go slow. They were an amazing car. It had amazing acceleration."

Jack is looking forward to using his new Polo for domestic duties. "Unfortunately I am no longer considered employable," he laughed. "The Polo is comfortable, has good acceleration and is economical and after that it is enough for me."


Paul O'Sullivan, Head of Marketing, Volkswagen Ireland said "Volkswagen has a fantastically strong Irish heritage and we have been in Ireland since 1950. We first began manufacturing cars in Ballsbridge when Jack was 37 years of age. Jack has been a truly amazing ambassador for the Volkswagen Brand and we are delighted he has chosen to stay with us."