2012 Open House Report… Best Ever, Full Coverage!

The Factory Five 2012 Open House was by far the best Open House to date. The best weather, the most number of cars, and the most attendees.

The day dawned clear skies, perfect 75 degrees and mostly sunny all day long. Factory Fives began rolling in around 8 AM and didn’t stop until about 10 AM when the parking lot was COMPLETELY filled! There was a great turnout of Type 65 Coupes, 12 in all, and about the same number of Hot Rods.

This year, we had live music with the band Latitudes and the car show judging was extremely difficult with such a full field of well-built Factory Fives. Factory Five customer Joe Leone, Rick Lacourse, and Henry Renaud were judges and did a great job. Here is the list of winners:

President Dave Smith with Best in Show Winner Phil Gaglione.

Best in Show – Phil Gaglione
Best Roadster – Thierry Mont
Best Challenge Car – Dana Johnston
Best ’33 Hot Rod – Ollie Hempel
Best GTM – Joe Mascierelli
Best Type 65 Coupe – Gregg Pellegrino
Best Under Construction – Gordon St. John
Best Use of Chrome – Ollie Hempel
Best Paint – Joe Gulluni
Best Interior – Frank Somma
Best Engine – George Robitaille
Most Innovative Design – Justin Forko
Long Distance Award – Mike Jones (550 Miles)
High Milage Award – Tom Reid (53,900)

 

Factory Five Forum head Dave Hodgkins was awarded The Robert Feddersen Legacy Award for his contributions to every single person that he ever meets! Just a great ambassador for Factory Five and the community.

 

From left to right: Randy and Julie Jones, David Hodgkins, and David Smith. Randy and Julie presented David with the 2012 Robert Feddersen Legacy Award.

 

2012 will go in the record books as a great one to remember and we’re already hatching plans to try and make 2013 even better. Thank you to everyone who attended, especially everyone who brought their beautiful cars.

Dave Smith

Photos courtesy Adam Clear of Clear Photography and Gary Bean

 

Dave Smith presents Ollie Hempel with the Best in Show - '33 Hot Rod Award.

 

Latest Factory Five News

Factory Five’s USA 250th Celebration Event!

2026 is off to a great start, and the team wants to keep the momentum going! They have put together a sale for all of our kits to help you build your car your way this year. Score a Free IRS Upgrade OR Save $2,026 Off Options on Mk5 Roadsters, Mk4 Roadsters, Type 65 Coupe, and ’33 Hot Rod To ensure your finest ride is possible, we are offering FREE IRS Upgrades (up to $3,199 in value). Our Independent Rear Suspension is the best suspension configuration Factory Five has to offer. This upgrade package includes: OR you can save $2,026… Read More »

Read More

Peter D. Graduates Mk5 Build for Son Scott’s Wedding

Factory Five customer Peter D. from Pfafftown, NC and his son Scott started to put thier Mk5 Roadster plans together early in Fall 2025. The submitted their order in mid-October 2025 with the kit arriving in mid-December. They soon started to inventory the kit and start building the car as they had a goal of having the Mk5 featured at Scott’s wedding in June 2026. “I am a retired healthcare administrator, and Scott is a project manager for a transportation company,” wrote Peter on The Factory Five Forum. “We are both very mechanically minded. I bought my first car at 14… Read More »

Read More

Rob M. Reaches First Start Milestone!

There’s many milestones when building a Factory Five including getting the kit in your garage, making it a roller, engine install, and of course, graduating the build. One of the most exciting ones though is the first start, and customer Rob M. from Suttons Bay, MI recently shared his Mk4 firing up for the first time on The Factory Five Forum! “First start was a success!” wrote Rob on the forum. “Dad made it up and we had perfect weather. I primed the fuel pump with my power probe and got the pressure right at 65 psi per the Gen… Read More »

Read More
Top