Volkswagen ID Buzz at Ourisman Volkswagen in Bethesda (Photos)

One of the few Volkswagen models generating excitement on this side of the Atlantic is the new ID Buzz electric van. Based on the classic VW Bus, the ID Buzz began arriving in Montgomery County last fall. Here is a pink one parked on the sidewalk outside of Ourisman Volkswagen of Bethesda at 7001 Arlington Road. It was also spotted first arriving at Ourisman's service facility on Butler Road. 

Unlike the black one spotted in Rockville last November, this one has a color that wasn't available on the original VW Bus: pink. Very Pepto Bismol-pink, in fact. I've never seen a vintage VW Bus in either color in person before. Another reminder that Volkwagen chose Northern Virginia over Montgomery County for its U.S. headquarters. Fahrvergnügen!

Fire at Ourisman Volkswagen Service Center in Bethesda

UPDATE - 2:13 PM: MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer says the bulk of the fire has been extinguished, and firefighters are now searching the building for any possible extension of the flames. He says all employees are safely outside of the facility, and there are no injuries to report at this time. Firefighters are also going to address the heavy smoke conditions inside the facility.

Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service personnel are responding to a vehicle fire at the Ourisman Volkswagen Service Center at 5415 Butler Road in Bethesda. The vehicle on fire is in a work bay in the body shop at the facility, MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said. At least 11 units from multiple fire stations are responding. The facility is located in the River Road industrial area.

No more cars on the sidewalk at Ourisman Volvo

The placement of new cars on the sidewalk outside the Ourisman Volkswagen/Volvo dealership at 7001 Arlington Road has been a topic of consternation for some Bethesda residents. Montgomery County has moved very slowly on the issue, but have now said they will enforce the rules about public space and ADA compliance for the area in front of the apartment building.

If you've gone by in the last few days, you will notice the cars have been removed from the sidewalk. This is Ourisman's second brush with County code violations; the County also declared Ourisman Honda on Bethesda Avenue to have built into the public right-of-way, but chose to ignore the violation after reaching an agreement with Ourisman Honda.

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Ourisman acquires Bethesda industrial site

An Ourisman entity, S.J. Ourisman, LLC, has acquired an industrial property off of River Road in Bethesda. 5420 Butler Road is directly across from an existing Ourisman Volkswagen service facility. The site is currently occupied by an industrial building that was converted into a sports training center about a decade ago. Ourisman paid a whopping $7,700,000 for the site, according to Maryland real estate records.

Longtime readers will recall that this property is the one through which I discovered an underground fuel spill eleven years ago, which had been covered up by Montgomery County and the State of Maryland. The previous property owner had received clearance to operate the sports facility from the Maryland Department of the Environment, under the provision that they would not disturb the soil or utilize the contaminated groundwater under the building.

Since the fuel contained MTBE, an additive that moves far and fast through soil, and has contaminated water supplies nationwide, part of my investigation involved the MDE's handling of the secret spill. MDE documents state no cleanup action being taken at 5420, but the department refused to confirm or deny that when pressed repeatedly by me in 2007 and 2008. MDE also refused to say if it had investigated any of the adjacent properties for evidence of the "free product" that soil samples at 5420 revealed. That "free product" was found to contain elevated amounts of methyl-t-butyl-ether (MTBE), diesel range total petroleum hydrocarbons, tetrachloroethene (PCE), and naphthalene. 

All very healthy stuff, right? MDE thought so, apparently, because they could provide no evidence of any further investigation on their part to find out how far this material had gone on adjoining properties.

Fast forward three years after MDE's stonewalling to 2011, when my investigation was completely vindicated during the Little Falls Place scandal. Soil tests on the Hoyt/BETCO plant property confirmed what I had warned about years earlier - MTBE had indeed leached downhill to the BETCO site. Clearly, it also wound up going into the Willett Branch and Little Falls watershed, if you know anything about how MTBE moves once it is free in soil.

The Montgomery County Council, National Capital Planning Commission, and Montgomery County Planning Board all shared MDE's nonchalant attitude about these contaminants. All voted to approve the Little Falls Place townhome development on the BETCO site, following soil remediation.

Assuming an automotive use for the 5420 Butler site after this transaction, they will probably receive a "no further requirements" determination from MDE, as the previous tenant did.

Surface parking lots still in demand in Bethesda (Photos)

Downtown, urban car dealerships do have their logistical challenges. Witness the influx of Volkswagens and Volvos to the far end section of the parking lot at Westwood Shopping Center in Bethesda. They are from Ourisman Volkswagen and Volvo, a new dealership located in the ground floor of a luxury apartment building on Arlington Road.

That dealership is primarily centered around its small, street level showroom. While some cars were seen in the building garage there, these appeared a little over a mile away on Westbard Avenue a few days ago. They're taking up a few rows of the freshly-repainted parking lot, which has previously hosted the film crew of National Treasure 2, and served as a staging area for the Barack Obama campaign on Election Day. Although the main parking area is crowded during business hours, this end portion is rarely used beyond as a truck turnaround or as overflow parking for Westland ES or Bowlmor.

For all the criticism of surface parking lots, they apparently remain a necessity.

Bethesda gets Audi dealership, Ourisman Volkswagen to open today (Photos)

Apple may have snubbed America's Richest Town on the $17,000 Apple Watch Edition model, but EuroMotorcars has a better sense of just how thick Bethesda wallets are than Tim Cook. The longtime luxury auto sales brand is in the process of switching its 7106 Woodmont Avenue Volvo showroom to an Audi dealership.

Vestiges of the former
Volvo showroom in a
receptacle outside

The discarded Volvo signage
inside the showroom

New Audis on site

Swanky showroom

Several Audi models have already been moved into the showroom this past weekend. While Volvo has traditionally been a popular brand in Bethesda, the Audi name has garnered vastly more cachet among luxury and performance enthusiasts - and celebrities - than the stalwart Scandinavian badge. The Volvo dealership only opened last September.

EuroMotorcars is switching up in a big way. Their 5206 River Road service facility is also being transformed into an Audi service center. EuroMotorcars executives previously detailed their future plans for that property last November. At the time, however, the switch to Audi was not public information.

Interior of EuroMotorcars
Audi Service Center on
River Road under construction

Signage for the service facility switch was also in place this weekend. Hopefully this means more R8s will be spotted around Bethesda Row and River Road.

But, wait - there's more.

Volvo is moving over to Ourisman Volkswagen, which is gearing up to open today at 7001 Arlington Road, in the ground floor of a new luxury apartment building. It too had its first VWs on-site in the building's garage this past weekend, as employees worked to get the showroom ready for customers. The showroom windows now have logos for Ourisman Volvo, as well - although the website given still touts EuroMotorcars Volvo for the moment.

New Bethesda Volkswagen dealership sets opening date

Ourisman Volkswagen has mailed out an announcement to Bethesda residents about its pending move from Washington, D.C. to downtown Bethesda. The dealership says it currently plans to open its new location at 7001 Arlington Road on April 13.

Autobahn editions on sale

Ourisman is also having a moving sale, as it winds down at its Wisconsin Avenue location in the District. Some of the cars on sale have classic VW names, like "Autobahn", in the best traditions of "Wolfsburg Edition". I always have been a fan of the classic VW models - the Rabbit/Golf, Beetle, Scirocco, Fox, Corrado, and - of course - the Volkswagen Bus.

"Last dealer in DC." The District's
loss is Maryland's gain

This new dealership, which will be in the ground floor of the new luxury apartment building at 7001 Arlington, is a throwback to the classic years of Bethesda when there were car dealerships seemingly on every block downtown. It's an encouraging sign of normality at a time when the District, now firmly the War on Cars capital of the world, has purged itself of car dealerships - to the detriment of its residents, the environment (when DC drivers are forced to expend more emissions just to get their cars serviced) and common sense.

FUTURE BETHESDA VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP POSTS COMING SOON SIGNAGE (PHOTOS)

There are signs that Ourisman Volkswagen is coming to Arlington Road - literally. Coming Soon signage was posted at the future dealership yesterday, which will have a luxury apartment building (called 7001 Arlington at Bethesda) above its showroom, a very rare setup in Montgomery County.

VOLKSWAGENS INVADE ABANDONED BETHESDA FORD DEALERSHIP (PHOTOS)

The former Ourisman Ford dealership by Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda was abandoned several years ago. The site has been expected to be redeveloped in the future.

But a swarm of German Volkswagens has appeared in the lot, where the service area has been apparently utilized by an auto repair business temporarily.

Ourisman must still own the site, because these VWs are from Ourisman Volkswagen on Rockville Pike.

So if you're in the market for a VW, I guess you can get a no-sales-pressure look at the exterior in Bethesda right now.

That GTI looks pretty nice.  It's awfully tough to live up to the sports car legacy of the Ford logo on the building behind it, though.

The Ourisman Ford font on the facade certainly brings back memories of many now-closed Ford dealerships, including one that used to be in the area now called... Bethesda Row!