Volkswagen Victoria

The passion for speed and performance that characterizes Speedway Motors has roots more than five decades deep back to the 1940s when the dealership's founder, Bruce Passmore, mortgaged everything he had to purchase the old Langford race track. Bruce's Langford Speedway became the best sprint track in Western Canada. It was the green flag for a string of successes to follow for the daring entrepreneur. In 1952, Bruce opened Speedway Auto Sales, a used car lot in Victoria. The next year a Volkswagen rep dropped by and Bruce got the Bug. Once again he put it all on the line, investing everything he had in 10 VWs and a one-car showroom at Yates and Quadra. In 1955, Porsche was added to the Speedway stable and by 1958, the company had moved to Yates and Vancouver and secured a Porsche franchise. Speedway grew through the 1960s and reached a singular plateau in 1967 when Audi joined the Speedway/Passmore family. The dealership became the only one in Canada to have Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi under one roof. During this period, Bruce's son Roy - who had not fallen far from the family tree - had been racing his Love Bug and selling cars in Vancouver. By 1971, Roy decided it was time to come home and he returned to Victoria to join the family business. Speedway moved to its current location at 3329 Douglas Street in 1985 and its founder, Bruce, was inducted into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1989. Indeed, his legacy of racing and performance has never been forgotten. Fifty-five years since Bruce Passmore risked it all to buy his first 10 shiny Volkswagens, Speedway continues to take the checkered flag as an outstanding, family-rooted Vancouver Island dealership.