I have fond memories of Volkswagon Bugs, or VW Beetles. It was the only car my best friend in high school drove, and in the 1980’s it was almost a disposable car. Pick one up for a couple hundred, drive it till it dropped and get another.
Seriously, my Mother would take bets to see what color he would pull up in. Green, red, yellow, white, orange, convertibles and hard tops, we rode in the full line. During the summer a convertible was the best way to travel and my favorite was a little red Beetle convertible.
The doors didn’t always shut correctly and going down the interstate with a semi going by while holding the door was an experience. But hey, we lived. Now we have the stories.
Beach trips were always better in a VW Beetle convertible. Ok, at night when the wind got cold and the top didn’t go up, it was was chilly, but that’s what beach towels were for and the heater blowing full blast. Now why didn’t the heater work in the winter.
Sad to say, my friend no longer has running VW Bugs, these are the last remaining two of an era and they are for sale. Hopefully someone will buy and restore them to their original splendor and create new memories.
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My primary school principal always drove Beetles in my memory. The favourite was yellow until it went on fire on the hilly main entrance to the nearby secondary school. That would have happened late ’70’s / early 80’s in Bandon in West Cork. As far as I remember, it happened twice!
My Dad had one in ’68 in Bloomington, MN. I remember having to find it under the snow drifts and dig it out so he could drive to work at the Naval air station. He said on one trip on the icy freeway, a large truck passed him and the air spun him 360 degrees and he never even slowed down, just kept right on going. It was a fun car to ride in. Wish I had one now.
That’s funny, scary but funny I bet the VW bugs wouldn’t even be allowed on roads now due to safety issues. Thanks for commenting.
“Now why didn’t the heater work in the winter” … because their were only air cooled! Oh the simplicity of the VW air-cooled boxer engines.
http://richc.us/vwmemories