Vw beetles.

[Tanuki]

Squareback when I was young, dumb, broke and enjoyed doing my own service, 79 camper van because it was a decent inexpensive camper. By the time I married a woman who owned a squareback I had wised up, swapped it for part of the cost of painting the house.

@Atlantic59 summed them up very well. VW had great advertising, an incredibly low price point, and made even the shoddiest Detroit product look darn good once you had to live with a vee dub.

 

[galopede]

I had an ancient Beetle once when I was skint. The cable that worked the heater flaps had broken leaving all the vents open during the hottest summer we had for many years. It would burn my foot so I made up a handful of filler and pasted over the vent!

It was never good at going round corners as it was so light at the front. A friend had one and ran a greengrocer's shop. He used to put a sack of potatoes in the front to improve the steering!

Personally I preferred the French version of the People's Car, the Citroen Deux Chevaux, 2CV. Had a few of them and they were the most fun cars I've ever owned! Cornering used to terrify passengers who'd never been in one but they stuck to the road like they were on rails!

Gareth

 

[Legion]

One of the many things I have collected over the years is vintage Playboy magazines. In one I remember an ad for the VW, and on the opposite page was an ad for a digital watch, that could tell the time, day, and date at the press of a button.

The watch was more expensive.

 

[Saxonbowman]

I’ve had a couple of VWs, and more in the family. My dad bought a new one in 1963. I got my first one in 1975 and drove it until ‘77. I got the second one, a ‘69, in 1986 and drove it for 7-8 years. It was a fixer-upper. It had some rust which I repaired. The rust kept coming and I tried to get ahead of it but ultimately failed. Mechanically they are no problem to work on. Yes, you have to change the oil and adjust the valves, plus maintain the brakes. All of that’s been covered above. I did enjoy them quite a lot and I’d be tempted to get another if I could find one without rust. Frankly working under cars is not as fun as it used to be. They are fun to drive. It’s a different experience than with modern cars.

It hung around the yard until last Fall. One of the last pictures I took of it is in this post. January 2021 Photo Contest: Something OLD - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/january-2021-photo-contest-something-old.600481/post-11088150