VW Bug

[Macfrommichigan]

VW says the very last bug will roll off the line in Mexico this week.

I seem to recall someone floating the idea of an electric VW van, tho. Interesting concept.

 

[FarmerTan]

Best vehicle I ever owned was a 1981 VW pickup. Front wheel drive, and I hauled more wood in that thing than I could in my Tacoma.

 

[Ad Astra]

"From Nazis to Hippies," read the headline ... that IS pretty funny imagery, anyways.


AA

 

[fast shaver]

Best car I ever bought & lasted 20 years until the car manufacturing industry got rid of it due to the emission B.S. The American car industry does not want you to drive a car that long. They want you to buy a car every 5-6 years tops as thats about how long they are going to last with exceptions of coarse.

 

[bberg100]

When I was a teen everyone seemed to have a 60s bug. Ugly, uncomfortable, easy to work on, and couldn't kill them. Trouble was they rusted away.

Slug Bug was a popular game between my brother and me. When we were acting up, Mom would drive slowly past the VW dealer, Andy and I would beat the crud out of each other...

 

[FarmerTan]

When I was a teen everyone seemed to have a 60s bug. Ugly, uncomfortable, easy to work on, and couldn't kill them. Trouble was they rusted away.

Slug Bug was a popular game between my brother and me. When we were acting up, Mom would drive slowly past the VW dealer, Andy and I would beat the crud out of each other...

Smart mom.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

Best car I ever bought & lasted 20 years until the car manufacturing industry got rid of it due to the emission B.S. The American car industry does not want you to drive a car that long. They want you to buy a car every 5-6 years tops as thats about how long they are going to last with exceptions of coarse.

Nah. Average age of vehicles on the road is 11.8 years. They don't rust like they used to, don't need spark plugs every year, or a muffler every three. The sticker price keeps rising, tho.

 

[FarmerTan]

Nah. Average age of vehicles on the road is 11.8 years. They don't rust like they used to, don't need spark plugs every year, or a muffler every three. The sticker price keeps rising, tho.

That is why I always buy used: because those I can pay cash for.

 

[Raissermesser]

"From Nazis to Hippies," read the headline ... that IS pretty funny imagery, anyways.
AA

Especially The Thing. It looks like it was based on the Kubelwagen, the German answer to the Jeep. I spotted one going to town and said "Hey, look: it's a Thing." My family had no idea what I was talking about. I told them what it was, and slowed down and showed them the next time we passed. It looked like the body had been pieced together.

Very fittingly, the owners painted it orange.

 

[Raissermesser]

We can't mention the second demise of the Bug without mentioning a significant contribution they made to automotive history: Dune Buggies!

 

[RayClem]

When I got married, my wife owned a 72 VW Beetle with their electronic clutch. I drove it to work for many years. One day, a valve rod broke, puncturing one of the pistons. I dropped the engine and rebuilt it in my back yard. Today cars have gotten so complicated, I can't even change spark plugs.

 

[DocPapi]

Two fond memories of Bugs:

As a teen, playing basketball most nights in the NJ winter with a friend who owned a convertible Bug. We'd get so hot and sweaty that going home we would fold up the top and ride drive home shirtless, laughing at the astonished expressions of the drivers who passed us.

Years later, I took a group of students to Mexico on a study abroad trip based in Puebla. We toured the VW factory there, and watched old style Bugs coming off the line. They said these were the last of the old style Bugs that would be produced - I thought by VW, but may have been just that plant. As each Bug came to the end of the automated assembly line, a worker would get in, start it up, and drive it over to a holding area. We were just about to move on to the next area when there was a commotion on the floor. Seems a worker got in, started up one of the Bugs, and the engine immediately burst into flames. Pretty soon there were several workers hosing it down with fire extinguishers, and 9 or 10 watching rather impassively. I got the impression it wasn't an unusual occurrence.