Have you ever owned a VW Beetle?

[kbasa]

OK, Cliffy made me do it. There's a discussion going on about tools and it turns out a bunch of folks have owned Beetles. The question was posted, "I wonder how many BMW riders have owned a Beetle?"

So, have you?

[brooksie]

I owned a couple- a '62 and a '71
Both were a blast! The old one got turned into a buggy and died in the middle of a river. The '71 got wrapped around a telephone pole (my fault)

[donkey doctor]

Hello; My first new car was a 68 beetle deluxe, in 78 I had a 61 beetle that served us well for a year. I have had a lot of VW vans too, in fact I still have one.
I was always fasinated with the horiZontally opposed engine design.
That is waht drew me to BMW motorcycles.

[knary]

Yep.
1973 Superbeetle, in that oh so special kelly green w/tan interior. It was a hoot to drive for a crazed 16 year old. I learned that if you connected various dangling wires hanging around the fan belt the car might sometimes start. She died a slow death in our hands.

[The_Veg]

My first car was a '73 super as well. Mine way that sky-blue colour, ar at least was inside the doors. The P.O. had painted it a really RIPPING shade of dark metallic blue, quite similar to a shade you can get on the new beetle oddly enough. Mine had a few problems here and there, but the last week of its life it ran REALLY well! Then I hydroplaned it into the ass-end of a '76 Monte Carlo at 40 mph. Long story how it all happened but I wated until the last minute and flicked the wheel to the left and put the empty passenger side into the impact. The passenger door was right next to my face and the passenger seat was behind the one I was sitting in!

[Gary99]

Had a '73 Super. It was a major dog. They changed the motor, or emissions gear that year, and it wouldn't get out of it's own way. Kept it one year, but did sell it for $100 less than I paid for it.

[99007]

my folks gave me the down payment on a 75 Super Beetle for graduation. It was gold, with the de-luxe interior including cocoa matts on the floor. Loved that car. I could drive with most of my head sticking out of the sunroof (I'm 6'3") and did so much of the time.
Had an 8 track player and I went to Remes Auto and bought some two way box speakers and lots of extra wire - I was popular at parties cuz I could put the speaks on the top of the car and play our jams.
My step-mom used to screw up the fuel injection every time she drove it ("No, you don't have to pump the pedal when you start it - really!") and it would cost me $35 bucks to get it fixed.
That was big money for an 18 year old in 1976.
Car was sold when I got a wild hair and took off for Arizona the next year on my Honda 750.

ps - thanks kbasa for meddling and putting this up!

[oldcarkook]

My second car was a '49 VW split window beetle. It had semifores for turn signals, and a whopping 30 hp motor that would get into 3rd going downhill with a tailwind.

I have regretted many times that I don't still have it. I didn't realize at the time ('69) how rare it was; I think it was the first year that the VW was imported into the US.

Coulda shoulda woulda

[USERNAME]

i still have my 1973 bus. (3rd owner.) nothing quite like it really. spacious inside, nice and slow, and when it gets cold, the exhaust can be vented into the cabin to warm me up! mmmm, im warm....and sleepy.

[mogu83]

I had a 66 bug. The engine was punched out to over 1800cc. The heads were worked, a Judson supercharger and a Holly Bug spray. It went 110 MPH and got 12 MPG.

[GSTOM]

My first VW was a 1967 dark blue beetle I bought in 1970. It had been used by a rural mail carrier to carry the mail (southern Iowa)
and had 180,000 miles on it.
I joined the USAF in 1972 and drove the beetle to Wichita Falls,Texas where I was in tech school. While there, the oil cooler seals (under the fan shroud) went out, and I took it into a gas station/ VW repair shop near the AF base that always had a couple of Beetle Drag cars parked in front. The mechanic assured me he could have it fixed while I waited. Sceptical, I said go ahead.
Starting from the time he rolled it into the garage until he rolled it back out, it was done in 19 minutes. This job required total removal of the engine from the car, removal of the generator, and partial disassembly of the engine "tin".
I was really amazed that a major repair could be accomplished so easily. From that time I have been so impressed at the elegance and simplicity of the design of the air cooled VW's. I also determined to develop my own mechanical skills, although I have a long way to go to match the level of competence I saw that day.
I drove that Beetle until it had 235,000 miles on it and sold it for $200. I have since owned several others including a Ghia convertible, a super Beetle, and two busses. I don't presently have one, but who knows what the future may hold?

[BRADFORDBENN]

First car was a 1984 VW GTI with the porsche engine. Not sure if that counts?

[The_Veg]

I could drive with most of my head sticking out of the sunroof (I'm 6'3") and did so much of the time.

I have trouble with that one since I'm 6'4" and had enough headroom in my Super to wear a fedora. UNless you were sitting on something!

OTOH, my 2002 GTI has a nifty ratchet-lever seat height adjustment that allows me to get my head out the roof!

[Fritzc]

Seems to be a lot of confusion about Beetles and Bugs.
My sister bought a brand new and I think first of its kind, Karmann Ghia in 1955 or 1956. This was a volkswagen with an Italian made sporty body which vaguely resembled a "Beetle". From the dealer it was $2500 and used ones were selling in Chicago for $3500 to $5000 in Los Angeles. Dealers were bound by Germany to sell at their price but demand was so high you could sell one for nearly twice what you paid for it.
The standard Volkswagen was called a Bug.
I never heard of a "Super Beetle". Unless they are talking about the new ones being made now.
Those Beetles/Bugs were great little cars. My sister's Ghia had a manifold heater and air passing over the manifold was directed into the car. Didn't work worth a darn in our Michigan winters.
When it snowed hard the snow would come right into the car through the defrosters and you would have a small blizzard inside the car while driving down the road.
My sister's Ghia got about forty five miles per gallon and you could drive it 70 MPH all day long and be comfortable.
Both models were great in the snow. Definitely the "People's Car".

[Weasel]

As a matter of fact, one of the reasons I bought a BMW ('75 R60/6) was that I felt familiar with the engine as it was so similiar to a aircooled VW engine. I've had a '58, '63, '64, '67, '76, as well as a '74 Karmann Ghia. I never owned a new one, but I helped my daughter get a New Beetle a couple of years ago. They are nice cars, and they do evoke some of the Beetle mystique when driving them, although they are a totally different type of car. The '58 had a fabric sunroof. You could go down a forest road sitting up on the roof with the choke pulled out and drive with your feet on the steering wheel...what fun!