Three of my wife's four Beetles. One passed down to our daughter and another passed down to our youngest grandson. Only the latest one is an automatic, it's a family affair!
Three of my wife's four Beetles. One passed down to our daughter and another passed down to our youngest grandson. Only the latest one is an automatic, it's a family affair!
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
I am quite jealous, Alan! My first car was a 1970 Beatle. I am so sorry I don't have it still.... I drove manual trans VWs until they got so expensive I had to switch to a cheaper (still manual) car. I'm 65, and unless my knees give out, I'll not switch to an automatic. I don't like cars that think they know more than I do, lol. And when you only have four cylinders, you need to be able to use that extra power in the lower gears sometimes! I do think a car is for transportation, but I love to drive and appreciate some cars more than others - they are simply more fun to handle. Our truck is an automatic, and our beater van - but those were acquired due to their price, not for any specific features. I don't like to drive either one. I made both of our kids learn to drive a stick before they could drive an automatic, and both thank me for it. My *highlight* of driving a manual - in the mid 70s, I was in my late teens, working reception at a country club, and we had a big party. Someone showed up in a Maserati and neither of the car parkers could drive a stick (I know, right??) and one of the boys came in to get me to park it (because they weren't about to tell the owners they couldn't do it!). It was SO HARD to not take it for a spin! But I parked it all nice and neat. I was off work long before the party was over - I heard later that they had to get one of the bartenders to bring it round when the owner was ready to leave. And man, if I had a Maserati, I sure wouldn't hand it over to some teenager to park!
While they are pretty, I have a hard time thinking of the "new" Beetles as the good old VW Bug. LOL. It's like someone pressed on the top of them and squished them down to make them a little flatter and wider. Again, that's just what I think when I see them.
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
Yep, but that's not the only difference, the 2 liter turbos and wider wheel base in the three in the photo make them feel like a Porsche on the road. The several older Beetles we owned in the 70's were cute but they had their problems too. Little or no heat in the winter, rusting floorboards that caused water to splash your legs when you drove over a puddle, needing to begin accelerating a mile or so before reaching the hill near our house in order to make it to the top and in one case, having the back seat begin to smoke whenever you hit a bump make the new Beetles a much better vehicle.Originally Posted by happystuff
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
Ahhh... the memories of my youth!The several older Beetles we owned in the 70's were cute but they had their problems too. Little or no heat in the winter, rusting floorboards that caused water to splash your legs when you drove over a puddle, needing to begin accelerating a mile or so before reaching the hill near our house in order to make it to the top and in one case, having the back seat begin to smoke whenever you hit a bump make the new Beetles a much better vehicle.
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
We had an old Beetle in the late 70s and a new Beetle in the early 2000s--we got the New previously owned one for me to share with DD who was away at college. So she had it 75% of the time and when she graduated, I turned it over to her and I bought my Prius. That car was very cute, and we both got a lot of use out of it, including taking it on a mother-daughter cross-country trip from Texas to New Jersey. Lots of great memories there.
The only thing I didn't like about that Beetle was if the gas gauge said you were on the reserve tank, you better hie thee to a gas station PRONTO! More than one family member has run out of gas in that thing.
Yeah, that original Beetle was a little rough. I do remember the rusted floorboards. But it was still a lot cooler than the other two manual transmission cars I drove: a Chevy Vega and a Chevy Chevette. I think both have been on a few "worst cars ever" lists.
"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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I had to sell my 2000 Beetle when I was paralyzed for four months and could not drive stick.
You can fit a wheelchair in the back, I found out!
Alan, gas or diesel?
Those look so much like the one our old Sysco salesman drove. He did the biodiesel conversion and ran it on shortening samples. After the death of a relative he drove their car and I considered buying it. (he wasn't ready to sell it and then gave someone else first dibs when he became ready)
I like the generation 2 of them better, but I still think they are a waste considering the same powertrain, etc. of a Golf.
All the Beetles have been gas. I did have a Passat diesel for a couple of years. I loved that car with it's roomy interior, peppy response and 50 mpg, 750 mile range on one tank of fuel. Unfortunately, about 2 years after buying it a lady busy texting on her cell phone crossed over the center line right in front of me resulting in a head-on collision which totaled both cars. I still miss it.
That's also the only car I ever made money on. I purchased it before the VW Diesel issue came up and totaled it during the VW buy back program. Between the buy back value (which became the figure the insurance company paid) and the settlement amount from VW I ended up with several thousand dollars over the purchase price in my pocket after 2 years of use.
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
I learned to drive on a stick VW Beetle.
Last edited by iris lilies; 4-9-22 at 8:49am.
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