| As a member of a car club I often wonder what | | | | Volkswagen someday. When I was in elementary |
| inspires others like myself to join such an | | | | school in the mid and late 1960's, the |
| organization. Certainly the cameraderie, the | | | | Muscle-Car Era, the boys in my classes would |
| sense of being part of a big family, is an | | | | argue which cars were better, depending, of |
| important factor. The club I belong to is | | | | course, on what their fathers drove. Most of |
| devoted to all Volkswagens, old and new. The | | | | the time it was Mustang vs. Corvette vs. |
| question for others fascinated with these | | | | Charger vs. GTO. I got many laughs when I |
| cars is, What got us interested in | | | | contributed Volkswagens to the debates, but I |
| Volkswagens in the first place? There are | | | | didn't care. I thought the "bug" was |
| probably as many stories of inspiration as | | | | better-looking than any of those cars, and I |
| there are dandelions in my front yard every | | | | still do. I didn't and still don't care about |
| Spring. With that said, here is mine. | | | | 0-60 times. It has been said that beauty is |
| | | | in the eye of the beholder, and VW owners can |
| I was born in 1959, and my memory goes as far | | | | all concur. |
| back as 1962, when I was about two and a half | | | | |
| years old. In those days generally only one | | | | Sadly, in 1970, after 13 years of dependable |
| parent was the breadwinner, as was the case | | | | service and about 257,000 kilometers (160,000 |
| with my father. We only had one car, and | | | | miles,)my father had decided that it was no |
| besides, my mother didn't know how to drive. | | | | longer cost-effective to keep the car. Many |
| The car we had was a 1957 Oval Window Beetle | | | | trips to Oklahoma and the perpetual road salt |
| that was purchased "new" in Kansas City, | | | | that covered highways during Midwest winters |
| Missouri. I say "new" because at that time | | | | had taken their toll, and when the amateur |
| there were waiting lists much like there | | | | patching of bodywork no longer helped it was |
| would be forty-one years later when the New | | | | time to say good-bye to our Beetle. A salvage |
| Beetle first hit showrooms. Back in 1957, my | | | | yard offered a mere $25 for the VW, so my |
| father's 1946 Chevy was worn out and he | | | | father gave it to a friend to use as a parts |
| started his search for a new car. He became | | | | car. I vividly remember fighting back tears |
| interested in Volkswagens after reading about | | | | as the friend gave us a ride back to our |
| them in the popular publications of the day. | | | | home. It was as if we had lost a member of |
| | | | the family, and as far as I was concerned we |
| A good ten years before hippies would | | | | had. |
| exersise the concept of nonconformity, my | | | | |
| father decided that he wanted a car that | | | | I got my Drivers' License in 1976, but I was |
| would stand out from the usual gigantic, | | | | in a hand-me-down Ford Maverick. Considering |
| tail-finned, gas-guzzling dinosaurs that | | | | the manner in which I drove at 16, it's |
| roamed the streets during that period. It | | | | nothing short of a miracle that I am alive to |
| cost less,too. For a tad over $1700 he | | | | tell this tale nearly thirty years later. |
| acquired a salesman's demonstrator with just | | | | Moving on to 1978, I at last had my own |
| a few kilometers showing on the odometer. | | | | Volkswagen, a 1971 Super Beetle. In the early |
| Yes, kilometers (for those of you US | | | | 1980's I had two more Beetles. In 2000, after |
| readers). This was a European-spec model, | | | | trying various other makes I longed for a VW |
| complete with semaphore turn-signals | | | | again and bought a 1996 Golf, followed by a |
| (literally, for those not familiar with | | | | 1969 Beetle three years later. Up to that |
| Volkswagens, an arm that flapped out of the | | | | time I was the only member of our VW club who |
| side of both doors that flashed, indicating | | | | did not own a classic air-cooled model from |
| which direction the driver intended to | | | | the early years. In nearly 46 years of life |
| turn)as well as one-piece bumpers. (US-spec | | | | in this world, I have calculated that 22 of |
| models had overriders.) Thanks to my father, | | | | those have been with a Volkswagen. |
| I knew the difference between miles and | | | | |
| kilometers by the time I was just five years | | | | I have reached the point of no return now. I |
| old. It was amusing to watch my friends gasp | | | | will always own a VW of some sort. My |
| as we would cruise down the highway at 62 | | | | 8-year-old daughter has already picked her |
| miles an hour while they thought we were | | | | first car; a New Beetle. Kids have a tendency |
| going 100. | | | | to change their minds quite often as new |
| | | | interests are acquired, but in this case, I |
| It would be many years before I would start | | | | don't think she will. It runs in the family. |
| driving, but I knew that I would be driving a | | | | |