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