Affordable Classic Volkswagen

After the big success of the Volkswagen Beetle in theThing may increase in the future but not that high.
1960s, the German automaker has resurrected theRegardless, in an era of $25,000 Fiat Jollys, the Thing is
idea of an on-and off-road car and christened it thestill one of the best and economical ways of cruising
Type 181 "Thing". The "thing" was inspired by the Worldthe beach.
War II Type 82 Kübelwagen and was updatedYears Produced: 1969-78 (officially imported to US
using the Beetle baseline engine and running gear but1973-74)
this time with a beefier Transporter/MicrobusOriginal List Price: $2,750
suspension.Tune-up Cost: $95
Also along the lines of the Kübelwagen was itsDistributor Caps: $7
Dumpsteresque yet practical styling. Its simple doorsChassis # Location: Stamped on the forward body lip
and standard soft top is easy to remove while itsin the trunk
windshield can be folded flat. The rear-engine,Engine # Location: Stamped on block underneath the
rear-wheel drive car was rugged and well suited foralternator
worst conditioned roads.Club Info: W Type 181 Thing Registry, SE 700
The "Thing" was first built in 1969 and was offered inCrescent Drive, Shelton, WA 98584
the US until 1973. It is powered by a standard BeetleWeb Site:
1584-cc air-cooled flat four-cylinder engine with 46Alternatives: Ford Bronco, Toyota Land Cruiser (first
chirping horsepower, and coupled to a four-speedseries), Meyers Manx
manual transmission. Its first year in the US, the ThingThe Company Volkswagen
was offered in Blizzard White, Sunshine Yellows andVolkswagen is an automobile manufacturer based in
Pumpkin Orange.Wolfsburg, Germany. It forms the core of the
By the year 1974, the Thing got a slight boost in powerVolkswagen Group and ranked fourth as world's
from 46bhp to 55 bhp. Other improvements arelargest car producer after GM, Toyota and Ford.
notable from its side scoops instead of flush slottedVolkswagen means "peoples' car" in German. Its
vents in the rear quarter panels. The most desired trimGerman tagline is "Aus Liebe zum Automobil" which
package was called the "Acapulco", and featured awhen translated means "For the love of the car" - or,
bikini top and blue-and-white striped vinyl seats. The"For Love of the People's Cars".
option list includes a fiberglass hard top with solid doorFor the 20th century, Volkswagen is considered an
windows, luggage racks, air conditioning and a paddedicon due mainly to its expertise in creating legendary
roll cage. US sales were discontinued after 1974, whilecars. The German automaker's The beetle is
sales in Mexico continued until 1978.considered to be the best-selling car of all time. And
The Thing has a small but faithful legion of followers.that's not all even its Volkswagen bus was considered
One problem encountered with the Thing is in terms ofa symbol of a generation. Volkswagen's Golf is
its Panels. Its uni-body seems to be the most difficultdeemed by many as a modern masterpiece. Only
part to track down since rustkübels are rare.very few car manufacturers can parallel such
Likewise, poor insulation which led to snow-countryremarkable creations of the largest German
interior temperatures reminiscent of the Shackletonautomaker.
expedition's igloos, kept many of them off salty winterVolkswagen was born in an era considered to be the
roads.period for the privilege few and it is for this reason that
Volkswagen's Thing is not all that bad; its extremeFerdinand Porsche founder of Volkswagen has
commonality of functional parts like for example itsconceived the idea of creating a people's car. His main
Volkswagen brake caliper, with Beetle adds up to itsobjective is to provide a great number of Germans
quality as a vehicle. Aside from parts it also shareswith a reliable transport at prices that are within their
some Bug's qualities such as air-cooled reliability andreach.
ease of repair parts and parcel makes it the stepchildThe Beetle which is a favorite car of all times was
of one of the best selling cars in the world. In theproduced in the year 1948 together with other 25,000
Southwestern states, it is very easy and convenient tovehicles. But during that time only two Beetles were
rebuild an engine all one has to do is to walk along theproduced and were shipped to the USA. A year later
side of any road for about ten miles, gather someanother remarkable coupe the Karmann convertible
parts and viola!-one engine ready to go.was produced which became the world's best-selling
The growing craze over the New Beetle hasconvertible. To cut the story short, Volkswagen from
somewhat affected the Thing prices. But that didn'tan auto company grows to becoming a world
completely diminish the interest of the public in variouscorporation building factories and working communities
oddball cars of the 70's like for example Gremlins,in countries like Brazil, United States and Canada. The
Pacers, etc. as a fact it has even helped boost theGerman automaker has also made working
Thing price. Quality Things are available in pricescommunities in major centres in Western Europe.
ranging from $2,600 to $4,800. As a gauge of theIn the alst fifteen years of the millennium Volkswagen
lower end of the market, a non-running #4 1974 Thinghas surfaced as a true global force in the auto industry
with hard top but no title was recently sold at aespecially when it acquired famous names such as
Midwest estate auction for $1,600. The pricing of theAudi, SEAT, Skoda, and Lamborghini.