My Volkswagen Story

As a member of a car club I often wonder whatwhich cars were better, depending, of course, on what
inspires others like myself to join such an organization.their fathers drove. Most of the time it was Mustang
Certainly the cameraderie, the sense of being part ofvs. Corvette vs. Charger vs. GTO. I got many laughs
a big family, is an important factor. The club I belong towhen I contributed Volkswagens to the debates, but I
is devoted to all Volkswagens, old and new. Thedidn't care. I thought the "bug" was better-looking than
question for others fascinated with these cars is, Whatany of those cars, and I still do. I didn't and still don't
got us interested in Volkswagens in the first place?care about 0-60 times. It has been said that beauty is
There are probably as many stories of inspiration asin the eye of the beholder, and VW owners can all
there are dandelions in my front yard every Spring.concur.Sadly, in 1970, after 13 years of dependable
With that said, here is mine.I was born in 1959, and myservice and about 257,000 kilometers (160,000
memory goes as far back as 1962, when I was aboutmiles,)my father had decided that it was no longer
two and a half years old. In those days generally onlycost-effective to keep the car. Many trips to
one parent was the breadwinner, as was the caseOklahoma and the perpetual road salt that covered
with my father. We only had one car, and besides, myhighways during Midwest winters had taken their toll,
mother didn't know how to drive. The car we had wasand when the amateur patching of bodywork no
a 1957 Oval Window Beetle that was purchasedlonger helped it was time to say good-bye to our
"new" in Kansas City, Missouri. I say "new" because atBeetle. A salvage yard offered a mere $25 for the
that time there were waiting lists much like there wouldVW, so my father gave it to a friend to use as a parts
be forty-one years later when the New Beetle first hitcar. I vividly remember fighting back tears as the friend
showrooms. Back in 1957, my father's 1946 Chevygave us a ride back to our home. It was as if we had
was worn out and he started his search for a newlost a member of the family, and as far as I was
car. He became interested in Volkswagens afterconcerned we had.I got my Drivers' License in 1976,
reading about them in the popular publications of thebut I was in a hand-me-down Ford Maverick.
day.A good ten years before hippies would exersiseConsidering the manner in which I drove at 16, it's
the concept of nonconformity, my father decided thatnothing short of a miracle that I am alive to tell this tale
he wanted a car that would stand out from the usualnearly thirty years later. Moving on to 1978, I at last had
gigantic, tail-finned, gas-guzzling dinosaurs that roamedmy own Volkswagen, a 1971 Super Beetle. In the early
the streets during that period. It cost less,too. For a tad1980's I had two more Beetles. In 2000, after trying
over $1700 he acquired a salesman's demonstratorvarious other makes I longed for a VW again and
with just a few kilometers showing on the odometer.bought a 1996 Golf, followed by a 1969 Beetle three
Yes, kilometers (for those of you US readers). Thisyears later. Up to that time I was the only member of
was a European-spec model, complete withour VW club who did not own a classic air-cooled
semaphore turn-signals (literally, for those not familiarmodel from the early years. In nearly 46 years of life in
with Volkswagens, an arm that flapped out of the sidethis world, I have calculated that 22 of those have
of both doors that flashed, indicating which direction thebeen with a Volkswagen.I have reached the point of
driver intended to turn)as well as one-piece bumpers.no return now. I will always own a VW of some sort.
(US-spec models had overriders.) Thanks to myMy 8-year-old daughter has already picked her first
father, I knew the difference between miles andcar; a New Beetle. Kids have a tendency to change
kilometers by the time I was just five years old. It wastheir minds quite often as new interests are acquired,
amusing to watch my friends gasp as we wouldbut in this case, I don't think she will. It runs in the
cruise down the highway at 62 miles an hour whilefamily.Pat Sills is an avid Volkswagen enthusiast and
they thought we were going 100.It would be manywrites articles and feature stories for his club's
years before I would start driving, but I knew that INewsletter. His first novel, REUNIONS, was published in
would be driving a Volkswagen someday. When I wasMarch, 2005. Check it out at:
in elementary school in the mid and late 1960's, theor at: authorsden.
Muscle-Car Era, the boys in my classes would argue