In October, the New York Times ran an article about possibly the most beloved car of all time, the original VW Beetle. In the memories of former owners and the minds of current ones—not to mention a growing number of car collectors—the VWs are still prized for their quirky personality, reliability and relatability. And, really, has there ever been another car that was so darned cute?
We decided to poll our Class of ’65 Facebook group to see if anyone had owned one, especially back in the day. The Times reported that “the older Bugs, the models from 1949 through 1965 that got by with 40 horsepower or less”, are especially valued now, and those are exactly the ones that everyone who commented on the post once drove.
The old Bugs may not have been fast, but they could get you places. Sharon Ralph Gingras had a red one and her sister had a white one, and she remembers how “we were the only two who got into work from east Ann Arbor on a snowy day.”
However, in the winter, a Bug had a certain disadvantage, as you’ll know if you’ve ever been in one when the temperature dipped below, say, 45 degrees. Tim Falls’s comment on his 1965 was, “Great car except for the heater!”
In warmer weather, however, nothing was better than a Bug convertible. Maggie House had a yellow one and used to take Bob Hallock with her when she drove down and back to Bloomington when they were at Indiana University. Pete Souza had a yellow convertible, too, with a black top. Barbara Kendall Souza told us he turned it into a dune buggy in 1971 and said, “Loved that car so much!” As one driver quoted in the Times piece said, “You can’t get away from having a good time when you’re driving a Volkswagen.”
Sharing a Bug was apparently not that unusual. Sam Swisher shared one with a fraternity brother, and Sara Stubbins’s dad bought a red one for her and her sister to drive in high school.
Bugs even seem to have figured in some marriages. Jan Shively Pratt’s first car was a 1964 turquoise Bug she bought in 1966. She said, “I always accused Bob of marrying me for my car!” Joe Steinbock met his wife, Martha, when he borrowed her ‘60’s blue VW Beetle and broke a windshield wiper while racing with a Corvette on his way to a birthday party. (He’s lucky that’s all he broke.) Monty Okey got his wife, JoAnn King Okey, a beautiful lime green one named Gtfrog. JoAnn wrote,“My bug was with me for years as I was a principal in Ann Arbor. The license stood for Great Frog. The kids always knew my car because they knew I was a real frog freak.“
Sam Chandler had a true classic—a ’58! If it’s still around, it’s probably in some collector’s garage now and worth about $30,000.
Compared to all those, Nancy McArtor's VW is new. Newish. From 1979, the last year the convertibles were made, and loved for over 40 years. At various times, she's thought of selling it, but the minute she gets in the driver’s seat and starts the engine, hears that Beetle purr, and sniffs that classic Bug smell, she has to reconsider. And one day a few years ago, a 20-something guy saw her getting into her car in a parking lot and shouted, “Your car is AWESOME!” How could you give up your Bug after that?
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