Why VWs?

[bugnut68]

A simple question, but I'm hoping to elicit lots of responses with it.  I've been playing with VWs since I was 15, now going on 19 years, though my love for these cars goes back well into toddlerhood for me.  As of late, I've pondered why the appeal is so great, and sometimes there isn't always a tangible answer.  I've only driven two American hot rods on two separate occasions, and that's truly a different experience in and of itself, as the performance VW feel is way different by comparison.

The most tangible part of the VW experience, of course, are the people you meet within the varied stratas of the scene, whether its' Cal Look, vintage, Resto-Cal or otherwise, and that's the part I'll always keep closest to me.  There's people I only see once every few years on the rare occasion I get far enough south for the Bug-In; as of late it's been Sacramento Bugorama in the spring, but still there's a number of people I can connect with and it's as if we're picking up where we left off a year or more earlier.

So, for all those folks out there that share this interest, I put it to you: why VWs?

[glenn]

I got mine back in 74 because it was cheap and reliable transportation.

[funnycarmike]

When I got mine around 1981, the "Cal-Look" scene in So. Ca was pretty strong.  I was never really fascinated by V.W.'s until I saw a few cal lookers that got my attention.  That coupled with affordability and the concept of building a little four-banger that could out-run a V-8 is what reeled me in.  Although I have not owned one in 22 years, I still enjoy seeing one cruis'n down the street and I am always keeping my eyes open for an oval "project" . . . . someday, maybe.

[Rick Meredith]

Wanted a '32 3 window coupe but it was way out of my high schooler budget. A VW had the same kid of stance and visual cues to a certain extent and was much more affordable.

[streetvw]

because my uncle built this when I was a kid and it kinda left a mark in my soul 
 

[Larry S]

I was in high school during the late 70's early 80's in orange county. I always wanted a V8 mini truck or El Camino until I saw a guy driving a primered Oval window and it was FAST! I have always pulled for the under dog and the idea of having a four cylinder kick V8 butt was very appealing to me. VW's were also plentiful, good on gas, and cheap to insure. I have always liked something different and so I asked for a oval rag for my first car and that's what my Dad bought me. Everybody at school had a 60 something VW's and I wanted a car that stood apart. I could put $2 of gas in my car and get to Huntington beach 2 times in one day (from LaHabra)! and Insurance was $69 every six months. Bugs are easy to work on and you could go to pick a part (ecology center) and take parts off of other bugs and prices were cheap. I have to say VW's are the easiest cars to work on and they just get you hooked, so basic but so well engineered.

[Zach Gomulka]

My dad was (is) into VW's, I was even brought home from the hospital in our '71 Westy. There was always VW's around when I was growing up, sometimes running, mostly not! It was a given that both my sister and my first car would be a VW. She got a Zenith Blue '67 around 1992 for $700. It was a runner, in hindsight a very decent car! By the time I was 15 in 1996 her 67 was long gone, but my dads '72 was just sitting, the 1776 needing a top end rebuild. So he told me to pick up a magazine so we could order some parts. That was the December '96 issue of Hot VW's, and I was instantly hooked. I remember seeing "2442" printed somewhere and not having a clue what it meant, I had to learn more. Nearly 14 years later, even though I've been completely obsessed by VW's and cars in general, I still haven't learned enough. I think the thing that attracts me to VW's most is that they are not the norm, they are a challenge to make fast, and of course the David and Goliath thing.

[iowa mark]

I was in high school with a part time job and really, REALLY needed a car! The red Corvette in the showroom was a bit out of my price range. One night I drove the family station wagon out back of the local Ford dealer and spotted a bug with a strange top. WOW! the top opened up! I talked them down to $245.00 and away I went with my first car. A 1957 deluxe ragtop in coral red. I told the folks it was all about economical transportation and how easy i could fix things that broke, and blah, blah, blah.... but what did it for me was a four on the floor, sports car-like handling (not 60's vintage land yacht GM station wagon) and that sliding sunroof all the girls liked to stick their head out of as I showed off, cruising the loop. That was way back in the late 60's and like all good addictions, I can quit all this at any time.

[karl h]

i had to buy cheap transportation after i rolled my dads mercedes (incidentally the day it came from the paintshop ) to get him from the airport. seeing the new family transportation he just said "dont tell me what happened or i get upset". he bought another car a littel bit later an i kept the peru green 69 bug. after seeing a local accellerating his 1600cc dual solex oval i was hooked. going on thirty yeras now and i havent been without an aircooled VWs since

[nicolas]

try looking cool in a Honda...

[carlito421]

$245.00 A 1957 deluxe ragtop in coral red.

 

[bugnut68]

try looking cool in a Honda...

I'm only going to play devil's advocate on this reply only because the Honda/import tuner thing is basically the same exact thing that the VW was in the '80s... plentiful, cheap to acquire and lots of parts available for them.  In my experience, a lot of the Honda guys are saying the same stuff about VWs, we just happened to be around first, so we're the forefathers, in a sense.

My only lament is there was once a time, or so it seemed, where it was cheaper to make a VW fast than to build up American iron, but sadly I don't think this is the case anymore.

[johnl]

Wanted a '32 3 window coupe but it was way out of my high schooler budget. A VW had the same kid of stance and visual cues to a certain extent and was much more affordable.

In 1964 when I was 17 I had my '63 VW and a '32 three window chop top coupe.  The Ford was really cool with red & white tuck & roll, a '48 Merc with (4) Stromberg 97s and a '48 three speed.  I had fun with the '32 but could always depend on the VW to go anywhere and finally decided that both of them was to much.

The '32 was sold and I think that is when I bought the Judson Supercharger and probably some other items.  Looking back I wonder if I made a mistake in letting the '32 go but at least I can say I had the experience.   

[70slooker]

i dont know why vws, always seems like there is money for parts but never for food

[youngnstudly]

Wanted a '32 3 window coupe but it was way out of my high schooler budget. A VW had the same kid of stance and visual cues to a certain extent and was much more affordable.

X2! I wanted a 32 3 window, a Model A coupe, or (in the foreign car sector) a 356/912 Porsche...all of which I couldn't afford then (or now)! My father built hot rods and restored peoples old cars so I grew up around all the american iron, but my mother always made my dad keep a VW around for her. Most of the swear words in German that I know I picked up from watching my dad work on mom's VW's. He also taught me that the only reason god made 1/4" drive sockets and ratchets is to work on chevy Luv's, Ford couriers, and small foreign cars.   The VW's were a cheap form of transportation in my high school days so I tried to make my car as cool as I could. I refered to the first high performance VW's that I remember as a kid to build my personal car.

I was 7 or 8 when I got my first ride in a high performance VW. It was in the late 80's and the car I rode in had straight cut gears and big Webers with S&S merged dual QP's. It was a build that was based off of the Berglar (when it came out in the late 80's/early 90's) and had one piece windows, 356 chromies with 135's in the front, Berg shifter, and Simpson racing harnesses in it. Most everything else was stock on the body and interior. This car was nothing like the many VW's my mother drove (in most stock form) and I was hooked! I even like driving a stock VW now and would love to own a ragtop or late 50's bug.

I'd still trade my soul for a 3 window or 356 though...and I'd trade either of those cars to sleep with a room full of hot college chicks once or twice. That reminds me, I need to buy a lotto ticket.

Andy

[nicolas]

try looking cool in a Honda...

I'm only going to play devil's advocate on this reply only because the Honda/import tuner thing is basically the same exact thing that the VW was in the '80s... plentiful, cheap to acquire and lots of parts available for them.  In my experience, a lot of the Honda guys are saying the same stuff about VWs, we just happened to be around first, so we're the forefathers, in a sense.

My only lament is there was once a time, or so it seemed, where it was cheaper to make a VW fast than to build up American iron, but sadly I don't think this is the case anymore.

yes and no. yes to some extent you could compare the vw scene in the 60's and 70's to the import scene these days, but even that argument isn't 'waterproof'. besides that was not my point. i said try looking cool in a Honda. that was my point. i think there are very few cars out there that have had such an appeal on people for so long. i doubt the CRX, civic or what not will stand the test of time that good as a beetle. but to each their own.

[Rennsurfer]

My only lament is there was once a time, or so it seemed, where it was cheaper to make a VW fast than to build up American iron, but sadly I don't think this is the case anymore.

I disagree. Even though it's much more money to build a VW these days (compared to thirty years prior), they're still way less expensive than an American V8 car. I know people that easily dump two to three times more cash into their hot rods.

[Nico86]

My only lament is there was once a time, or so it seemed, where it was cheaper to make a VW fast than to build up American iron, but sadly I don't think this is the case anymore.

I disagree. Even though it' much more money to build a VW these days (compared to thirty years prior), they're still way less expensive than an American V8 car. I know people that easily dump two to three times more cash into their hot rods.

Sure, and especially here in Europe 
And thanks to the internet we can now get cheaper stuff for our VWs from the US 

[Catbox]

My only lament is there was once a time, or so it seemed, where it was cheaper to make a VW fast than to build up American iron, but sadly I don't think this is the case anymore.

I disagree. Even though it' much more money to build a VW these days (compared to thirty years prior), they're still way less expensive than an American V8 car. I know people that easily dump two to three times more cash into their hot rods.

I have more money tied up in my 2332 build than it would cost me to dump a 450HP big block into my '54 Bel Air.
The big block I speak of was a feature in one of my Car Craft magazines not to long ago and cost just over $2600 carb to pan.
That does not include the price of the transmission for either car.

I like the bugs as they look like cars from long ago that you rarely see out on the road anymore.
That and I could not buy the '54 I wanted with the money I had in 2005, that would have gotten me a totally rusty car that needed everything done to it.
I saw the VW Trends with the Volksrods on the cover and had a bug within a month of purchasing that issue.

I just like to work on cars and then drive the bejeebers out of them.
My bug, even though it is a super has done this for me with many upgrades made to it over the years that I have had it.

[bugnut68]

My only lament is there was once a time, or so it seemed, where it was cheaper to make a VW fast than to build up American iron, but sadly I don't think this is the case anymore.

I disagree. Even though it' much more money to build a VW these days (compared to thirty years prior), they're still way less expensive than an American V8 car. I know people that easily dump two to three times more cash into their hot rods.

I have more money tied up in my 2332 build than it would cost me to dump a 450HP big block into my '54 Bel Air.
The big block I speak of was a feature in one of my Car Craft magazines not to long ago and cost just over $2600 carb to pan.
That does not include the price of the transmission for either car.

I like the bugs as they look like cars from long ago that you rarely see out on the road anymore.
That and I could not buy the '54 I wanted with the money I had in 2005, that would have gotten me a totally rusty car that needed everything done to it.
I saw the VW Trends with the Volksrods on the cover and had a bug within a month of purchasing that issue.

I just like to work on cars and then drive the bejeebers out of them.
My bug, even though it is a super has done this for me with many upgrades made to it over the years that I have had it.

Yeah, that was kind of my point... of course, with twice the cylinders you're starting with a much more substantial base in terms of horsepower versus a four-cylinder engine.  The motivation for most, of course, is that it's fun and they want to make these cars fast.  I've given up on the whole "allegiance to the car brand" thing, as it is everywhere.  The modern import guys brag on reliability, creature comforts and handling and the classic muscle car guys use the "'for that amount of money you could have built a REALLY fast V8," argument, so I completely disregard the cool factor, as it is all subjective, in my experience.

For me, the thrust of a rear-engine, real wheel drive car is a total thrill.  VWs have a unique design and universal appeal that isn't found in other cars.

[Sepi]

My father bought his first beetle 1963 and even I was ashamed among other guys whose family had a Ford Anglia or even Cortina, I have inherited the love for VW:s - yes, also for water cooled ones 
Actually, could you find any other vehicle with so many variations of liking without no no? Cal-lookers, resto-lookers, german-lookers, originals, spoiled...

[max2919]

In my home town there was a black 64 with centerlines and a stroker IDA motor. The owner drove it like he stole it every weekend. I was 14-15 and I loved it! On day I was offerd a ride in it, it was a rainy day to and to make the story short he was sideways like a drifting show. I was hocked...