What A Difference Four Decades Can Make...

 I came across an add for a car. Well, parts of a car, in reality. It's true when you buy a car--any car--you're actually buying many parts that when put together, you get a car. The car I found online had car parts...just not enough for the thing to actually work as a car is intended to do.

What a difference time makes.

The fact that the grouping of car parts cost $500 is what really caught my attention. Any frequent readers of this blog know I'm a sucker for old Volkswagens, and that my first (and many cars after...) was a bug. We called it Greenie and it had tons of personality. It also had a working (somewhat...) engine, a functioning transmission and the ability to move under its own power.

Something the car I found online did not have.

No engine, no transmission, and little more than what you see in photo.

My first car and this car cost the same amount of money. Shocking, I know. Back then, $500 could get you a whole car, one that was legal to drive on the road. You could buy a lot of things for $500 back then. For example, $500 would pay for 1/3 of a year of college--unbelievable, I know. My friend took out a loan for his first car. $500 represented five payments.

I think those days are gone forever.

If I were handy, and had an extra VW engine and transmission and other car parts, $500 might be a good price for half a car that's more than five decades old. Then I could haul it to my house, put in under a tarp or in the garage and hopefully one day, set a goal to put it back together. Then I could say the same thing I said back in 1982..."Oh, this car? Yeah, it cost me $500."

Oh...What Might Have Been

 The family and I climbed aboard our minivan this morning and headed to an event called "Hay Days." It's a chance for the people of our community to gather and enjoy each others's company as well as celebrate the wonderful little town we call home.

Plus, there's a car show.

It's not the biggest car show, but it seems to get bigger every year...this year included. There were many classic American cars, corvettes, trucks, what have you. And they had one Volkswagen Beetle, my favorite car. It was a beautiful car. I took pictures of it as I always do. Every time I see a bug these days it reminds me of my earlier years, back when you could buy a bug for $500 and the bug ran and it was (semi...) reliable transportation.

Too bad those days are gone forever.

I have a picture of my first car. It's a 1965 VW Beetle (we lovingly called "Greenie"...), original 1200cc engine, top speed - 50 m.p.h. unless you drove downhill, or behind an 18-wheeler. 

What if I had kept that car instead of basically giving it away...

Oh, what might have been.

I've thought about this several times over the years. Using the advantages of age, I know keeping that car would have been a terrible idea. Just finding a place to park it would have been a nightmare. Plus, I don't know how long it would take me to get it running and if I did, would I dare drive it anywhere far from my home? 

That car, in the condition at the time I got rid of it, in today's dollars would be worth many thousands of dollars...a far cry from the $500 I originally paid in1982. That sounds great, but I would have paid for that appreciation in other ways. No, my logical mind understands not hanging on to that car was the best decision...

Just my heart doesn't share my brain's reasoning.

Oh, what might have been...I only hope someone took car of Greenie. I'd love to see it at a car show one of these days.

VW...No Problems

 If you've ever owned an original VW beetle, you know the headline of this post isn't exactly true. I've owned half a dozen bugs in my lifetime and to say they're "problem-free" would be a misstatement...

A big misstatement.

Funny how time sometimes erases bad memories.

My first car did not lack for problems. It rarely went over 50 m.p.h. and it broke down more going to and from Utah State University my first quarter of school than making the trip problem-free.

But, man...I loved that car.

The reason this photo caught my attention was because of a conversation I had last month with my car mechanic friend. We were discussing new cars and all the things that can go wrong with them. I told him about my friend who ordered a new Toyota from the factory and he ordered it with manually-operated windows. Yes, the hand roll up/roll down ones. He said he did it because it was one (actually, four...) less thing to break.

My mechanic friend agreed. The more things in a car, the more things that break down. 

Look at that VW photo (curtesy of VWSlut on Instagram...). Yes, it lacks all those things, and all the VW beetles I owned lacked them too. None of those missing things broke down...

Like my friend would say, "No problems."

I Really Don't Know Why I Like These Cars That Much...

 We were pulling out of the parking lot and I spotted it, a red Volkswagen Beetle, late 60s - early 70s (my ability to correctly identify VWs has diminished over the years...). We circled around, and I snapped a picture.

I really don't know why I like these cars so much.

I shouldn't. As far as cars go, there's not a lot to like. They're unreliable, at least all the bugs I've owned in my life, and since I haven't owned one in over twenty-five years, I highly doubt they've become more reliable in that time. They're small. They're definitely unsafe. There's no heater that works. And for many, they're about the ugliest car ever made.

Still...

I can't help it. I love them.

When I saw the bug, it took me back. In 1987 I bought a 1972 superbeetle--my second bug (I can't believe the car was only fifteen years old--my daughter drives a sixteen-year old car now...). The 1972 bug was orange and it had its issues. I paid $500 for it. That same car in that same condition would be worth probably $4k today. I hired my cousin to paint it for me. I've been told it drove him mad getting it painted. I'm glad he did it because it turned out beautiful, a deep cherry red.

When I saw the car in the parking lot, I wished I once again had a a bug. They're a kick to drive and they actually do quite well in the snow. But, talk about impractical. They're manual transmissions--a few automatics were built, but I haven't seen one of them on the road in decades. This means I'd be the only one in the family who could drive it. We moved to a somewhat colder climate so driving it would not be pleasant in the winters. It only seats four and there's no room to pack anything.

Like I said, totally impractical.

Still...

I think if I had the means, I'd still love to have one parked in our garage. Of course, I'd have to park it over something to collect all the oil dripping from the engine...don't want to dirty up a new garage floor.