There’s something exceptionally disconcerting in knowing your body is atop and ahead of the front wheels. Along with other flat-nosed pickups and vans of the day, this VDub took things a step further: If a head-on collision didn’t do you in, there was always the potential for engine fires from the under-aerated engine, signifying one of the rare occasions when a VW Bus produced any appreciable degree of heat.

Air-cooled cars never heated all that well, especially in the VW Beetle’s day. Some Bug drivers kept their ice scrapers at hand to periodically clear the inside of the windshield while driving. Others opted for the gas heater. Yes, a gasoline heater radiating its goodness throughout the cabin — for those who enjoyed fumes and flammability with their warmth. What’s most interesting about this deadliest car design is not the concern over toxicity at the time, but the worry of the heaters using too much gas that could otherwise power the engines.

I take this as a warning to tailgaters. I’ll stay off your ass if you stay off mine. For the record my buses have never over heated, but then I’m not trying to win a race. Slow and low is the tempo.

So are old VWs deserving of this title? Debate…

PS. From 1992-1995 I owned a Suzuki Samurai (#9) on this list. Seems I had some sort of automotive death wish.

From reader Mitch Petty…

 For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mitch Petty, I am the founder of Punch Buggy 4 SickKids. Punch Buggy 4 SickKids is a ‘Feel Good’ charity that taps into the enthusiasm and generosity of people like you who love the Volkswagen Beetle to raise money for Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children – SickKids! Each year we invite Volkswagen Beetle & Bus owners from all over Canada bring their Bugs & Busses into Toronto to raise money and show their support for SickKids. We call this gathering the Punch Buggy 4 SickKids Toronto Volkswagen Beetle Invasion! This year our show will take place at Yonge & Dundas Square on May 23, 2009. We are very excited about this year’s event as Yonge and Dundas Square is one of the most prestigious event locations in Toronto!

Each year our goal is to fill the streets of Toronto with the distinct sights and sounds of Volkswagen Beetles strutting their stuff for a good cause. The rare spectacle of so many Volkswagen Beetles generates an enormous amount of visibility and interest for our event. The attention these classic cars get is unbelievable! TV, Radio, and News Papers cannot resist this ‘feel good’ story. Last year our event got overwhelming media attention and was covered by EZ Rock, CityTV, CP24, and CTV!

Last year we were able to raise over $12,000 for SickKids and we are doing it again this year and are hoping to raise $20,000!

Please mark MAY 23, 2009 on your calendars and start raising money! Don’t miss this one – it is going to be a VERY fun day!

 We will have food and LIVE MUSIC all day and the Main Stage! Your cars will have a VIP parking space at the front door of Toronto’s Eaton Center within a stones throw of movie theaters, restaurants, and shopping! We will also be holding a ‘Silent Auction’ of donated goodies!

Start Raising money NOW and become the 2009 Punch Buggy 4 SickKids Champion! The owners of the car (or bus) that raises the most money will become  the 2009 Punch Buggy 4 SickKids Champion! This years champion will get a  Trophy, and will be showered with great prises (to be determined!)

 If you know of anyone who would be interested in becoming a ‘Corporate Sponsor’ please let me know and I will send them a proposal. If they  become a sponsor, we will count their sponsorship money towards your total!

 For more information check out punchbuggy4sickkids.com or join our Facebook group Punch Buggy for SickKids.

 Please feel free to contact me with any questions!

 Best Regards,

 Mitch Petty
 Punch Buggy 4 SickKids

Places like Barrett-Jackson attract a certain type of buyer – those with fat wallets. Sure their auction block would be a great place to unload that rusty bug you have under a tarp behind your garage, but auction companies like BJ are very discriminating over what they actually take in. They want low millage, original paint, minimal restro examples only. 

Finding a 50k milage, gently used, 1960s Volkswagen these days is like finding a grandmother at a Metallica concert. Sure there was once a nice little old couple down the street who only drove their 55 beetle from their garage three blocks to church every Sunday, but those days are gone. Most of these vehicles are now in the hands of collectors or enthusiasts.

Surfing the Samba or eBay may only make you depressed if you’re shopping to pick up a good deal or, on the other side of the coin, ecstatic if you’re looking to unload Dad’s dusty relic in the garage. There’s plenty of “piles” (as my friend Scott would say), but the nice hardware is going for $10k-$20k, with prime examples going for $30k or even $40k for a trailer queen.

Are people really getting those prices? We’ll if eBay says so, then probably yes. I wouldn’t belive those ads asking for $75k on the Samba, that’s Barrett-Jackson territory. Those sellers are dreamers, but who knows? Some people have more money than brains.

So how much is too much to pay for a vintage VW? Having bought four in my lifetime, I can say rule No. 1 is never pressure yourself. We bought our first VW (a 68 Karmann Ghia) too quickly. It was an impluse buy. We had come into some cash and thought, “Lets go spend it on a cool car that nobody else has.” In hindsight we paid too much for a incomplete and mediocre restoration. But that reality check was long forgotten after we drove her.

Our camper we bought under time pressure with a cross-Canada trip pending. We needed the ultimate RV and bought the best-looking one we could find.
 
Our third child was a pile — a 1970 tranporter — but we new that, so at least it was an honest pile.

So have patience, the right old Volkswagen will eventually find you.

Rule No. 2: Do your research. This is common sense to anybody buying a used car, but you can easily forget it once you see that bug/ghia/bus/thing/type3. This goes both ways. If you’re selling, make sure you have all the paperwork you can dig up on the vehicle. History is important.

When we bought the Karmann Ghia, part of my reasoning with my partner was the inevitable appreciation of the vehicle over time. I left out the part about owning a car that would be high maintenance and only be usable for half the year. Sorry Julia. 

Was my first statement correct? Yes. Mostly. Vintage autos do appreciate — as long as they don’t deteriorate. As I said, we paid too much for our Karmann, so it’s taken a few years to improve its value. Looking at eBay and other sites these days, I’d say she’s worth her weight now. We had her appraised a few years ago (future article) and she came in about 15% less than we paid. Since most of the missing parts have been found and incorrect modifcations corrected, we should be in the black. I was told by the appraiser most vintage autos appreciate by at least the cost of inflation.

So that bring us to the current economic times. Welcome to deflation. Is the value of your vintage VW dropping like your mutual funds? 

Fret not. Although not gold bars, old cars enjoy a fairly stable market. There may be fewer buyers. And personal financial situations have driven “not that we’d sell her” type autos out of barns and garages into the marketplace. But you can count on your investment in that old German auto being sound.

People have asked me many a times at shows if our Karmann Ghia or Westfalia were for sale. I’ve trained myself to never say never. Instead I always throw the questions back at them. “How much would you pay for it?” 

One day, somebody will throw a number back at me that will make me scratch my head and stare at the cell phone, wanting to call Julia. 

Vintage automobiles will soon go the route of the volin. You may already be the 3rd 4th or 10th owner of your VW and it will eventually live on without you. Your descendants may own it. Or others. The memories will survive. What else really matters?

Call me a new hippie, but aren’t we all just passing through?