The first-generation Volkswagen Beetle was one of the most popular cars ever built in automotive history and remains a legend even though it became unavailable for sale as a new car in North America after 1979.
There were always many good reasons to love a Beetle, but MystarCollectorCar narrowed our reasons down to five good ones, mostly based upon our personal experiences with them over the years.
Jim Sutherland
The first reason on our Bug love list is the fact the little German import was under-powered because it had a tiny engine that took second place to large lawnmower engines in terms of horsepower. Consequently, Beetle drivers could enjoy pedal-to-the-metal experiences just to keep up with urban traffic, a driving pleasure not shared with other drivers who had V-8 power under their car’s hoods.
The original Beetle’s air-cooled engine could handle high RPMs and sounded like it meant business every time the driver floored it- but the truth was “fast” was only a concept in a stock Beetle. Unless they were on a trailer behind a V-8 powered tow vehicle.
The second good reason to love a Beetle was its sturdy roof, an important factor in a car with a swing axle on its 1946-68 models, a rear suspension system that lent itself to rollovers.
We at MyStarCollectorCar did some research in this area when we were kids and learned first-hand that inexperienced teenaged VW stunt drivers were no match for a mildly steep ditch, but Beetle roofs are stout in a rollover.
A third reason to love a Bug is they are almost boats and will float (for a while) on a body of water. We never tested the Beetle’s ability to stay on water surfaces during our misspent youth adventures in a Bug, but we know they were built with a sealed steel undercarriage that gave passengers more time to get out of a Beetle on a body of water.
We may never have spent time on a lake in a first-generation Beetle but are more than willing to accept the fact they will float…temporarily. A very controversial Ted Kennedy parody ad in a 1972 National Lampoon magazine suggested the Beetle might have saved Kennedy’s presidential campaign because it would have floated long enough to prevent his young female companion from drowning in Kennedy’s Oldsmobile when he hit the water in it.
National Lampoon breached every boundary of good taste with the fake ad, but the fact remains that Beetles can be temporary boats.
Which brings us to our fourth reason to hug a Bug: Beetles would also float over snow, an important factor in any country where winter stays too long and brings too much snow for too many months.
The main reason is an original Beetle performed like a toboggan in snow because it had little weight on the front end with most of its weight at the back. The result was the original Beetle’s rear-engine/rear wheel drive powertrain provided solid traction to the rear wheels with the car’s light front-end riding high in the snow because of its sealed steel body.
The fifth and final reason to love a Beetle is Punch Buggy, a game custom made for bored kids on a long road trip. The rules were simple: spot a Beetle first while in a moving car and slug the nearest kid to you in the car. The game was designed to keep kids busy during the Dark Ages before cell phones and video games.
The big difference was Punch Buggy game violence was real and took place in every car in North America many times because the original Beetle was a very popular vehicle in days of yore.
And nothing says nostalgia better than an aging Punch Buggy gamer with an arthritic shoulder from too many Beetle sightings on yesteryear’s roads.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
- CLICK HERE to Sign Up for the Newsletter
- CLICK HERE to Like us on Facebook
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Twitter
- CLICK HERE to Follow us on Pinterest
