Volkswagen Beetles were once as common in the past as reality shows are on 21st century TV.
The once-plentiful Beetles have largely disappeared from existence and we mourn their departure almost as much as we mourn the existence of today’s TV reality shows.
Over 20 million Beetles were built over the years, although they fell out of favor in the 70s with North American buyers.
We saw plenty of them on the roads of yesterday, but we saw few of their pickup truck relatives that were based upon the microbus platform during that era.
A VW pickup truck sighting was rare enough to generate plenty of interest during its model run, but it is an even bigger story in 2014. We spotted one of them at a VW show this summer and immediately began to search for its owner.
The VW truck owner was a young 20-year-old car guy with a strong affinity for the old air-cooled VWs. Owner James Read had only owned the truck for a few months when we discovered the two of them at the show.
James felt you can always buy a Beetle, but he liked his VW Double Cab pickup purchase for its uniqueness and rarity. It answered the bell for James on both accounts, so it made his investment a sound one for both financial and emotional reasons.
James may be only 20, but he has already figured out the supply and demand angle behind rare old rides. He saved up enough cash to buy an investment that is much cooler than Microsoft stocks and with enough potential for strong financial growth over the long run.
Right now James has invested in the fun behind an unusual 50-year-old truck and plans to continue along that road for a long time.
The VW also provides the ability to camp for James and his buddies; an added feature they seem to enjoy because we found them at a lake resort VW show.
The Double Cab has three passenger doors and a 1641 cc/75 horsepower dual carb engine to propel it down the road. Rest assured nobody gets whiplash under hard acceleration in this VW truck, but it will do a steady 55-60 mph (95-100 km/h) on the highway and get 40 mpg along the way.
The VW is a good conversation piece for its gregarious owner and James has not trouble fielding questions about his unusual ride
We would guess there are very few 20-year-old owners of these 50-year-old German pickup trucks in the world, so we can understand why James has already gotten used to curious people around his VW.
James told us the amount of positive feedback from the public is amazing, including young women. James probably never factored interest from young females into the investment equation, so that factor is yet another good reason for him to own a 1964 VW Double Cab pickup truck.
James appears to have confidence well beyond his 20 years and he seems like the right owner for the VW truck.
He is young enough to truly enjoy his investment in a rare and classic German vehicle.
Jim Sutherland
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