Auf Wiedersehen: 1979 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible

1977 was the last year for the Beetle coupe in the US. Why? From a New York Times article from August of that year: "In the United States, It has become a victim of international economics, American safety and emissions requirements and just plain changing times.

When the dollar decreased in value relative to the mark, the beetle became more expensive to United States consumers and therefore less competitive. At the same time, according to spokesman for Volkswagen of America, the cost of meeting American emissions and safety standards helped to make the bug uneconomical.

Finally, Japanese auto makers put severe competitive pressure on VW by bringing out more stylish, up‐to‐date small cars for the American market. For this and other reasons, VW changed its product."

The convertible received a reprieve of two years before it disappeared as well. With no convertibles built in the US after 1976, and the demise of the Beetle as well as the MG and the Triumph, by 1981 American convertible buyers were limited to a handful of German and Italian cars.

Tweet

Welcome to Budget Germany: 1971 Prosche 914, 1965 Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle

I have never featured a Porsche on this blog before. There's a reason for that: I think vintage Porsches are junk. And I drove enough of them in my valet parking days to know. Consider the famous Porsche 911. When Road & Track reviewed it in the 1960s, they found the car's handling so poor it was dangerous to drive. So Porsche fixed this... by dropping two 40-lb. steel weights into the front bumper. Even after a couple of generations of improvements, the 911 was still known for dangerous over-steer, stalling when cold, and (from drivetribe.com), "the early 4-speed manual transmission had exceptionally tall gears, making the driver be careful with shifting gears". What the heck does that even mean? I also drove Porsche 944's made in the '80s, and was shocked at the poor build quality. This is a premium-price supercar?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And yet the old 911 and 944 really are supercars compared to the lowly Porsche 914. From jalopnik.com, "The problem (with the 914) was that the engine they went with was the air-cooled 1.7-liter, 80-horsepower flat four from the Volkswagen Type 4 sedan. This was in no way a performance engine, and it showed. Even in the 914's lightweight body, 0-to-60 mph came at a lofty 13 seconds, giving the driver plenty of time to wonder if his or her purchase was really good idea.

But perhaps the 914's biggest problem was one of perception. With all of its VW components, many enthusiasts refused to accept it as a "real Porsche." It also suffered from a poor shift linkage, somewhat awkward styling and cut-rate quality that reflected its low-cost, parts bin origins. The car was not well received by the motoring press at the time."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tweet

1973 Volkswagen Beetle convertible

 Summer's almost gone.

Tweet

1968 Volkswagen Beetle

Unlike the '59 we spotted in Georgetown, this Beetle has a speedometer and a gas gauge.

Tweet

1959 Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle - when there's no gas gauge

Early model Beetles had a lot of quirky features, none more strange than the "reserve fuel tap" to compensate for the fact that they did not have a gas gauge on the dashboard.

The regular fuel tank was 10.6 gallons, and the reserve tank was 1.3 gallons. From the owner's manual: "For vehicles with a fuel tap, the operating lever should be set at "Open". If the engine begins to "shutter" due to lack of fuel, just turn the lever right to "Reserve."

The owner of an old Beetle described what this meant in practical terms: "Of course, there was no way to check the gas level while you were driving, which meant that you could be straining down the freeway at 65 MPH one minute and windmilling down to zero the next when you ran the tank dry. So the VW designers gave the driver a little valve next to the foot pedals that you could work with your toe, which turned on a reserve fuel supply good for about 30 miles, which they figured was enough to get you to a gas station. So when the engine quit, the drill was to leave the engine in gear, cut into the slow lane, flip the valve with your foot and pump frantically on the gas pedal to restore the flow of gas. If everything worked, the engine started up again after about 5 seconds of terror; if unsuccessful, you cut onto the shoulder and coasted to a stop."

 

 

Tweet

1966 Volkswagen Beetle 1300

For those of you who don't live on the west coast, yes, as you suspected, there are still vintage Beetles everywhere out here.

Tweet