| As a member of a car club I often wonder what | | | | were better, depending, of course, on what |
| inspires others like myself to join such an | | | | their fathers drove. Most of the time it was |
| organization. Certainly the cameraderie, the | | | | Mustang vs. Corvette vs. Charger vs. GTO. I |
| sense of being part of a big family, is an | | | | got many laughs when I contributed |
| important factor. The club I belong to is | | | | Volkswagens to the debates, but I didn't |
| devoted to all Volkswagens, old and new. The | | | | care. I thought the "bug" was better-looking |
| question for others fascinated with these | | | | than any of those cars, and I still do. I |
| cars is, What got us interested in | | | | didn't and still don't care about 0-60 times. |
| Volkswagens in the first place? There are | | | | It has been said that beauty is in the eye of |
| probably as many stories of inspiration as | | | | the beholder, and VW owners can all |
| there are dandelions in my front yard every | | | | concur.Sadly, in 1970, after 13 years of |
| Spring. With that said, here is mine.I was | | | | dependable service and about 257,000 |
| born in 1959, and my memory goes as far back | | | | kilometers (160,000 miles,)my father had |
| as 1962, when I was about two and a half | | | | decided that it was no longer cost-effective |
| years old. In those days generally only one | | | | to keep the car. Many trips to Oklahoma and |
| parent was the breadwinner, as was the case | | | | the perpetual road salt that covered highways |
| with my father. We only had one car, and | | | | during Midwest winters had taken their toll, |
| besides, my mother didn't know how to drive. | | | | and when the amateur patching of bodywork no |
| The car we had was a 1957 Oval Window Beetle | | | | longer helped it was time to say good-bye to |
| that was purchased "new" in Kansas City, | | | | our Beetle. A salvage yard offered a mere $25 |
| Missouri. I say "new" because at that time | | | | for the VW, so my father gave it to a friend |
| there were waiting lists much like there | | | | to use as a parts car. I vividly remember |
| would be forty-one years later when the New | | | | fighting back tears as the friend gave us a |
| Beetle first hit showrooms. Back in 1957, my | | | | ride back to our home. It was as if we had |
| father's 1946 Chevy was worn out and he | | | | lost a member of the family, and as far as I |
| started his search for a new car. He became | | | | was concerned we had.I got my Drivers' |
| interested in Volkswagens after reading about | | | | License in 1976, but I was in a hand-me-down |
| them in the popular publications of the day.A | | | | Ford Maverick. Considering the manner in |
| good ten years before hippies would exersise | | | | which I drove at 16, it's nothing short of a |
| the concept of nonconformity, my father | | | | miracle that I am alive to tell this tale |
| decided that he wanted a car that would stand | | | | nearly thirty years later. Moving on to 1978, |
| out from the usual gigantic, tail-finned, | | | | I at last had my own Volkswagen, a 1971 Super |
| gas-guzzling dinosaurs that roamed the | | | | Beetle. In the early 1980's I had two more |
| streets during that period. It cost less,too. | | | | Beetles. In 2000, after trying various other |
| For a tad over $1700 he acquired a salesman's | | | | makes I longed for a VW again and bought a |
| demonstrator with just a few kilometers | | | | 1996 Golf, followed by a 1969 Beetle three |
| showing on the odometer. Yes, kilometers (for | | | | years later. Up to that time I was the only |
| those of you US readers). This was a | | | | member of our VW club who did not own a |
| European-spec model, complete with semaphore | | | | classic air-cooled model from the early |
| turn-signals (literally, for those not | | | | years. In nearly 46 years of life in this |
| familiar with Volkswagens, an arm that | | | | world, I have calculated that 22 of those |
| flapped out of the side of both doors that | | | | have been with a Volkswagen.I have reached |
| flashed, indicating which direction the | | | | the point of no return now. I will always own |
| driver intended to turn)as well as one-piece | | | | a VW of some sort. My 8-year-old daughter has |
| bumpers. (US-spec models had overriders.) | | | | already picked her first car; a New Beetle. |
| Thanks to my father, I knew the difference | | | | Kids have a tendency to change their minds |
| between miles and kilometers by the time I | | | | quite often as new interests are acquired, |
| was just five years old. It was amusing to | | | | but in this case, I don't think she will. It |
| watch my friends gasp as we would cruise down | | | | runs in the family.Pat Sills is an avid |
| the highway at 62 miles an hour while they | | | | Volkswagen enthusiast and writes articles and |
| thought we were going 100.It would be many | | | | feature stories for his club's Newsletter. |
| years before I would start driving, but I | | | | His first novel, REUNIONS, was published in |
| knew that I would be driving a Volkswagen | | | | March, 2005. Check it out at: |
| someday. When I was in elementary school in | | | | |
| the mid and late 1960's, the Muscle-Car Era, | | | | or at: authorsden. |
| the boys in my classes would argue which cars | | | | |