Why was the Volkswagen Beetle of the 60's & 70's so popular?

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

@Stranger On A Train

The BMW MINI is certainly a different creature than the original Mini, but despite my antipathy for it, I can acknowledge (as with the Mazda Miata) that it is at least a well-executed concept of something I would never buy myself.

Meh. The Miata is a cheap Japanese knockoff of the Lotus Elan that turned out to be a brilliant car in its own right.

The Mini is… pastiche.

[aruvqan]

@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor

When Disney does the car thing, you get Herbie.
With Stephen King, Christine.

Go figure.

<puts her little had up>
I vote for Herbie…

Although my 74 mustang did pin my parents mechanic to the garage door once … according to my mom he was dissing my car because it was in the post primer spots / pre new paint job look, and looked rather scrofulous. I guess my little beastie taught him not to diss it any more=)

[Mark_Ryle]

@lobotomyboy63

Youtube doesn’t seem to have the clip from “Sleeper” where Woody [Allen] finds one, covered in dirt, presumably having sat there for decades. He jumps in, and the dub starts first time.

Here you go.

[T.Slothrop]

I had a VW addiction for years. I have done a lot of engine and body work and even swapped pans single handedly once to keep a VW convertible going. The idiots guide (mentioned above) was my bible. At that time I didn’t want to own anything I couldn’t fix myself. And I liked their curves.

I’m OK now. I went through a twelve step program where they pair you up with a VW junkie mentor that you can telephone if you find yourself browsing the dangerous section of the classified ads.

I have noticed though, that families have very little sympathy for recovering VW junkies. No family member would ever offer a recovering alcoholic or addict the the last dregs of a bottle they found in the street, or the last milligrams of dope from a syringe that washed up on the beach. But if my family and I drive by a pile of rust with a VW insignia on it and a for sale sign, my family will chorus: “Look Dad, you can get that one for only XXXX dollars ! ! !”

But I’m OK now.

I need to sign off though. My palms are sweating and the keyboard is shorting out.

[Rick]

@Really Not All That Bright

Meh. The Miata is a cheap Japanese knockoff of the Lotus Elan that turned out to be a brilliant car in its own right.

The Mini is… pastiche.

[nitpick] I knew Bob Hall the father of the Miata when we were in our late teens. I can tell you for a fact that he is a card carrying died in the wool, car nut.* He was also a great admirer of Colin Chapman and his cars. I would not refer to the Miata as a cheap knockoff of any previous car.[/nitpick]

• Compared to Bob and his twin Jim, I am a guy that is barely aware of the existence of the automobile.

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

The convertible version was one of very few ragtops available in the mid-1970s (another was a Porsche).

But the ragtop Beetle was definitely not cheap, being comparable in price to the smaller BMW coupes of the time.

[TV_time]

@T. Slothrop

I have noticed though, that families have very little sympathy for recovering VW junkies. No family member would ever offer a recovering alcoholic or addict the the last dregs of a bottle they found in the street, or the last milligrams of dope from a syringe that washed up on the beach. But if my family and I drive by a pile of rust with a VW insignia on it and a for sale sign, my family will chorus: “Look Dad, you can get that one for only XXXX dollars ! ! !”

But I’m OK now.

I need to sign off though. My palms are sweating and the keyboard is shorting out.

I met my wife when I had my VW bus, and we had numerous adventures while I had it, so she appreciates the feelings I have for the vehicle. For years after, if we saw one pulled over on the side of the road, she would ask, “Do you think we should stop?”

I would nod and stop. I would break out my metric tools and my Idiots Guide and climb under the mini hood and work with the guy tinkering with it to get it going again. These days, when we see one in some field or back yard covered with weeds, we still wave and she will almost always say, “Bye Bess (the name of my bus), we miss you.”

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

@Rick

[nitpick] I knew Bob Hall the father of the Miata when we were in our late teens. I can tell you for a fact that he is a card carrying died in the wool, car nut.* He was also a great admirer of Colin Chapman and his cars. I would not refer to the Miata as a cheap knockoff of any previous car.[/nitpick]

[hijack] I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with ripping off the Elan; but when you look at the MX-5 you have to think, “Yep, you can definitely see what they were going for with that.”

To put it in Volvo terms, think about how many modern coupes-cum-hatchbacks took their styling and packaging cues from the highly underrated 480 - the BMW M Roadster, for example.

[R.P.McMurphy]

@plnnr

Ah yes, the VW Van. The only vehicle that used human knees for the front bumper.

A good friend in college had one (actually, several good friends - I was a Deadhead) and I always, always, always refused to ride shotgun. I couldn’t get used to having nothing between me and the car in front except the headlight and my kneecap.

Now let’s be fair! As insecure as you may have felt in the VW bus the BMW Isetta has to take the honors.

Isetta

In the VW designers’ most nefarious dreams they couldn’t come close to having the passengers experience the dangers of riding in an Isetta.