10-21-2009, 08:59 PM
I love the old bugs. Owned a few and a few buses. Worked on many in a shop in the late 70s. They were generally reliable, simple and easy to work on, but if it weren't for the engine rebuilds they needed, the shop would have gone broke. They're crude compared to even the simplest of modern vehicles. Not green. Their engine design was prone to polluting, much of it because of the intake system, which had poor distribution and left a lot of area for condensation. Not only did they lack safety features, the bodies weren't designed with safety in mind, so they fold up in hard crashes. I wouldn't own one now for an only car, but a nice '67 with a factory sunroof and a fresh dual-port 1600 and some suspension mods would be fun for an occasional Sunday drive.