10-21-2009, 10:12 PM
at least a few weeks, fritz. you could give them a call if you plan to travel from Pittsburgh to the Lehigh Valley (6 hrs drive).
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Old VW bugs still good?
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10-21-2009, 10:32 PM
Green? Hell no.
Maybe if you retrofitted it with EFI, an O2 sensor, and a three way catalytic converter. A recent original style Bug from Mexico will have much better emissions than a 1970's U.S. Bug. I would guess one of the Mexican Bugs even when new and in perfect tune, put out double the pollution of the current ones. I had a 1972 Ghia. I think it got 26 mpg. After I owned that one, I got so I could tell if there was a VW within 1/4 mile in front of me just by the smell of the exhaust (eg. a lot of emissions from a typical vehicle).
10-21-2009, 10:41 PM
OK enough of this you will be killed if you get in an accident crap!
Being actively involved in the VW industry/hobby for more than 30 years I know lots of folks (literally 100's!) that drive VWs and many, many, that have been in accidents and do not know of a single person that was ever killed in one! I have seen some bugs (busses too) that were so smashed up you would think that the person in the car could not possibly have survived yet, 9 times out of 10, they were not even seriously injured. That being said a 3 way lap/shoulder belt is a must. Highback seats are helpful in preventing whiplash. The spare tire MUST be in place and inflated! And the seat tracks and surrounding floor should be inspected for rust or prior damage and repaired/replaced if necessary.
10-21-2009, 11:31 PM
Harbourmaster wrote: I will agree with this. They may be lighter than many U.S. cars and not have airbags, but they were never known as deathtraps. There were updates to them over the years to meet newer safety standards. Collapsible steering columns were added around 1968.
10-21-2009, 11:35 PM
I had a '68 bug and my dad and friends had a whole slew of VW bugs, buses and squarebacks which I spent a lot of time driving and working on. They require a lot of maintenance, are completely gutless, have awful handling and mediocre brakes (not to mention getting easily blown off the road or into the next lane in a windstorm). Combine that with very poor crashworthiness and you have something that I would never recommend to one of my kids. The reasons bugs were popular were that they were cheap, got decent gas mileage, and could be maintained easily by a shadetree mechanic with just a few tools. They are neither reliable nor safe IMHO.
10-22-2009, 12:16 AM
I also don't think that bugs are deathtraps. My anecdotal evidence is me being a careless 17 year old, driving the 1968 family bug and, by not paying attention to the road, leaving the road, taking it up an embankment and rolling it. I came out OK, and the bug still had many years of service left in it. I even thought it's reliability was pretty decent, it served me well in college. The only reason I got rid of it was that Pennsylvania wouldn't inspect it as it's floor had pretty much rusted out.
I could have had my own Flinstonemobile!
10-22-2009, 12:50 AM
Agree with davester.
As a first car for someone who wants to work on it themselves, has the time, is handy and can be without use of it for periods of time; maybe. For someone who has none of that; never! Those that haven't been junked by now are 40 years old or older! Extrapolate. If you're 40 years old yourself, when you were 17, a 40 year old car would have been from 1945! ::o
10-22-2009, 12:58 AM
Sam3 wrote: I could have had my own Flinstonemobile!  I'm sure I wasn't the only college student who owned one of those! Mine was a 1968 AMC Rebel. The floor was so badly rusted out I put in a piece of plywood (bad idea). One day, while driving around a corner at 45mph, the plywood dropped out. I could have died (I just couldn't make my feet go fast enough, I guess).Dave
...on the trailing edge of technology.
10-22-2009, 01:02 AM
I learned how to drive in a '64 Beetle & my 1st car was a 63 VW with a sunroof. Sadly, it didn't survive being T-boned by a Chevy Nomad. First new car was a 73 Super Beetle Sports Bug & years later I owned another 73 Super Beetle but that was the one that made me swear I'd never own another one.
There are far too many better vehicles out there for her 1st car.
10-22-2009, 01:33 AM
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