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Although the company might be best known today for their lovable Beetle, Volkswagen was created 74 years ago today in 1937 by the government of Germany—then under the control of Adolf Hitler of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party—as a new state-owned automobile company. After the Nazis were defeated, Volkswagen was rebuilt with assistance from the British Army. The company produced the first of the millions of Type 1 Beetles that would follow in December of 1945. More »
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Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. How about another Beetle Day today? As I've mentioned before, Alameda has sufficient air-cooled Beetles parked on the street for me to do a solid couple of Pure Beetle DOTS. I'm not going to do that, but I've owned a few Type 1s and I still like these rackety little machines… which means I'm going to sneak in a DOTS Beetle every so often.
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We're a couple hours into the race now, and I can't tell you who's winning. That's because I've been so busy punishing miscreants for lousy driving. We've already dished out the Ozzy Osbourne Inertia Penalty Horn and Billy Gibbons punishments (more on those later). Meanwhile, as the penalty box fills up, the pits are abuzz with the sound of Sawzalls and aclank with the sound of wrenches; so far two Hondas are gone (the Reefermobile blew the head gasket and the Altamont-vet CRX threw a rod), plus we've got an assortment of bad BMW computers, overheating Detroit V8s, lunched Supra oil pumps, and so on. The guys with the really scary Baja Bug has their clutch disintegrate about two laps into the race, which took out the bearing and pressure plate, and now they're running up to Houston for fresh VW parts. We'd really like to see how this fine swingaxle machine performs out there, so let's hope they get it back together soon! More »
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Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. One thing I've tried to do is keep Volkswagen Old Beetles from overwhelming the series; that's because there we've got more air-cooled Beetles than any other type of old car on the island- more, even, than Chrysler A bodies. This doesn't mean, however, that I should avoid them completely- I just need to space them carefully… and our last one was all the way back in June. So here we go- our first DOTS Super Beetle!
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The South African car-buying public apparently demands very high production values for its ads for German vehicles, judging from this lengthy Volkswagen ad and a similarly elaborate Opel ad. From its sale to a wholesome suburban couple in 1959 to a redemptive Sawzall convertible-izing in the post-apartheid era, we follow the heartwarming saga of a South African VW Type 1. More »
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Those of you who read the Down On The Street FAQ over the weekend know that some of the machines we see in this series don't live on the street full-time. Most do, but every so often I'll find an obvious non-daily-driver that's just visiting, or maybe getting a rare exposure to the world outside of the garage. This immaculate E-Type is such a car; I spotted it parked in front of the island's most popular sports bar a while back and I haven't seen it since. More »
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The old air-cooled Beetles have rusted to nothingness in much of the world, but they're still quite common in Alameda. So common, in fact, that I tend to think of them as normal "background cars" and have to remind myself to shoot one for this series when too many Beetle-free weeks go by. Since it's been almost three months since the last Beetle down on the Alameda street, we're due. More »
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The Dirtbag XJ-S pounded the Sepia 1940 Mopars like a Canadian carny pounding a case of Moosehead in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll, which was about what we expected. After all, a V12 Jaguar can beat most any PCH contender, up to (and perhaps including) a Citröen. We'll test that hypothesis later, but today we're going to try our hand at Hell Projects featuring lightweight vehicles with hoon-centric engine power. You see, you need to consider the possibility- however remote- that you might one day crawl out of the crater of boiling sulfur in your garage and actually finish a project. At that point, the hell must continue, as you careen out onto the public roads in a barely controllable deathtrap pawing and snorting at the ravaged pavement with ten times the horsepower its designers intended. More »
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Sometimes months can go by between my photographing of a DOTS car and posting those photographs. Today's car is a good example; I shot the original photos last August, but the island is overflowing with air-cooled Beetles and I have a glut of photos of such cars (yes, Beetle fans, I know I should be posting more of them... and I will, promise). But this particular exposed-engine Beetle, which I'm arbitrarily calling a '69 (though it could be from any year during the 68-72 span), got in some sort of messy collision in the meantime and then moved across town. At first, I thought I was looking at a different car, but checking plate numbers told the whole story. More »
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Since Aptera may be getting too big for that whole Progressive Automotive X Prize thing after moving on to bigger and better things like being starring in Star Trek, Aptera is starting a newsletter of sorts so you can keep up as the car during it's rise to fame, and production. As such they've release this 'better know an Aptera Type 1' introduction video which touches on some of the details of this futuristic car. One of the funniest items has to be the air conditioning and how it runs all the time. Talk about cool and environmental friendly. Wait, what? [Aptera via OhGizmo!] More »
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Murph sent this in as a possible PCH car, but we think it deserves its own post. You think your '52 split-window Volkswagen Beetle is rare? Ha! How about this super-original 1947 Beetle in Allied Occupation Forces colors, which we first saw when the Loverman photographed it at a swap meet last summer? Yes, nineteen-freakin' forty-seven, when shivering Wolfburgers were still hammering together Beetles in RAF-customized roofless factories. Cable brakes, 25 horsepower, the works. It doesn't run, but what do you want for $28,900? [TheSamba.com] More »
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Thanks to a basic design that didn't change much for decade after decade, VW was able to slap ridiculously cheap price tags on their clattery little air-cooled machines. Sure, the heaters never worked and the valves wouldn't stay adjusted, but who cared? Cheap is smart! More »
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Anyone want to take a guess on the year of this thing? The taillights, 4-lug front wheels (rears are using adapters) and what appears to be a swingaxle rear suspension would seem to indicate 1968... but we all know how parts tend to get swapped around on Type 1s, particularly when it's a Baja. Anyway, it's been a while since we've seen an air-cooled VW (unless you count this 914 as a VW), so today will be Beetle Friday.
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Yes, we know the joke: if Ted Kennedy had had a Beetle instead of an Olds 88 , Mary Jo Kopechne would be alive today and he'd have been elected president in 1972. Actually, the Beetle would have sunk just as fast as the Olds, because all the rust holes in the floorpan caused by New England weather would have let the water in plenty fast (13 pounds of paint or no). Now, if Ted's Chappaquiddick drive had involved an Amphicar... More »
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We've seen four of Alameda's air-cooled Beetles so far in this series (a '59, a '64, a '66, and a '69). With the 50s and 60s covered, I figured I should shoot a 70s model. With so many old Beetles still roaming the island, that's no problem at all- the only choice was between a standard Beetle and its Super Beetle sibling; I opted for the former. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=337057&view=rss&microfeed=true Is that damn back seat in your car preventing you from getting alone with that special someone? Apparently, VW considered the two-seatness of the Karmann Ghia a big selling point- no room for Mom! But why not just get a Nova and replace the back seat with a 55-gallon reserve fuel tank? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=326732&view=rss&microfeed=true You could be getting soaked at a bus stop that's colder than a Stalingrad winter, musing film-noirishly about your crimes and the lack of inner moral compass that led to your current state (not understanding German allows us to put noir interpretations on the protagonist's monologue)... or you could be crammed behind the wheel of a 36-horsepower machine equipped with a flower vase and rust-enhancing floorpans. What's it gonna be? More »
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Since 78% of you voted pro-Beetle a while back, it's time for us to look at a few of the numerous late-60s/early-70s examples I've photographed on the island. This one doesn't look so different from the '59 Beetle we saw a week ago, but plenty of changes took place under that 30s-style skin during the decade. Most important, the old rollover-friendly swingaxle rear suspension was replaced with a proper IRS unit for '69. More »
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Because the Germans didn't like to make styling changes for their own sake, we now have another Teutonic machine for which I cannot provide an exact year of manufacture. The door handles indicate that it's pre-1960 (unless, of course, someone has swapped early doors on a later Beetle), and the size of the rear window means it's post-1957. Any VW expert who can tell the difference between a '58 and '59 from these photos, please enlighten us; until that point I'm going to take a 50/50 shot at accuracy and say it's a 1959. More »
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We saw the Small-Block Chevrolet engine in the last WEOTD, which means it's time to take a look at what may be the only engine that can rival the Chevy in terms of longevity and units built: the air-cooled VW. In one form or another, it was manufactured for 70 years; while it had its weaknesses (feel free to list them in exhaustive detail, commenters, but don't leave out the strengths), it was a lightweight, simple powerplant that was cheap to build and easy to work on. And, just because we can, we're having a poll for your favorite! [Wikipedia] More »
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According to the poll we included in the VW Thing post last week, Jalopnik readers give a definite thumbs-up to the inclusion of VW Beetles in the Down on the Street series. Looks like DOTS Beetle Week lost by a whisker... but don't worry, Beetle fans- I'll make sure our little air-cooled friends appear here on a regular basis. Today we're going to look at a solid '64 Type 1 I found parked on the west side of the island. We're going back to the old format for today, in accordance with the poll results from yesterday, but I might experiment with some ways to get some higher-res images here and there. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=295993&view=rss&microfeed=true So, when your car goes bad, you send it to the mechanic, ja? Thus, it stands to reason (according to 1950s German logic) that when your woman goes bad, you send her to the mechanic! This cringeworthy ad is dated on an amazing number of levels. We're not sure about the parallel between the cable-operated brakes on early Beetles and a woman, but there must be one. Enjoy. – Murilee Martin More »
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