All The Rods is excited about attending the VW Beach Bash which will be held Sunday Sept 1st in Pass-A-Grille Beach, FL. I will be taking tons of photos and hope to speak to some of the folks that will be showing their cars. I think that this is going to be a great way to spend a Sunday.
I adore the old-style VWs, especially the VW Bug or VW Beetle. My mom had a 1974 yellow Super Beetle and I believe that car is the one that got my interest started in them. My cousins also had a blue one and my grandfather got on the bandwagon and also bought a tan VW Beetle. They are just so cute and you can always tell when one's nearby. The older Bugs/Beetles have a ringing sound to their engines that sets them apart from other cars of that era. I once had someone from a VW Club tell me that it's because the engines are water-cooled. The engines of that era were always in the rear with a generous trunk in the front of the car. Whenever I saw a hood up on a VW Bug back then, it always reminded me of a giant mouth being opened.
I am always thrilled to see a vintage VW driving on the roads around here. I ponder how old that particular car might be. They are usually in very good condition. I also tend to see some vintage VW buses around here as well. I see one on the way to work, that makes me turn my head to watch it pass every time. That one is a turquoise green and tan color. It's beautiful. I hope that whomever owns it shows up at the upcoming VW Beach Bash. I am dying to get a picture of it.
VW Bugs and Beetles prominently figured into my childhood for many reasons. It seemed that everyone in the world had one or knew someone that did. When taking long trips by car with my parents and brother, I would count the amount of Beetles we saw enroute to wherever we were heading. One time I counted 100 for an hour's trip. This is also the car that was used for me to learn how to drive 'shift' or 'manual' as it's sometimes known as. The appeal of this great little car crossed over into the film industry with the 'Herbie-The Love Bug' franchise. ( Yes, I have the box set). In 2005, a newer Herbie movie came out, 'Herbie-Fully Loaded' which starred Lindsay Lohan. I was probably one of the few that actually thought this was a great movie. One can find many Herbies at various carshows. I'm sure that I will see plenty of them at the upcoming VW Beach Bash.
Another thing that was great about the old 70's versions of the Bug/Beetle was that space between the back window and back seat, which my family dubbed 'The Well'. The Well was made more for storage than anything else. But one fine summer day when I was a teen, my friends and I settled the age old 'How many people can you fit into a VW?' question. The answer was seven. We did lap-sitting and the smaller of the kids fit nicely into The Well. We were in a parking lot and we did not take to the road. If I recall correctly, I don't think we even tried to drive the car. Too bad that camera phones, Facebook and Twitter didn't exist back then, we would have had a field day!
Whenever I see a great looking VW in a parking lot somewhere, if I can, I try to get a picture of it.
The above group photo was taken at Daytona's Spring Fling 2005.
^^^ This little sexy was spotted at a local mall parking lot. I love the eyelids over the headlights; it gives this car a lot of personality.
The above photo isn't mine. I found this on The Road to ME Facebook page. The lady who runs that blog (Teresa) uses a lot of VW Bug/Beetle imagery in her posts. It was one of the things that drew me to her site.
As you can see, the VW is one of the All The Rods favorite cars of all time.
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