Kids see the VW beetle as a Very Old car - 1938 model...

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 22 Feb 2009, 12:47 pm

#696710

I was just thinking a few days ago..
after school children look in amazement at My Beetle...

to them - its the only car they see that was designed in 1938 still on the road...
even the running boards are still there... lol

All other Cars with running boards were made up until the 2nd world war... approx..

so the beetle was really a very OLD looking car when it arrived in the US & Australia etc....

and many people cannot tell the difference between old and new ones.... lol

LEE

2 attachments · Log in to view

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 22 Feb 2009, 10:28 pm

#696823

Most cars had running boards in the 20s and 30's
and before that.... like the model T ford..

I wonder why they kept the running boards all those years

because they were unique..??

Heinz Nordoff hated to change anything on the beetle...
the US government made laws to change things on Cars

and He had to follow the laws...

LEE

1 attachment · Log in to view

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

ringoschariot Officially Full-On Dubber

282 posts · joined Jan 2005 · 23 Feb 2009, 8:02 am

#696850

Plenty of cars still had running boards up to the early fifties. Only when new models started to come on line after the war did running boards get phased out.

Remember that most manufacturers still had their 1940's models in production after WW2 as they hadnt had any chance to design fresh models. I think running boards started to vanish when cars with seperate chassis were stopped being made.

rose doin it for d girls

2,036 posts · joined Dec 2004 · 23 Feb 2009, 10:14 am

#696872

nice pic there of a 56 oval 😂😘

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 23 Feb 2009, 11:48 am

#696877

Lee I'd have to agree that the VW Beetle is the oldest car that kids today would see on a regular basis. You just don't see 1950s and 1960s cars from other makes on the road now. This was mostly due to VW's revolutionary full body dip paint process and baked enamel finish, which gave VWs much better protection than other Australian-made cars. GMH and Ford didn't update to VW-style paint and body technology until the 1990s.

But I don't think VWs were regarded as old-looking when they first appeared. Road tests of the time described the VW as aerodynamic and modern in appearance. It was only after it had been on market here for 10 years that it started to be regarded as old-fashioned, and certainly by the 1970s they were. But in the 1950s, the VW looked much sleeker and more modern than the existing British competition, such as:

1 attachment · Log in to view

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 23 Feb 2009, 12:06 pm

#696878

And which looks more modern - a 1954 VW or a 1954 Austin A70?

1 attachment · Log in to view

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 23 Feb 2009, 12:12 pm

#696879

And which one looks more old fashioned and funnier, the Volkswagen or the Standard Vanguard?

1 attachment · Log in to view

DirkHedde Slammed & Awesome Dubber

91 posts · joined Oct 2008 · 23 Feb 2009, 1:22 pm

#696882

i think i agree with phil here the beetle was very modern in its day. but i also think its silly to compare cars with running boards. can a car from the '20s be compared with a brand new car simply beacuse it has red stop lights? the new beetle has a little running board but it doesnt look like a 1938 beetle. nice paper clippings too they bring back memories!

pete wood 23 Windows of Awesome

6,828 posts · joined Jan 2004 · 23 Feb 2009, 2:09 pm

#696891

What were the english thinking? Naming a car "Hereford". Why didn't they just call it a "Liverpool"? The english are great at food but awful when it comes to mass produced cars. 🙁

"stoopid is stronger than axles"
http://drivingnotpolishing.blogspot.com.au/

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 23 Feb 2009, 3:24 pm

#696907

Phil74Camper wrote:Lee I'd have to agree that the VW Beetle is the oldest car that kids today would see on a regular basis. You just don't see 1950s and 1960s cars from other makes on the road now. This was mostly due to VW's revolutionary full body dip paint process and baked enamel finish, which gave VWs much better protection than other Australian-made cars. GMH and Ford didn't update to VW-style paint and body technology until the 1990s.

But I don't think VWs were regarded as old-looking when they first appeared. Road tests of the time described the VW as aerodynamic and modern in appearance. It was only after it had been on market here for 10 years that it started to be regarded as old-fashioned, and certainly by the 1970s they were. But in the 1950s, the VW looked much sleeker and more modern than the existing British competition, such as:

I have never thought of them as old looking except for the changes thoughout their life..
..
and the 1968 beetles were the best looking beetles I had seen... as I was growing up with them...

I'm NOT saying I don't like their looks etc...

but that kids see Beetles as something entirely different..
to the way We see them...
They sound different.... and they certainly look different..

I'll bet some of the kids mums say "Oh look an old fashioned car"
.... 😂😂😂

You are correct on what looks older PHIL...
the vanguards with their sloping back...
the morris minor that tried to take on the beetles..
the FJ 56 Holden...

the beetle must have looked VERY Modern in 1938...1945
if they didn't then I;m sure the Pommies wouldn't have gotten the factory going again..

LEE

PS: Nice 1956 RED beetle .. I winder if thats the same one I saw at Valla - BROKE - Tomago -😂

1 attachment · Log in to view

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 23 Feb 2009, 3:31 pm

#696910

I heard one of the Car restoration experts in the US say
that overhauling a 1968 car {USA] and adding a late model engine , You have a fast car that doesn't handle and can't stop... so the brakes and the suspension has to be upgraded too...

Well, My 1968 1500 beetle [semi auto] with IRS rear suspension
and front disc brakes and ball joint front end drives like a new car... only noisier....

cheers

LEE

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

HotRodMatt If it\'s old or rare - cut it!

3,616 posts · joined Sep 2002 · 23 Feb 2009, 4:33 pm

#696920

pete wood wrote:The english are great at food

WHAT? Compared to cardboard maybe...

amazeer Bishop of Volkswagenism

3,029 posts · joined Nov 2005 · 23 Feb 2009, 9:06 pm

#697007

68AutoBug wrote:Well, My 1968 1500 beetle [semi auto] with IRS rear suspension
and front disc brakes and ball joint front end drives like a new car... only noisier....
LEE

and rougher, and less storage space, and less fuel economy, less power, requires more servicing, no cruise control to get you to work while you're still asleep.... lucky they have charisma.

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 23 Feb 2009, 11:23 pm

#697029

amazeer wrote:
68AutoBug wrote:Well, My 1968 1500 beetle [semi auto] with IRS rear suspension
and front disc brakes and ball joint front end drives like a new car... only noisier....
LEE
and rougher, and less storage space, and less fuel economy, less power, requires more servicing, lucky they have charisma.

well all that too.... 😂😂😂

LEE

PS: I forgot about all those good things..lol LEE

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 24 Feb 2009, 10:01 am

#697078

OK so we agree that Volkswagens were much more modern-looking in the 1950s than the existing British cars of the day.

But here's one thing that VWs never had - the Gay Look of the Hillman Minx.

1 attachment · Log in to view

ringoschariot Officially Full-On Dubber

282 posts · joined Jan 2005 · 24 Feb 2009, 11:03 am

#697086

So the Mini wasnt a good car? Austin had a range of cars named after counties in the 1950's. At least they had a name, VW called theres Type1, Type2 etc hardly imaginative !

British cars only went bad in the 1970's due to many reasons.

pete wood wrote:What were the english thinking? Naming a car "Hereford". Why didn't they just call it a "Liverpool"? The english are great at food but awful when it comes to mass produced cars. 🙁

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 24 Feb 2009, 2:42 pm

#697127

A few loose ends here. In Australia the VW was called 'the Volkswagen' by the press for many years, as there was only one model. VW sold them as the 'VW 1200' and 'VW 1300', which is also how they were categorised by the FCAI. 'Type 1' was an internal designation that was never used as the vehicle's name. Same with Type 2 - it was sold as the 'VW Commercial' and 'VW Transporter'. The Type 3 was originally called the 'VW 1500' but came to be known colloquially as the 'Type 3' later - and officially by that name in Australia, uniquely in the world. VW has not used 'Types' since 1979. Modern VWs have a two-letter Vehicle Descriptor code in the VIN, such as 1G or 1H for Golfs. Modern VWs are categorised by platform.

Somed recent VW press releases and articles have said that Volkswagen never called the Beetle the 'Beetle' officially - wrong. The 1976 Beetle WAS officially sold as the 'VW Beetle' in Australia.

I guess Austin also went with unimaginitive names with the 'Austin 1800'. And the Mini was originally called the Morris 850 in Australia. And yes it was a very good, even legendary car, but of course you know it was the exception rather than the rule.

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 24 Feb 2009, 3:37 pm

#697136

Phil74Camper wrote:A few loose ends here. In Australia the VW was called 'the Volkswagen' by the press for many years, as there was only one model. VW sold them as the 'VW 1200' and 'VW 1300', which is also how they were categorised by the FCAI. 'Type 1' was an internal designation that was never used as the vehicle's name. Same with Type 2 - it was sold as the 'VW Commercial' and 'VW Transporter'. The Type 3 was originally called the 'VW 1500' but came to be known colloquially as the 'Type 3' later - and officially by that name in Australia, uniquely in the world. VW has not used 'Types' since 1979.
Somed recent VW press releases and articles have said that Volkswagen never called the Beetle the 'Beetle' officially - wrong.
The 1976 Beetle WAS officially sold as the 'VW Beetle' in Australia.

I guess Austin also went with unimaginitive names with the 'Austin 1800'. And the Mini was originally called the Morris 850 in Australia. And yes it was a very good, even legendary car, but of course you know it was the exception rather than the rule.

I was just thinking the same thing Phil..
the early type 3s were called the 1500 model...
but the beetle in 1968 was also a VW 1500..
so, it seems that Volkswagenwerk never looked ahead for names of their Vehicles...
They say that Volkswagenwerk AG never ever called the "Beetle" by that name....
but in Australia it was called that by the company selling the CKD beetles back then.. not Volkswagenwerk..

Also the only VW to have the Badge "Beetle" was the UK Beetle called the "GT BEETLE"

Now You could sell quite a few of those badges if You had them.... lol

so it was very confusing.. back in the early sixties...
a Beetle was called a Volkswagen...
pronounced VolksVagen on the radio adds etc...

then there were those other Volkswagens... !!

so, what was the 1600 type 3s called in 1969...??
in Australia... a 1600 model??

I remember seeing them in a US Car magazine calling them
Fastback - Halfback and Squareback..
in a VW of America advertisement...

LEE

Morris 1100 - Morris 1500S - the early UK cars usually were called A70 etc not by the Hereford name [in Australia]
A40 - the mini was a Morris Mini Minor - Morris 850 -

- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 25 Feb 2009, 6:26 am

#697254

Lee that's not surprising as the Volkswagenwerk parent company, in Germany, speaks German. They were never going to use the English word 'Beetle'. They DID, however, use the German equivalent, 'Käfer'. The Beetles sold in Germany in the last few years of their life WERE called 'Käfers'. Today's VW ETKA parts catalog lists all Type 1 parts under the 'Käfer' heading.

In Australia the Type 3 wagons and sedans (Squarebacks and Notchbacks/Halfbacks) were called VW 1500s when they were released. The twin-carb 1500 Notch was called the VW 1500 Twin-S. This was later replaced by the VW 1600TS Fastback. The wagon was originally called the VW 1500 Station Wagon, but later the US-style 'Squareback' name was used. The Notchback was called the Halfback in Australia for a while - I have a 1971 brochure using that name.

Yes the confusion between Type 1s and Type 3s in Australia BOTH being called 'VW 1500' and 'VW 1600' makes it impossible to say how many of each were sold, as the FCAI only kept totals for 'VW 1500' and 'VW 1600'.

You are also right that 1976 Beetles were sold in Australia by LNC Industries (owners of the 'VW Australia' company then), not the Volkswagenwerk. However, they were assembled in Clayton from German CKD parts by Motor Producers Ltd, a company 100% owned by the Volkswagenwerk. This company was sold to Nissan in March 1976, and Beetle assembly ended in July 1976.

1976-77-78 US Beetles were also known as 'Beetles' officially. They were sold in the US by Volkswagen of America Inc, an independent company, but they were built by the Volkswagenwerk in Germany (in Emden actually, not Wolfsburg).