Sep 30 2008
I Have A Fetish
One of the Mirriam-Webster dictionary’s definition for “fetish” is an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion. For me, that fetish is unusual cars. Nope, can’t be some normal super car or muscle car. It can’t be the any of the standard star cars or status symbols. To most everyone’s amusement, I like unusual cars.
I have fallen in love with MG 1100s, with Triumph TR250s, and BMW 2002s. (Not the year silly, the model!) And, at the moment I am searching for a late model MG B GT. I will find the one I want, but in the meantime something else has caught hold of my attention. For some odd reason the venerable VW bus is creeping into my consciousness.
Now I know they are not glamorous and I know they have their problems. And I really don’t need that much space, and I am used to driving much smaller cars. But man, they are just plain cool. I would love to tool around town in a VW camper or transporter and be able to just hang out in it when I get somewhere. I could set up a little desk or something and have a totally portable office. Or maybe take it camping. You know, I have never been camping in my entire life – i fled from Boy Scouts before ever having to brave the outdoors.
The air-cooled engines in the “real” buses is a thing to behold. Noisy, underpowered, and finicky in the South Carolina heat, it would be one of those proverbial labors of love. Although, with the correct add-on parts and tuning, they can be made to pack a bit of a punch. Would take a bit of work to get one of them to really hold up to the way I like to go around corners though – even my MINI used to look at me we suspicious eyes for rounding up a bit too aggressively.
But when you come to think about it, I never have owned a VW product. That is an awfully big hole in my automotive resume, isn’t it? Not sure I can let such a travesty continue for too much longer.
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Tags: bus, classic car, fetish, VW
I had a friend who owned two of these for about 20 years. One thing you’ll notice is a lot of hippies will befriend you. You will find a certain “type” of person loves these things.
Get one and enjoy!
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I owned a ‘72 orange automatic shift VW Superbeetle in the early 1980’s and I loved that car! You feel like you are really driving something — the noise, the rumblings you feel as you shift — not to mention they are just plain awesome-looking. Wish I had never traded it in.
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@TomS – I like hippies! My kids say I am turning into one as I grow older. Only problem is I don’t eat vegetables. Can you be a carnivore hippie?
@S Vandemore – I like to feel the cars I drive. Guess that is one of the reasons I love old MGs so much. I hate being isolated from the road and the environment. Already miss the 1975 BMW 2002 I recently sold. That was a fun car.
Camping? Vegetables? Is this the Michael I’ve known and loved so long?
@Ann – I never said I was going to eat my veggies! No, you can’t make me! Although pizza is mostly a veggie. And, I would camp. Maybe in a mall parking lot or something. Somewhere without too many bugs.