What is not to love?
Last weekend, I went out to Governor’s Island to see some Bugs.
No, not the 4-legged kind.
The 4-wheeled kind!
Yes, it was their 2nd annual VW Car Show!
Not to be missed by Bug lovers.
Of which I am. Totally.
There were Bug Vans.
Just tell me that this one doesn’t have oodles of personality!
There were VW Beetles as far as the eye could see.
Look at the paint job on this 1960 Bug!
Love, Love, Love!
I think that this one was the oldest one there – a 1955 Bug. Looking brand spanking new!
And a view inside:
Look at all of that technology 🙂
Here’s an inside view of a very groovy 1969 Bug:
There were several 1973 Bugs, but no ’73 Super Beetle, like the one I have back in Atlanta. That yellow one looks a lot like mine, though. (If mine was in perfect shape…)
Like I say, what’s not to love??
Definitely the People’s Car.
I heart you, Little Bugs!
xoxo,
SAllan
SAllan's Corner 
Great cars! Great photos!
But what makes a SuperBeetle super?
In a nutshell, they are roomier – mine has a rounded windshield and is more spacious inside. This from a website I just found http://www.superbeetles.com/history.htm:
“VW decided to re-work the Beetle and bring it up to the standards being set by other car manufacturers. The plan was to reduce the price of the standard Beetle and introduce a new updated model, a Super Beetle. The principal reasons for the development of the Super Beetle was to increase the utility of the vehicle by providing the customer with a larger luggage compartment and greater comfort.
1973. The cover of the 8-page color brochure for the Super Beetle read, “The ’73 Beetle. All small cars are not created equal”, a fact that Volkswagen had proven with years of constant improvements to the Beetle. The updates that took place with the 1302 were just the beginning in the plans to modernize the Beetle. In 1973 Volkswagen took a huge step forward with the introduction of a new and improved Super Beetle called the 1303. Most of the changes that had taken place on the Beetle were done for function and style, but a new windshield was added for completely different reasons. To comply with proposed U.S. safely regulations regarding the distance between passengers and the front windshield, Volkswagen introduced the new sharply curved front glass to the 1303. This panoramic windshield gave a remarkable 42% increase in visibility and improved the aero dynamics of the car as well. It also caused a change in the shape of the front hood and the roofline. The new shortened hood lost its traditional VW circle logo and gave the car a “pregnant look” in the transformation.
The 1973 Super Beetle had VW purists rubbing their eyes when a redesigned, full sized, padded dashboard replaced the traditional flat one that had been inside the Beetle since 1958. This new dashboard was designed to house future air bags and to improve ventilation inside the car. By using an air vent channel that stretched from side to side near the front windshield a greater volume of fresh and heated air could be delivered to the occupants. The single gauge still remained but now was housed in a plastic binnacle in front of the driver. Other switches were moved downward, directly inline with the radio and right at the driver’s fingertips. The glove box in the new 1303 was a good size but for some reason was divided into smaller compartments. Unfortunately for coffee drinkers everywhere the glove box lid would no longer open fully to double as a beverage tray. There was also a new fuse box located centrally for easy access in case of an electrical failure. In the rear of the Beetle were the largest taillights ever installed on a Volkswagen, and most likely any other car of that era. These soon earned the nickname “elephant’s feet” in VW circles and were thought to be ugly compared to the stylish “tombstone” taillights that preceded them.”
Thanks for all the info!
I aim to please! 🙂