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Ha! My very first car was a VW super beetle. Taught myself to drive it in a parking lot across the street from my apartment when the stores were closed, couple weeks after I’d gotten my license after taking a few lessons from a Sears driving school instructor. I was 20. Previous to that, I’d never driven and exclusively used public transportation.

That winter one day, I noticed it wasn’t steering properly, so I took it to a shop late in the afternoon. They put it on a lift the next morning, and the mechanic later told me that when he went to examine the front right wheel, it came off in his hands! The only thing keeping it from falling off the previous day was the fact that it was frozen onto the axle! Close call!

But yeah, other than that, great winter car. It started right up every morning, no matter how cold it was.

Many years later I couldn’t resist an attractive ad, and got another VW bug in Florida. Loved those cars, and it was so easy to change the oil myself. Drove that sucker until it was so worn out that all I could get for it was about $300. I finally graduated to cars with air conditioning, and never looked back. Only had one with automatic transmission, hated it, and got rid of it quickly.

Back when y’all were talking about Xlear nasal spray, I ordered some on amazon, mainly to try and get my husband off the prescription crap he’s always snorting, and it just came yesterday. I got 2 bottles, so I gave him one and kept the other.

(And I don’t have a clue how the name is even pronounced, so I’ve just been spelling it whenever I refer to it!)

Anyway, I tried it, and right away it made me sneeze. Several times. And then I had to blow my nose. Probably blew out the good stuff too. Anyone else have this happen?

My first car was a '57 VW beetle with over 200K miles on it when I got it. I bought it the day after I turned 16 with my own money I earned from mowing lawns.

It was the first year that the rear window was one piece of glass and had a 37hp engine running on a 6v electrical system. The battery was under the backseat. I had to bungee cord it in place so that it didn't shift and short out on the car frame. One day the floor rusted out underneath it and it fell through and was dragging on the road. I put a thin piece of plywood underneath it and it was good-to-go.

WWG1WGA

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

Beetle Slide Alert: My first car was also a VW Beetle. It was my dad's "airport car," a '68. He installed a stereo/cassette player in it (the most important part), and since the liner on the doors were cardboard, if I slammed the door too hard, the speaker would fly out of the door. I also had to hit the top of the left headlight with my fist (just a tap...not too hard...and talk to it nicely) to get it to come on, something that my high school friends found absolutely hysterical. The seatbelts were a useless tangle. And since I really wanted a moon roof, but my dad said no ("I'm not paying to cut a hole in a perfectly good roof!"), he bought a set of glow-in-the dark stars and moons and put those all over the ceiling, which was awesome. This is the same car we drove cross country in when we moved from California to North Carolina in the 70s. My brother and I mostly rode in the "well" in the back.

That car really challenged my reflexes. I had constant problems with the idle. When I pushed the clutch in as I rolled up to a stop sign, the engine would cut off. So I had to learn to operate clutch, gear stick, accelerator and hand brake just to keep the car running when coming up to stop signs or red lights. It sort of went like: gear down to second as approaching stop, roll slowly up to intersection with clutch in while gunning the accelerator, keep gunning it and use hand brake to stop, switch gear into first and sort of rock back and forth with slight release of clutch, then push it back in all while gunning accelerator, etc. I got really good at it, but man, it was a PITA. I was taking it to a mechanic once a month to try to reset the idle and it would work for a few weeks and then back to the same thing. So annoying, but I still loved that car.

The first time I rented a Hybrid and the engine shut off at an intersection, I swear I got a PTSD flashback!

I didn't get my license until after I got out of the service >21.
Worked downtown chicago and took the "el" and buses and cabs...didn't need a car. Heck, back then, 1 bus transfer could take you all over the city.

The only thing keeping it from falling off the previous day was the fact that it was frozen onto the axle! Close call!

close call is right.

Our (I think 71)Super beetle had an automatic stick shift.
You could shift if you wanted to or leave it in auto.
You knew you had a super beetle if the spare tie laid flat.