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To: caltaxed

LOL!

My first car WAS a 1971 VW Bug, Baby Blue & White. I LOVED that car...

BUT...sometimes to start it you had to ‘pop the clutch’ and later in life when I was driving ‘dignitaries’ around in a Willys MB (a ‘Jeep’ to you Civilians) in the Army, that skill came in VERY handy! (I am STILL a Ford Girl to this day!)

Most memorable pop-start was at the Hoover Dam - we stopped to do the ‘Tourist Thing’ on our way to California (1980) and there was a LOVELY long slope leaving the parking lot that helped out a LOT! :)

My Dad had a total if 17 VWs through the years. I now have his 2001 Golf that still only has 65K miles on her. ;) She’s my ‘Summer Car.’


63 posted on 09/06/2026 3:55:18 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
We used to buy VW Bugs for a few hundred dollars and drive them until they died.

Some of them required parking on a hill or incline to make the push start easier.

Bugs had a really unique design with the engine in the back, allowing very cool modifications like the baja bug. A VW was a candidate for Baja Bug if you smashed the front or rear of the car. Brakes were horrid and we usually increased the HP from stock 40 to about 60, which made stopping more difficult.

God forbid you had to pull the transmission (transaxle) as the engine and trans had to be pulled, which required removing most of the car.

70 posted on 09/06/2026 4:19:20 PM PDT by caltaxed (ake)
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