Just so you know, there is no difference between "VW Beetle" and "VW Bug." The term "VW Beetle" was the name given to the Volkswagen Type 1 by the public. It wasn't until the late 1960's that the term "VW Beetle" was adopted by the manufacturer (Volkswagen) for marketing and promotional purposes. Beetle is the official model name. Since a beetle is a bug, people started calling the VW Beetle a bug -- likely because it's easier and faster to pronounce.
I purchased my first car in August 1982 at the age of 17. It was a 1969 orange VW Bug that had been well taken care of by a very elderly widow whose husband kept it in the garage unless it was being driven -- and they rarely drove it. I bought it for $500 and drove it until I went to college in August 1983. It had an 8-track player, a CB radio, and went from 0 to 60 in... well... a couple of minutes.
When I started my senior year of high school (1982), I put a Cobra CB radio in my Bug. A couple of my buddies also had them so that we could talk to each other while we were in our cars. This was long before the Internet and cell phones came on the scene. CB radios were primarily used by truck drivers in the 1970's, but my father had one in his car as I was growing up. From his car, he could speak with my mother -- who had the "base station" in our house. After I graduated from high school, the first analogue cellular system was launched in America. However, it wouldn't be until 1993 that IBM would create the "Simon" phone, considered by many as the first smart phone. Mobile phones with full Internet capability wouldn't show up until 1999 (sixteen years after I graduated from high school). Although CB radios are not seen near as much as they were in the 1970's and early 1980's, they are still around. I'm glad that I got to experience communicating via CB long before cell phones, texting, instant messaging, and all the rest was invented.
At the age of 20 I purchased my second VW Bug and named it "Chocolate Thunder." I called it that because it was chocolate color and the muffler was shot and sounded like thunder when it went down the road! It was a good car for a couple of my college years. In a couple of months I'll be turning 55 years of age and its been over 30 years since I've owned a VW Bug. I'll always have fond memories of being behind a VW steering wheel, including a 2,500-mile solo drive from Montana to Alaska back in 1985.
Goodbye VW Bug and thanks for the miles!
From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),
Paul J. Staso
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Visit my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/pacetrek
Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:
- United States in 2006 (3,260 miles solo in 108 days at age 41)
- Montana in 2008 (620 miles solo in 20 days at age 43)
- Alaska in 2009 (500 miles solo in 18 days at age 44)
- Germany in 2010 (500 miles solo in 21 days at age 45)
- The Mojave Desert in 2011 (506 miles solo in 17 days at age 46)
- Various Photos From Mileposts Gone By
- Students Worldwide Who Ran With Me Virtually
- Roadside Sights From My Running Adventures
- Some Cycling Moments From The Past
