Our Cars–1969 Volkswagen Bug
Submitted by Eugene Doremus
I’ve had a lot of cars. Most simply provided transportation, but there was one that I loved. It was a powder blue 1969 Volkswagen Bug.
I bought it in Pennsylvania and used it to get to work. It was all mine; my wife had a Pontiac, and the kids weren’t yet old enough to drive. When I was transferred to Houston, the Bug got me there and pulled a small camping trailer full of my gear. On the way down, I found I could get up fairly close behind large trucks, and they’d just suck me along.
Things changed in Houston–the kids were now old enough to drive, and they seemed to think the Bug was simply up for grabs. They would ask to use the Pontiac, but they would just take the Bug without asking.
My daughter did it first. She found a boy friend and just disappeared with the bug on a regular basis, so I hardly ever saw it. Later my son went to the University of Houston and decided he needed the Bug more than I did. No one ever asked; it just left the driveway.
Later my son tried to start a painting business, and the Bug became his truck. It just kind of deteriorated; I don’t think my son ever rolled the windows up, and the rain soaked the interior. He also removed and unattached the seats so he could get more gear inside. It ran, but the appearance was unbelievably bad. One day I found it parked in the driveway. Nothing was said, but he was obviously though with it.
I was going to have to find a way to dispose of it. First, I thought to pay someone to tow it away, but figured I had nothing to lose by putting it up for sale. Surprisingly, someone was interested and offered me $175 for it.
As we left the bank, they buyer turned to me and said, “I would have offered you more.” I replied, “I would have taken less.”
–Eugene Doremus
(Note from Chris: Eugene didn’t have any photos, so these photos are of a similar 1973 Bug over at The Autoist. There’s a pretty interesting resoration story there as well)