Re: VW bugs (OT, NNG) - 57 Beetle

At the risk of getting our knuckles rapped by the moderator, your mention of floating across an intersection (I'm taking you literally here) reminds me of more things about our 57 Beetle. Yes they were water tight, and more than once a large and deep puddle would lift us off the road. The momentum would carry us across until the wheels touched pavement again. They were also pretty air tight, and we would crack a window open so the doors were easier to close. Otherwise the air pressure meant you had to give them a good slam, and dad didn't like that.

It was pretty spartan and I also remember it had no gas gauge. You merrily drove along till the motor sputtered from running out of gas, flipped a lever and a reserve kicked in to give you about another gallon. It was then time to look for a gas station. On longer trips dad would carry a jerry can because we never knew where the next gas station might be out in the boonies. The "trunk" was of course in the front - so in hindsight it was like driving behind a bomb if we had happened to hit something......

They were relatively rare in the later 1950s, and we used to honk and wave when we passed another one, and they inevitably did the same back. Strange I can still remember so much about a car that was sold when I was nine, and I'm darned if I can even remember a number of the cars I've had since.

P.S. - my cousin is right into this too - he sent me another pic!

Cheers,