The interior is a simple\u00a0landscape The exterior? It\u2019s a Beetle. \u2018Nuff said.<\/p>\n The oily bits are equally, intentionally simple. One of the first rear-engine, rear-wheel\u00a0vehicles \u201cUpkeep? I give it an oil change and lube job every 3,000 miles,\u201d says Bob Ellis,\u00a0proprietor Conceived by Porsche in 1938, the Bug didn\u2019t enter mass production until after WW2 under Allied supervision. In 1949 it crossed the pond for the first time via Dutch importer Ben Pon. Sales, says Ellis, were slow at first given bitter memories of the war. But over time the cute, $1,280 Bug proved irresistible.<\/p>\n I met Ellis on the Cranbrook campus where I could drive the seatbelt-less VW on private roads. Like any 65-year old, the old boy was a bit creaky. The brake lights and the \u201csemaphore\u201d turn signals (which pop out from the car\u2019s b-pillars) didn\u2019t work and this Bug moves like snail. Uncle Ferdinand designed its slippery shape for sustained speeds on the Autobahn, but that was a different era. Put her on Woodward and it might get run over by a mail\u00a0truck Slam the door shut (\u201cYou really gotta slam it!\u201d says Ellis), turn the key, open the choke, crank the starter button, and . . . oh, yes, it\u2019s unmistakably a Beetle. How many Americans learned to drive a stick on a Bug? The gearbox lacks synchro rings so shifts are rough (hard acceleration before upshift or even engaging the clutch helps a smooth stir of the stew), but the tin tub slowly accelerates with a familiar Beetle thrum that sounds like an over-caffeinated woodpecker. Zero-60 feels like it should be measured in hours (officially its 28 seconds). Top speed? Just 68. C\u2019mon, Herbie!<\/p>\n I never got out of third gear on Cranbrook\u2019s two-lane roads, but with gears thrashing, the woodpecker pecking and the odd hubcap popping off, the little bugger felt plenty peppy \u2013 as long as I didn\u2019t notice the co-eds jogging past.<\/p>\n After 21 million in sales and multiple enhancements, VW knew in 1974 it was time to retire the formula and the front-engine, front-wheel drive Golf was anointed to replace the Beetle. The last rear-engine Bug rolled off a Mexican assembly line and into the sunset in 2005. When VW, eager to milk Bug nostalgia, launched the New Beetle in 1998, it did so on the modern, nimble Golf platform.<\/p>\n Engine in the front? Trunk in the rear? That\u2019s not a Bug. But it\u2019s progress, so we welcome the new Beetles to the family. Still, it\u2019s a treat to get back in the time machine to relive the way it was.<\/p>\n Now if I could just find that hubcap.<\/p>\n Vehicle type:<\/b>\u00a0Rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, five-passenger coupe <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Come ride with me in a time machine back to 1949. No, not Doc Emmett Brown\u2019s flux capacitor-equipped DeLorean DMC-12 – but the original 1949 VW Beetle Type 1. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the iconic Bug\u2019s appearance on these shores. In the decades since, the Beetle has become an icon: The most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14841"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14841"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14842,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14841\/revisions\/14842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/images.intellitxt.com\/ast\/adTypes\/icon1.png\")
<\/a>\u00a0of cloth seats (two unadjustable buckets in front, a bench in the rear) a metal dash with a speedometer bookended by two glove boxes. Stitched leather dash and nav package? You\u2019re in the wrong segment,\u00a0mein freund<\/i>. The car is surprisingly roomy, however, swallowing my 6\u20195\u201d frame with plenty of headroom. Three small pedals \u2013 clutch, brake, and accelerator \u2013 sprout from the floor like typewriter keys from an antique, manual Underwood typewriter. A four-speed corn-stalk of a shifter grows out of the floor, a four-wheel emergency brake squatting behind it. Crank handles operate the windows. Rear visibility is minimal through the rear split screen.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0produced (it was designed by the father of the Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche, after all), the chassis is designed for minimal maintenance. An air-cooled engine. Mechanical drum brakes. An interior heated by the engine via an air-air exchange manifold. No air conditioning. Heck, a cactus needs more maintenance than this car.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0of Der Vintage Werks in Ortonville, Michigan, who looks after the \u201949 car for VW.<\/p>\n<\/a>.<\/p>\n1949 VW Beetle<\/h3>\n
\nPrice:<\/b>\u00a0$1,280 (in \u201849 dollars)
\nPower plant:<\/b>\u00a01,192 cc, air-cooled, 4-cylinder boxer engine
\nPower:<\/b>\u00a025 horsepower
\nTransmission:<\/b>\u00a0Four-speed manual
\nPerformance:<\/b>\u00a00-60 mph, 28 seconds; 68 mph top speed
\nWeight:<\/b>\u00a01,800 lbs (est.)
\nFuel economy:<\/b>\u00a036 mpg
\nReport card
\n<\/b>
\nHighs:<\/b>\u00a0Roomy; Timeless Beetle shape
\nLows:<\/b>\u00a0Non-synchro gearbox; Cornering is an adventure
\nOverall:<\/b>\u00a0Revered like an old friend<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n