Curbside Classic Outtake: One Too Many

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

It’s yellow convertible week at CC, and I have one too many. And since I have a lovely early sixties VW Cabriolet (un-yellow) in the can, this less desirable early seventies Super Beetle Cabrio gets nudged into the Outtake position. No hard feelings.

This was ’71 or ’72 presaged the end of the line for the Beetle Cabrio. According to wiki, it continued to be made by Karman until 1980, on the Super Beetle platform, which was discontinued for regular Beetles in 1976. But were they really imported into the US that late? Hmm.

The first Beetle Cabriolet was a hand built prototype built for and given to Adolf Hitler himself. A forty two year run, not bad for a car that was still attracting buyers to its cute looks and very solid construction. The VW top was a revelation to Americans who hadn’t been exposed to such a nicely padded and lined top. Never mind that one couldn’t see out the back when the top was open.

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Apr 27, 2010

    I asked guys cause my "clinical supervisor" professor at the end of my undergraduate work had a 1977 Super Beetle with about 50,000 original miles on it. He was a collector of antiques and the only reason he had the car was to collect it. It had the chrome eyelids over the lights and the stupid lady bug floor mats, topped off by a thick gold metal flake paint job. He got divorced during my final year in college (caught in a loooooonnnnnnnnnngggggggggg term affair) and he gave the now ex-wife ALL his property including the bug. Saw it in the local auto trader at $2500 OBO. (This was 1999.)

  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Apr 28, 2010

    I'm not generally a fan of convertibles, but IMO VW has always made the best-looking ones around, particularly when they are open.

  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
  • Jpolicke In a communist dictatorship, there isn't much export activity that the government isn't aware of. That being the case, if the PRC wanted to, they could cut the flow of fentanyl down to a trickle. Since that isn't happening, I therefore assume Xi Jinping doesn't want it cut. China needs to feel the consequences for knowingly poisoning other countries' citizens.
  • El scotto Oh, ye nattering nabobs of negativism! Think of countries like restaurants. Our neighbors to the north and south are almost as good and the service is fantastic. They're awfully close to being as good as the US. Oh the Europeans are interesting and quaint but you really only go there a few times a year. Gents, the US is simply the hottest restaurant in town. Have to stand in line to get in? Of course. Can you hand out bribes to get in quicker? Of course. Suppliers and employees? Only the best on a constant basis.Did I mention there is a dress code? We strictly enforce it. Don't like it? Suck it.
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