The Beetle Is Kaput!

   It's been an automotive icon of sorts for decades, but the VW Beetle's long run is coming to an end. Volkswagen is killing the "Bug" once and for all after the next model year. The "People's Car" was first put into production in 1938, and was a co-design of Ferdinand Porsche (yes, THAT Porsche), and German dictator Adolf Hitler.
   The rear-engine car did not go into mass production until the war ended in 1945, and was made by VW through to 2003, when the Type-1 was discontinued. More than 21 million were built, and my father had one

   A 1963 version, in black. It was, to say the least, an interesting car. The heater was gasoline powered, meaning you ran the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. And it didn't even do that good a job keeping the windshield frost free. The car was a 4-speed standard. No power steering, no power brakes, no hydraulic clutch and no synchromesh transmission. Which was normal for the time.
   And it was a complete pig. It used to stutter and almost stall when you were waiting at a stop sign or traffic light, and you'd have to rev it up to keep it going. Which on Dad's car posed an interesting problem. One of the exhaust valves would stick open occasionally due to carbon build-up, and you'd get a big BANG, plus a cloud of smoke, when it backfired. Once, someone got a little too close to the rear-end, it backfired and shot a piece of carbon into his radiator.
   Dad did rebuild the engine, and it did run a little better, but he also found a newer Datsun 510, bought that, and sold the bug. Based on our experience, we agreed the car earned the nickname "Hitler's Revenge"
    Volkswagen is ending the Beetle due to changing consumer demands. I'll be a little sorry to se it end.

TTFN