Name the model and a key detail of your current car.
I own a Volkswagen Convertible Beetle Turbo. It’s the re-issue of the Jeans model that came out in 1973 but in a modern Beetle style. I love this car so very, very much. It’s named Jean Genie after the Bowie song. Did I mention how much I love this car?
I’ve never been the sort of person to obsess over vehicles. Cars are a means to get from Point A to Point B. My husband loves to drive and it almost always behind the wheel when we get into a car together. I’m a fantastic navigator, but frankly I only drive because its necessary; I never was infected with the thrill of driving bug. If our local public transportation system was better, I’d rarely be in car, no less driving one.
But that said, I’ve always loved VW Beetles. There’s something so utilitarian but still fun about the little cars. My sister had a Semiautomatic one during the early 1980s and I loved driving with her, hearing that distinctive 4 cylinder rattle that tells you a VW is coming from a block away. But owning one with two growing kids as well as the need to cart around bass equipment on a weekly basis seemed highly impractical for many years.
Two years ago, my son started driving, so we needed to get a third vehicle. My Sentra seemed a good starter car for him, and with both the kids grown, the time had come to finally get my dream car, a VW Beetle. My husband is a fresh air freak, so we compromised and decided on a convertible, which fulfilled his bucket list of owning a “top down” vehicle in his lifetime. It’s not a big car–I can barely fit the weekly grocery trip bags in the trunk, but it’s the sort of car you can hop in for a fun weekend trip up the coast or tool around town in during the summer, with the top down, of course.
Owning this car has made me realize how many women my age have always wanted a cute little VW Beetle; its always a conversation starter when people see it out and about. There are many reasons, but I still think its because of its main feature: its a fun little car that doesn’t pretend to be anything else. And its the only car I’ve ever gotten behind the wheel and actually come close to enjoying the act of driving.
I might actually be as happy as the German folks in this video from the late 1940s!
skullwoman 