Karmann Ghia's Ugly?
Capgun_Slim
I was in a nightclub with a good friend of mine, drinking some cocktails
earlier last week, and we started discussing VW's. Well, he has never had
one, so I started talking about how cool they are, and that there really is
no other feeling I've ever had driving any other car, than a vintage v-dub.
Anyway, I start telling him about all the different models there were, of
course he knew the bug and bus, but he didn't know that the "station wagon"
one, (his words, not mine), was called a squareback. So I told him about
knotchbacks, fastbacks, the different types of busses there were, what
semephores were, etc. etc. Then I told him my favorite is the Karmann Ghia.
A disgusted look came over his face, and he says, "You've got to be kidding,
those are the ugliest cars I've ever seen!" "The only reason people liked
them was because of the whole volkswagen movement thingy of the 60's." I
swear to god I wanted to knock him off his friggin' barstool! Only reason I
didn't is because, like I said earlier, he's a friend. Anyway, It didn't
matter that I tried to tell him, "Then why was it voted one of the 100 most
beautiful things, in a 1969 book?" He just blew me off after that, and we
talked about something else. Everyone is entitled to they're own opinion,
but there's no excuse for poor taste, or someone who doesn't have some sort
of respect for true automotive art. Sorry about the novel...
Funkie
they usually start to tell how they wanted one so bad, but they knew a
friend who had one, etc, lah la la... I was getting parts at the local FLAPS
and the counter guy nearly choked after he found out for what car I needed
spark plugs. He then told me he just saw a show on A&E or something that had
some Ghias and that now he wanted one too, said I was a lucky guy :-)
"Capgun_Slim" <buc...@deke.reno.nv.us> wrote in message
news:3cd1370a$1...@news.greatbasin.net...
Gary Harper
I heard the pharmacist talking to his co-workers about cars. I heard him
say something like "...my dream car is a 69 Karmann Ghia" and he went on
about how much we wanted one. I just calmly said, "Yea, I've got one of
those things." He didn't talk to me about it, though. I think he was a
little jealous.
"Funkie" <medi...@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:aarghd$lpc$1...@slb4.atl.mindspring.net...
John Henry
subjective and everyone has theirs too. There are people who think 911s,
Hebmuellers and Christine Aguilera are ugly too.
{Ed. LOL!! I have to tell you this. I just clicked "Send" and Netscape launched
its spell check before sending. It flagged "Aguilera" and guess what the
suggested word was? 'Uglier'. Oh man, too funny. So much for NS's
taste......}
I'll weigh in here a little differently. Anyone close to me knows my
fascination with Beetle. Almost all are very intrigued when I start telling
them about the features of the real old ones. This weekend we had a lot of
"stop by" visitors at the house, and after Saturday's cruise, my '57 and '50
sunroof are parked side by side in the garage where are daily drivers usually
sit. Some of the people who came over (many who knew I was into VWs and had a
couple) just marveled at the sight of these two cars sitting in the garage.
They had never seen any that old in their entire lives.
But the people who get under my skin just a bit are the ones who come off with
this attitude that my fanaticism is waste of time. Some have come right out and
said that. And it has nothing to do with the fact that it is a VW. They seem
to resent someone being passionate and obsessive about it. Spending time,
spending money, traveling all for the sake of a car seems useless to them, and
they make comments.
We are all different, but I have noted over time that some people don't "seek"
things they enjoy, rather, they just take what life gives them, and try to enjoy
that. Maybe that is OK. But for almost all of those people who ridicule my
obsessiveness, guess what the most important thing in their life seems to be?
Their jobs. Nothing wrong with that, many of them are very successful in what
they do for work. But what seems a bit sad to me, is when work is done, and
they come home, what do they have? There is no motivation for anything. There
is no self reward. And moreover (and I have seen this in friend's parents),
what will they do when they retire? What will motivate them and keep them
active? I have seen many wither away after retirement. If you don't SEEK things
you enjoy, and LEARN to find them and excel at them and earn yourself a sense of
reward that motivates you further, how will you survive?
I FEAR retirement. I will probably kill myself trying to do things (and I plan
on retiring from the corporate BS between age 50 and 55). I will stay active.
I enjoy my job a lot, but it is not the center of my life (my family actually
is, VWs probably second or a close third). My hobby is what feeds me, gives me
great enjoyment. Working on things, seeing them done, seeing them function and
DRIVING them, interacting with so many other cool people all over the hobby. If
it wasn't VWs, it would be something else I'm sure. I am a self motivator, I
can feed myself, and I don't rely on the opinions of others to validate my life,
my hobby, and my motivation. Nor do I pass judgment on others (yes I have
opinions, but I don't tell them that they are wrong, insane, crazy, etc.)
<sigh>
You wanted a rant, you got it
(.....the hottest band in the land: K!$$!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Capgun_Slim wrote:
--
John Henry
Visit the BugShop at www.thebugshop.org
www.zarwerks.com - Parts and Restoration Services for Early VWs
Funkie
question and ridicule others. These are the people who suffer in the end.
They define themselves by what others think or believe about them. ;-P
Where I work there are a buncha hard working yuppies who drive fancy
expensive cars. But do I mind when I see a ferrari, RR, or a bmw850? Nah I
just smile and floor my POS looking beetle!
Micah Gorrell
So I just drive my bug :) Actually a lot of them really like my bug. Its
the one car there that everyone knows. Most of them don't know me, but if
some one asks who drives the bug everyone knows "the guy with the blue
hair". :)
Micah
Doris - '66 Type I
"Funkie" <medi...@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:aarjin$958$1...@slb6.atl.mindspring.net...
Jay McGraw
people didn't know me I was "The guy who drives the Bug."
I remember having a conversation with a girl I knew and a couple of her
friends...the talk turned to one girls boyfriend's camaro. (she didn't know
me) She went on about all the stuff he had done to it and how fast it was. I
said something about "he must be making up for something" and explained
penis envy to her...so she asked what I drove...
"I drive a Bug." :)
Jay
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/installmgr/
"Micah Gorrell" <ineed...@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:aarkih$did$1...@news.xmission.com...
Fox Neilson
Oh man its great driving an aircooled. As I was walking into work just a
few minutes ago, some woman who I've seen around work but I know nothing
about her asked me about my bug. We ended up talking for about 10 minutes
about them. There is no other car that could ever get that kind of reaction
out of people.
Micah
Doris - '66 Type I
"Jay McGraw" wrote in message ...
Alan Nelson
road. So what I'm going to do is rid the road of them.
Everyone who owns a Ghia is to immediately ship them directly to me. It
doesn't matter the condition. Original, restored, basket, I'll take them
all.
Oh...and you pay the shipping. I think that you'll be glad to get rid of
such an ugly car.
Oh, yeah. And convertibles are the ugliest of the Ghias, so make sure I get
a bunch of them, too.
Thank you very much!
--
Alan Nelson
www.boatcop.com
___
/___\ Proud Owner of a
(0\_|_/0) 1969 VW Bug
U U "Tizzy"
"Capgun_Slim" <buc...@deke.reno.nv.us> wrote in message
news:3cd1370a$1...@news.greatbasin.net...
John Henry
anyone...
Alan Nelson wrote:
--
Mel P.
free. And if you're not far from NJ, maybe I'll save you shipping and come
pick up the junk myself...
--
Mel P.
77 'REVIVED' Bug & 70 Ghia Cab' in De-bondo/metalwork stage
www.geocities.com/mpernice
PARTS FOR SALE: http://www.geocities.com/njvwclub/vwparts/index.htm
"Alan Nelson" <ane...@rraz.net> wrote in message
news:aas1f...@enews2.newsguy.com...
Mel P.
Even without the VW hobby, I'd still would be tinkering with something in my
unheated garage in the dead of winter. I always tell my wife that it's
better than getting fat in front of the boob tube constantly drinking
beer...
--
Mel P.
77 'REVIVED' Bug & 70 Ghia Cab' in De-bondo/metalwork stage
www.geocities.com/mpernice
PARTS FOR SALE: http://www.geocities.com/njvwclub/vwparts/index.htm
"John Henry" <johns...@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:3CD14D12...@attbi.com...
Gary Harper
"Mel P." <mper...@netzero.com> wrote in message
news:aas5p3$d73no$1...@ID-35706.news.dfncis.de...
Funkie
could tinker with even more stuff comfortably, hah ha :-)
"Mel P." <mper...@netzero.com> wrote in message
news:aas5p3$d73no$1...@ID-35706.news.dfncis.de...
Scott H.
... I can't remember what year. When someone would ask him what kind of car
he had and he would answer `Karmann Ghia', almost every person would say,
"Huh? ... what kind of car is that?" ... he would rarely say it was a
Volkswagen, instead he would say, "It's a German sports car." We would give
him a hard time about that, telling him he was just trying to impress girls
by saying that. Mostly, though, he'd answer that way because if he said
Volkswagen, some people would laugh at him about it. This was when most all
16-18 years olds (in my area, anyway) thought you had to have some hot rod
Chevy, Ford or Mopar with a V8.
Another guy that was in my drafting class had a Squareback, it was a
hand-me-down from his parents. We all gave him a hard time about driving a
"station wagon" ... this was well before I was into VWs ... now I'd
absolutely love to have a Squareback.
btw, I chuckle every time I see that name, `Capgun_Slim' ... lol ... I like
that
--
Scott
'72 Super
"Capgun_Slim" <buc...@deke.reno.nv.us> wrote in message
news:3cd1370a$1...@news.greatbasin.net...
JIMBO
Jimbo
JIMBO
Great rant
Jimbo
Screwed up and posted this response after Funkie's response further down this topic,
sorry.
JIMBO
My response was meant for John Henry's rant.
Jimbo
Alan Nelson
Ghia a "Poor Man's Porsche".
--
Alan Nelson
www.boatcop.com
___
/___\ Proud Owner of a
(0\_|_/0) 1969 VW Bug
U U "Tizzy"
"Scott H." <sdcvwDE...@carolina.rr.com> wrote in message
news:zPhA8.1194$x6.9...@ralph.vnet.net...
Tim Rogers
thoughts.
>
>
...................When I was in high school back during the sixties I would
dream about what car I would get if I had some money. The short list of what
I wished I had included a Karmann Ghia. Other cars that I dreamed about
having included the Jag XK-120, Austin Healey S-100 and a '32 Ford hot rod
roadster!
Tim Rogers - - - 66 bug, 70 bug, 86 vanagon, 91 vanagon, 65 notch
t...@stny.rr.com
Tim Rogers
>
> And I'll be happy to dispose of any Hebmuellers that might be bothering
> anyone...
>
>
................I'd be happy to take one of those ugly '64 sunroof bugs off
of the hands of anyone that wants to dispose of it (low mileage & rust free
of course).
Stutzsr
classics. The cars you mentioned were my favorites as well . The Austin-
Healeys and Jag 120 were hot cars as well. The KG;s were a great bang fer a
buck. Eric 62 Ghia vert in -progress, 68 bug vert done.
Max
How would you define poor taste? Or good taste for that matter? Do you
need other people to agree with your definition? You and your friend
don't have to agree in order to enjoy each others company, right? I
even have some friends who like (cring) SUVs. Heck, it makes for good
banter. Maybe your friend was pulling your leg.
If there is anyone whose approval is meaningful to me, it would be my
wife. My wife had never really paid much attention to Ghias until I
got mine. And she thought it was the ugliest car she had ever seen!
Then she started noticing the occasional Ghia on the road and one day
happened to see a cabrio. Well, THAT was a nice-looking car! So she
figured it had something to do with sort of round shaped roof. And
then she happened to see a coupe that she liked. So now she's thinking
it's just the color she didn't like about mine.
So. Guess what color I plan to paint it when the bodywork is all done?
Well ... white of course! Why? Cause that's the way I like it. She
makes fun of my VW and I make fun of her Subaru. Which actualy is a
pretty nice car, BTW.
Things would be pretty boring if we all agreed, donchathink?
--
Max Welton (http://63.230.74.177/)
VW Performance http://www.bug-o-rama.com/stevesite/
Gene Berg Memorial Cruise Site http://63.230.74.177/gbcruisesite/
VOCS : http://communities.msn.com/AirCooledVeeDubClubofColoradoSprings
dragenwagen
Well put John...
People at work say I have an obsession with VW... ( so what) after all I
have a VW wall paper on my computer and little matchbox beetles a small
scale model of a 67 a vw hood emblem and a VW ashtray...lol cant smoke at
work though along with a few other vw items on my desk. But they are amazed
at the pics I show them and they think I'm nut for "building" a car in my
garage. the neighborhood kids ask if I built that car, and they are always
doing the slug bug thing when the garage doors are open. I always talk vw's
to every one and EVERY one wants to know when I will be getting it on the
road! After all its only been 5 years.... but soon I'll show em.
--
dragenwagen
1969 Type I
http://www.geocities.com/dragenwagen69
vwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw
"Old VW's don't leak oil, they mark their territory."
vwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvw
"
dragenwagen
20 years later. as a matter of fact on that classmates web page thing there
is a message board. Yup I have seen some posts and gotten some emails
recently on the same subject... "I cant believe you are still into bugs."
or" I am not surprised to see you are still "bug-crazy"".
Craig Schaepe
(add ugly car name here ________) are beatiful. It makes the world an
interesting place to have such different tastes. Personally since I got my
license over 20 years ago I have only been without a Ghia for a few months
because to me it is the most beautiful VW ever made. That doesn't mean I
cannot appreciate other VW's or even other cars I love almost any English
roadster Jag 120, E type's Healey's, DB-7's, also any Porsche ever made. I
would need about a 20 car garage to house every car I ever lusted after.
And you don't sell an ugly car for almost 20 years with basically the same
design even if it was a volkswagen. Obviously it appealed to a lot of
people, so you may want to send your friend to remedial schooling for good
car taste or make him drive an AMC Gremlin for punishment ;-}
-Craig
58 Ghia cabrio
50 Split sunroof (floating home as we speak)
"Capgun_Slim" <buc...@deke.reno.nv.us> wrote in message
news:3cd1370a$1...@news.greatbasin.net...
John Willis
wrote:
Ok, John, comments below...
>But the people who get under my skin just a bit are the ones who come off with
>this attitude that my fanaticism is waste of time. Some have come right out and
>said that. And it has nothing to do with the fact that it is a VW. They seem
>to resent someone being passionate and obsessive about it. Spending time,
>spending money, traveling all for the sake of a car seems useless to them, and
>they make comments.
Obsessive? You?? Really??? I hadn't noticed!
Come on now, what's the difference between wanting to wrench a little
on a much loved project or going out to hit 18 holes at the golf
course every day it isn't raining? To each his or her own. Personally
I would go absolutely bonkers if I were made to sit all the way
through an NFL game. Golf makes me gag (and yes, I did hit a round og
golf once.) My work is more physical than most so I get plent of
activity. I too enjoy tinkering with my cars, the only problem is
finding the time lately...
>
>We are all different, but I have noted over time that some people don't "seek"
>things they enjoy, rather, they just take what life gives them, and try to enjoy
>that. Maybe that is OK. But for almost all of those people who ridicule my
>obsessiveness, guess what the most important thing in their life seems to be?
>Their jobs. Nothing wrong with that, many of them are very successful in what
>they do for work. But what seems a bit sad to me, is when work is done, and
>they come home, what do they have? There is no motivation for anything. There
>is no self reward. And moreover (and I have seen this in friend's parents),
>what will they do when they retire? What will motivate them and keep them
>active? I have seen many wither away after retirement. If you don't SEEK things
>you enjoy, and LEARN to find them and excel at them and earn yourself a sense of
>reward that motivates you further, how will you survive?
Seems to me these are the kinds of people who simply don't want to
learn. Me? I try to learn every day. JUst today I was reminded not to
argue with a pregnant woman!:~)
>
>I FEAR retirement. I will probably kill myself trying to do things (and I plan
>on retiring from the corporate BS between age 50 and 55). I will stay active.
>I enjoy my job a lot, but it is not the center of my life (my family actually
>is, VWs probably second or a close third).
Retirement? I fear it too. Why? Because I will have even less time
then!
> My hobby is what feeds me, gives me
>great enjoyment. Working on things, seeing them done, seeing them function and
>DRIVING them, interacting with so many other cool people all over the hobby. If
>it wasn't VWs, it would be something else I'm sure. I am a self motivator, I
>can feed myself, and I don't rely on the opinions of others to validate my life,
>my hobby, and my motivation. Nor do I pass judgment on others (yes I have
>opinions, but I don't tell them that they are wrong, insane, crazy, etc.)
Even if they are wrong, insane, crazy, etc.??? Yeah, that might be a
little imprudent!:~)
>
><sigh>
>
>You wanted a rant, you got it
>
>(.....the hottest band in the land: K!$$!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Maybe in the late '70s or early 80s! <ducking>
And no, I'm not obsessive either. Not one bit. And just like others
here, I don't have a garage (and driveway) with more VW stuff in them
than the law allows (literally in some cases!:~)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Willis
jdwi...@airmail.net
MUADIB
>here, I don't have a garage (and driveway) with more VW stuff in them
>than the law allows (literally in some cases!:~)
>
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I do,........Lots more than the law would allow to be seen
anyway.............
Dune buggy,71 beetle,69 fastback,
71 beetle,72 Super,75 LeGrande,
Parts Garage from he&%^&*
A Chevy Astro ( not sure what year )- Bug Parts Chaser And Towing Vehicle )
and now...A nice little Camry ('97)
half or part owner of a 70 Beetle
56 Convertible Bug
72 Super Autostick
69 Autostick
68 Autostick
lord only knows what all else
When NOT gone,...... I can be reached.
MUADIB
MUADIB
"taste"........check it out.
John Wilkins
the environment every mile I take.
Capgun_Slim
Craig Schaepe <csch...@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:YymA8.82878$WV1.24...@typhoon.ne.ipsvc.net...
a bike, and takes the bus, lol! Btw, another cool car, MGA Roadster.
John Kelly
ask: "what is that?" I would always say a Volkswagen....puzzled look
from them. Also had a number of people tell me they thought Ghias
were ugly until they saw mine. Kind of a compliment wrapped up in an
insult. Some folks don't recognize art when they see it. For me
Ghias have been an aquired taste. I didn't have much of an opinion on
them when I first saw them. I appreciate the subtleties of their
design more and more as time goes by. Kind of like good music
withstands the test of time.
John www.ghiaspecialties.com
"The emperor has no brain"
John Willis
<buc...@deke.reno.nv.us> wrote:
>
>Anyway, It didn't
>matter that I tried to tell him, "Then why was it voted one of the 100 most
>beautiful things, in a 1969 book?" He just blew me off after that, and we
>talked about something else. Everyone is entitled to they're own opinion,
>but there's no excuse for poor taste, or someone who doesn't have some sort
>of respect for true automotive art. Sorry about the novel...
>
You know, I love the looks of a Ghia Convertible. They truly are the
poor man's 356. The earlier the better. I've got one Ghia (not a
'vert). Did some work on it at one point in time. I'd like to sell it
now. Why? Although they are nice looking cars, so far as ACVWs are
concerned, they are expensive to maintain. Similarly Things are
expensive to maintain.
I like nice examples of all ACVWs. I appreciate the work that goes
into them and the pride their owners take in them. For myself, I've
decided I'll stick with Beetles. They are relatively easy to find
parts for and are relatively inexpensive to maintain. (I say this
while still shopping for parts for the two '59s in the driveway. Who
am I kidding here? Inexpensive parts? Yeah, right, when compared with
the even earlier 25hp stuff the 36hp parts are inexpensive, but in no
way are they cheaper when compared with later parts!:~)
I guess, like John H. and others here, I too am somewhat over the
edge...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Willis
jdwi...@airmail.net
John Henry
John Willis wrote:
What, me over the edge? No way!
Here's what I bought in the last few months for my split:
Coil ("star coil"): $200
Rear ivory ashtray: $150
Windshield wipers: $200
Horn button (on a ratty wheel): $173
I have found the lever shocks I want, from 2 sources. $200 EACH.
Yep, ovals are cheap in comparison, early big windows (like your '59s) are DIRT
CHEAP. All depends on your point of reference.
One thing is clear about the very early cars (splits really), You are FAR better
off writing a big check and buying a 95-100% complete and correct one, than
buying a basket case and going out and (trying to) buy al the parts. I could
"part out" my split and double, if not triple my investment.
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> John Willis
> jdwi...@airmail.net
MUADIB
dollars..............
같같 Diane AKA JeWitch같같
WITH AIRCONDITIONING .. yumm ... But 20-30 years from now, they will be in a
junk yard somewhere .. can't imagine a newsgroup for THOSE things .. but,
you know. Sometimes that I look around my parking lot at work, or the
grocery store and EVERY SINGLE CAR looks the same. And whats with that
Beige or cream colored paint job that every other car has ?
You have to get right up on top of the new cars to even see who makes them,
let alone the model. And everyday I notice some new model name. But it
looks like any other car. Two doors, four doors, sports models, vans, you
never know who makes them until you see a logo.
Any other car on the road is JUST ..... any other car on the road. But when
you are driving a VW . .bus, bug or ghia, something really great happens.
It happens to me EVERY DAY and EVERY WHERE I go. For instance, you pull up
to a convience store, and no matter who is passing by your car, they smile.
It is a GREAT smile too and I smile back because I know they are remembering
the better days ...
Let them call our VW's ugly as they drive away in their generic car. They
will never feel like I do, every single day of my life when I am behind the
wheel of my VW bus. Diane
--
Ever have one of those days when EVERYTHING goes RIGHT ??? Me neither !!
Diane <dja...@hotmail.com>
"Funkie" <medi...@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:aarjin$958$1...@slb6.atl.mindspring.net...
> Well put! some people never bother to figure out who they are. So they
just
> question and ridicule others. These are the people who suffer in the end.
> They define themselves by what others think or believe about them. ;-P
>
> Where I work there are a buncha hard working yuppies who drive fancy
> expensive cars. But do I mind when I see a ferrari, RR, or a bmw850? Nah I
> just smile and floor my POS looking beetle!
Craig Schaepe
purchase that includes splits and early Ghia's cars which I have some
experience in buying parts for :-}.
For example the Audi dealership broke my heater switch in my Audi TT. It is
a simple black plastic piece.
Cost to replace $604.00, luckily it was under warrantee.
Alloy wheels are also about $600 apiece guess I won't be replacing that
curbed wheel.
Headlights for the TT run about $1,200.
Shocks & Springs or coilovers run over $1,000
It makes my parts that I am buying for my split seem a bargain.
-Craig
"John Henry" <johns...@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:3CD2BBF8...@attbi.com...
Tuomas Hosia
>
>You know, I love the looks of a Ghia Convertible. They truly are the
>poor man's 356. The earlier the better. I've got one Ghia (not a
>'vert).
Ahh, here's the question:
How much did a 356 cost compared to Ghia in late 50's or early 60's?
356 was (and is) structurally almost similar to Ghia, handmade chassis and
all. Little more horsepower, but the engine is almost the same.
Ghia had almost 50% higher retail price than Beetle at the time (here in
Europe, at least) and I'd really like to know that how expensive Porsche
was.
It wasn't well known sports car maker then, more like a Beetle tuning shop,
who couldn't charge very high prices.
I tried to search the retail price of 356 with Google, but couldn't find
any.
Back to the topic:
A friend of mine would agree with the topic, his description of Beetle was
'two balloons with four wheels under'. He didn't like cars with round
shapes, no wonder his hobby car is a Daimler Six from late 80's.
Tuomas
--
ho...@lut.fi(Tuomas Hosia) DoD#1684 \ On paljon hauskempi olla pakanana,
Lappeenranta University of Technology \ ei tarvitse koskaan olla vakavana.
Kotisivu: http://www.lut.fi/~hosia/ \ -o Eppu Normaali o-
John Willis
>John Willis <jdwi...@airmail.net> wrote:
>>
>>You know, I love the looks of a Ghia Convertible. They truly are the
>>poor man's 356. The earlier the better. I've got one Ghia (not a
>>'vert).
>
>Ahh, here's the question:
>
>How much did a 356 cost compared to Ghia in late 50's or early 60's?
Good question. I would imagine they were probably close in retail
price when new. I know if you look in classified ads from the late
sixties and early seventies you could pick up these cars for a song.
Dirt cheap. On second thought, don't look-it's enough to make a grown
man cry!:~(
>
>356 was (and is) structurally almost similar to Ghia, handmade chassis and
>all. Little more horsepower, but the engine is almost the same.
>
>Ghia had almost 50% higher retail price than Beetle at the time (here in
>Europe, at least) and I'd really like to know that how expensive Porsche
>was.
>
>It wasn't well known sports car maker then, more like a Beetle tuning shop,
>who couldn't charge very high prices.
All true. But the reality of the situation now is...
You know on the 356, the chrome handle and backing plate for the front
hood? I wonder how much an original in good condition costs? How much
for one that is NOS? How many Ghias can you buy for the amount you
would spend on that one piece of 356 trim?
While true that these two cars are virtually the same, the styling on
the 356 versus the Ghia, IMO is just better when comparing 'Verts with
'Verts as well as Coupes with Coupes.
That being said, I'll stay away from owning a 356 as well as a Ghia
because I'm cheap (unless I stumble across one of those you hear about
occasionally-you know, son's car, he died in the "War", car was stored
for thirty or forty years, all original, nearly unused, complete, for
$500.00. Yeah, I'd buy one of those, either 356 or Ghia!:~)
>
>I tried to search the retail price of 356 with Google, but couldn't find
>any.
>
>Back to the topic:
>
>A friend of mine would agree with the topic, his description of Beetle was
>'two balloons with four wheels under'. He didn't like cars with round
>shapes, no wonder his hobby car is a Daimler Six from late 80's.
>
>Tuomas
Well, the Beetle IS shaped like two balloons with four wheels
underneath. That styling was not uncommon back in the early to mid
thirties when the design work on these cars was being done. My father
has a 1934 DeSoto Airflow Four-Door that has almost the same styling
as a Beetle, just a lot bigger, and there are other examples as well.
As to your friend's hobby, well, you know, everyone needs one, it
keeps him out of trouble and has two other great side-effects as well;
it keeps the Daimler Six off the streets and leaves more Beetles for
the rest of us!:~)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Willis
jdwi...@airmail.net