I have been thinking about this car; its history and how it is surviving way past the time that other cars have given out, both in practical usage and in body style, its likability.
I would bet that in Friburgo this car is one in every 20 on the streets. Never in the Cadima Shopping parking, my car and others like it park there - like the boring, yellow newer model I showed you in my last post. These older models line the street outside, parked bumper to bumper in front of the repair shops, the plumbing supply stores, the paint and construction stores. On the ten Kilometer drive from my house to the gym I have counted 15 on any given day, many times seeing colors I’d never notice before.
From the bus window when coming back from Rio, as we pass over the highest point and start down into our valley, I see the police checkpoint and notice a fusca in the lot of crashed and otherwise repossessed cars. On Friday last week Camillo drove me up to the checkpoint and we ask the policeman manning the store (!) if I could take photos. He probably thought typical tourist – but who cares I got my photos.
When seen up close there were TWO fuscas. They looked like they had been there a while. Sitting in the elements, surrounded by a small lake of rain water. Maybe since before the revival because surely the government would auction these off if they new they were sitting on a gold mine. Enjoy what I enjoyed.
I wanted to adopt them and take them home with me. A treasure trove.
My first car was a 1952 Volkswagon. The best thing about the Bug was that almost anybody could repair themselves. I remember driving it for several months with a coathanger connecting the clutch peddle with the clutch. Now you need a computer programmer to repair cars.
ReplyDeleteGreat shoot of a true memorial. Ironically, my word verification is "dentsp"
Me too B&B. My first car was a 1967 Beetle, bought against the ethos of my hometown Detroit. But you are right - it was the only car I could fix myself and often with wire, or tape, or even paper towel when the starter solenoid was wet with morning dew.
ReplyDeleteI had to rivet a modified paint tray into the floor to hold the battery which had caroded through the original floor.
Ahhhh... Ginger, thanks for the memories.
in the early 70s, a lot of college lecturers were driving these VW. Later, my dad said, the importer brought in cars by batches. It happened that time, they brought the VW. They are called tortoise cars, not very glamorous.
ReplyDeleteGinger, in you search for old car, please keep an eye on Fiat 1100. That was my Dad's first car, and we were so happy to have one in the 1960s.