Da Bugs…

Hopefully, you’re not too burned out on all the VW stuff I’ve put on the blog this week.   I know I’ve posted a lot of car stuff on a motorcycle blog, but it was easy to get excited about these cool little cars.   I had a lot of fun this past weekend at the VW drags, and VWs are photogenic.    When Steve asked me about going to the VW drags, he didn’t have to ask me twice…cool cars and racing?   You bet!   Where do I sign up?

This was our booth at the Irwindale event…

Action in the booth was brisk…Steve bought along a couple of California Scooters and as you might imagine, the bikes drew a ton of attention.   The same folks who like VWs also like CSC motorcycles.   It might have something to do with the fact that both V-Dubs and Mustangs were popular in the ’50s and ’60s.   Or maybe its just that people appreciate the inherent coolness of both.

I bought a VW Beetle back in 1973 and I still believe it was one of the best cars I ever owned.   My Dad thought I was nuts when I told him I was going to buy a VW (you know, the Buy American thing).     Dad felt that way right up until the day I brought it home and we all went out to dinner in it.   That little Beetle was well built, it was comfortable, it had more room than Dad’s Chrysler, and it was fun.

When I left for my very first secret mission (and my first trip ever to Asia), Dad offered to drive the VW while I was gone.  You know, just to keep the battery charged and the carb from gumming up.    Funny thing, though…when I got back a year later my little VW had a CB radio, an 8-track cassette player, and a lot more miles on the clock.   Dad did not want to give that car up.   The Chrysler, on the other hand, had stale gas and a dead battery.   Go figure.

So anyway, I fell in love with Beetles.   I never had another one, but the trip to the VW meet this weekend sure has me thinking about them again.  I love their simplicity, the air-cooled boxer engine, and the look.  And I certainly saw some nice ones this weekend.   Irwindale was awash in VWs…I’ll bet more than 500 Beetles showed up.   Some were stock, most were customized, and all were muey cool.

Okay, enough about my unrequited Beetle love affair.   Let’s take a look at some of these beauties!

Here’s one of many with custom paint…

And here’s another with a custom paint job.   I really like this one.   Does the theme look familiar?

You bet…it’s our very own Sarge replicated in a VW.   Take a look at Steve’s personal California Scooter, and then take another look at the Beetle above…

If you like bright colors and pastels, you would have loved the variety of VWs on display this weekend…some were bright, some were subdued, some were shiny, some showed off their patina, and all were stunning…

The Bugs were there in lots of colors…they kind of reminded me of jelly beans.   These are cool cars and I was having a lot of fun taking pictures of them.

Check out this split window VW…I don’t know a lot about these very early ones, except that they are rare and very cool…

Do you remember the Baja Bug craze from the late ’60s?   There were a few of these dune runners in Irwindale, too…

And then there were the rat jobs and the hot rods…

Wow, lots of photos, folks.   If you want to see more VWs, quite a few of these pictures are going to be showing up on the Pro-One site, along with a lot of others I haven’t posted here.  

Okay, so enough with the VWs.  This is it for a while on the CSC blog…except, of course, for my signature self portrait…

I’m headed over to the plant later today and I’ll grab some California Scooter photos for you.   If you want to see more VW stuff, hop on over to the Pro-One web site or to our Pro-One Facebook page (and if you go to the Pro-One Facebook page, please give us a “like’).

Ride safe and stay tuned!