By Jeff Gilbert, WWJ Auto Beat Reporter
Who wouldn't jump at the chance to drive four historic vehicles from Volkswagen's collection. It was my own personal dream cruise and Oktoberfest all in one.
Those were the days! Crank windows, no air conditioning, no power defrosters, barely any heat--and a unique windshield washer system that gets it power from the air in the spare tire.
First up, a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle. I have fond memories of my brother owning two Beetles, my uncle absolutely loving his Beetle and my first college roommate and I driving from home to school in his Beetle--with all of our stuff. We went on many a double date with my date and me riding in the back seat.
I'm not sure I could get into the back seat these days.
How did we survive?
O.K. This is a 60 year old vehicle, with no emissions control and a lap belt as the only safety gear. It's seats feel like a well worn couch, and the steering wheel is hard enough to require lots of dental work on my part if I suddenly stop.
We forget the emissions we breathed back then. After 40 minutes behind the wheel I was a big queasy.
We also really had to DRIVE these cars. No power anything. Brakes required extreme pressure. Sometimes while steering I felt like the captain of the Titanic trying to miss the iceberg.
That 40 horsepower engine made me want to drag race every lawn tractor I passed. I didn't do it because I was afraid I might lose.
I've driven a lot of vehicles with stick shifts. But this is a manual transmission with the emphasis on MANUAL. You're working as you're driving. Lots of gas into first gear and a quick shift into second, not too fast into third or you'll stall, and then wow, they actually have a fourth gear.
It was still fun. I didn't risk the freeway, up and down Hines Drive was a great route, trying to avoid hills for the fear of rolling back into somebody. Also thinking ahead when you had to brake because these weren't stop on a dime, or stop on a manhole cover or even stop on the tarp that covers the infield at Comerica Park.
The Karmann-Ghia drove pretty much like the Beetle, which surprised me. I was expecting more power. Nope, same 40 horsepower engine.
But. the styling is beautiful, stunningly classic. I never tried to put up the top, which I imagine is very complicated. It was a beautiful day, and the open air blew away the emissions and all of your cares.
Time to get funky with a microbus. I had the pure power of 54 horsepower in the rear of this vehicle, and nothing but a thin sheet of metal between me and oncoming traffic. Intimidated? You betcha! I have no idea how people drove these things around the country, filled with people.
But there were cool touches. The front windows opened. I'm talking about what on any other vehicle you would call the windshield. After driving it with the front windows open I learned why it was called a wind sheild. There was nothing to shield my face from the wind. Five minutes of that was enough.
I'm glad I didn't need the spare tire, but it was there behind the front passenger seat. When I pulled the seat up to look at it, I couldn't get it back into place. Oops.
There was a sticker on the dash that said "max 55." I was thinking that meant speed, not passengers. But good luck getting this vehicle up to 55 mph, unless you're going downhill.
The most interesting thing was the placement of the steering wheel...with a shaft that ran between your legs. It made shifting an adventure.
I was also warned, don't take it out in the rain. It leaks. Explains why so many classic microbuses are so rusted.
The final vehicle was my biggest surprise, a pleasant one. An early 80's vintage VW Rabbit, the predecessor to today's Golf. The Rabbit was one of the first foreign nameplate vehicles to be made in America, in New Stanton, Pennsylvania, not far from where I grew up.
It was like driving a go-kart. Great acceleration from a tiny engine, with a cool motorcycle-like sound.
Then there were those velour seats. Nothing says 80's like velour seats. You see them. You feel them. You smell them. You continue smelling them after you leave the vehicle.
The experience was fun. It was a great lesson in how far the auto industry has come and how even the most basic vehicle today has amenities we couldn't have dreamt of half a century ago.
