A few months ago my next door neighbor came home with a new black Volkswagen Beetle. Well, I do believe it was used, but only slightly.
First thing he did was begin to disassemble it and clean every. single. inch. of it. I mean meticulously with a toothbrush and every cleaning product known to man. New things were installed. GPS system, radar detector, stereo, etc.
All this we could see from the window in our breakfast area. The door panels were removed, the seats, the dashboard, the back where the engine is found was always open and the boot on the other end was more often than not as well.
This went on for MONTHS, literally. Every single day, as soon as he got home from work and almost all day on weekends.
Finally, we were at a wedding reception, curiosity got the better of me and I asked his wife, “So eh…. what’s up with the new bug? This elicited a huge eye roll and she asked me if I remembered Tim the Toolman on Home Improvement.
She then asked me if I remembered how nothing was ever good enough just normal and working correctly. It could always be improved upon and souped up. She said this was her husband and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that car and once he started taking the door panels off he messed up something in the anti-theft area and the car wouldn’t start anymore. He finally talked to someone at a Volkswagen dealership that explained that he would have to have it towed in and they would have to call Germany and have it “reset”.
The other ladies and I died laughing. I know we had all been wondering the same thing. She said God only knows how much money he had spent on that thing just tinkering around and breaking stuff.
For your viewing pleasure, (And just cause I think they’re so darn cute!), here are a couple of more I’ve seen around here!
That red monster car parked on the other side of this one is the Lopez Family Truckster. We were so honored by our parking space neighbor.
OK, so it’s not such a fancy paint job… But I loves me a bright yellow car. I just think the license plate should say “NOLEMN”. Heh.
The Hippie Surfer and a few others that I got off the internezzzz.
1966 Beetle and one of my favs! I can totally see me driving this with matching lipstick and nail polish… maybe shoes and purse, too. Heh
Iridescent!
OK, I am just not too sure about this, but it’s so bizarre I couldn’t resist. I think it needs chrome hubcaps…
Free Toes, everybody!
12 comments
Comment by Predo on July 25, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Well, except for having to mow that one, I love them all!
Does your neighbor have pants that ride down to his knees when he works on the car? Just asking to see if that is why you are watching!!!
.-= Predo´s last blog ..So, in earlier episodes…. =-.
Comment by Jean M. on July 25, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Sounds almost like my hubs, but he buys junker ’70 model cougars, thinking he will restore it to be his manly muscle car and yet hasn’t done a dang thing to it since the first few months he got it. It now sits in my garage taking up valuable garage space. Please pray that we don’t drag it with us on the next move. The last move was one to many.
.-= Jean M.´s last blog ..A Unique Organizational Experience =-.
Comment by witchypoo on July 25, 2009 at 8:26 pm
VW nuts are well, a little bit nuts.
.-= witchypoo´s last blog ..Have You Lost Weight? =-.
Comment by witchypoo on July 25, 2009 at 11:54 pm
VW nuts are well, a little bit nuts.
.-= witchypoo´s last blog ..Have You Lost Weight? =-.
PS: Forgot to add good post!
Comment by Serendipitous Girl on July 26, 2009 at 9:11 am
Oh they’re so cute! I want one of the robin’s egg blue new ones with a black convertible top. One wonders why an OREGONIAN would want a convertible but … I do : )
We grew up having these babies around. My Gam had one for 30 years and we had one when I was a kid that my sister got when she turned 16. Such great memories!
.-= Serendipitous Girl´s last blog ..$40 Foodie & Menu =-.
Comment by Kori on July 27, 2009 at 9:20 am
I used to have a 1972 Bug, bright yellow-loved it because it was the same year as I was born. Got to be too hard with two kids in car seats, so I sold it-and I regret it now.
.-= Kori´s last blog ..Friday Fragments-Late Edition =-.
Comment by big hair envy on July 27, 2009 at 12:15 pm
When my sisters and I were small, we had a VW bug. One Christmas, we were on our way home from Grandma’s house and baby sis puked into the heat vent. Poor thing, she had gotten car sick! Well, you guessed it, EVER FREAKIN’ TIME the heat was turned on, the whole car smelled like puke!!! Needless to say, my parents traded the car in……as soon as the weather got warm so no one would run the heater!!!
Good times.
.-= big hair envy´s last blog ..Friday Fun Facts =-.
Comment by Roger on July 27, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Amazing what we men will do to save us some money. 🙂
That last bug needs a trim, I think. At least it’s “green.”
.-= Roger´s last blog ..Planet of the Dead =-.
Comment by Hyphen Mama on July 28, 2009 at 6:12 pm
My brother’s first car was a completely restored 1960’s vintage VW Beetle! It was orange. It was adorable. I wanted it SOOOO badly. He wrecked it the first time within 20 minutes of having his license. He wrecked it a 2nd time within a week of getting it out of the shop. My parents made him sell it and drive my dad’s old beater pickup truck.
I still want a VW Beetle. I keep telling my husband I want the new kind with the convertible top. You know, that nanosecond after getting rid of 2 enormous kid seats.
And my husband is SO Tim the Toolman!!! But it’s really REALLY funny that your neighbor broke something when he took the door panels off!!!
.-= Hyphen Mama´s last blog ..Top 5 Things That Would Be Easier Than Potty Training My Son =-.
Comment by slm on July 29, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I live in Pittsburgh and a local carpet remnant co. has one completely covered in carpet. I will have to take a pic next time I drive by. It’s been around for as long as I can remember.
Comment by Karen on July 31, 2009 at 5:30 pm
We have a friend who only drove a beetle when they were in the first time. He gave one to my cousins to learn to drive with. Oh, the memories. Think four teenaged boys, three teenaged girls, and a few friends of each all crammed into that thing, going at breakneck speed through the hayfields. Fun times.
Comment by trannyhead on August 1, 2009 at 8:10 am
My husband has a VW bug! He bought it when he got back from Iraq. It has like a gazillion miles on it, but it runs great. It’s such a cute little car.
My poor father is one of those people who is convinced he can do it himself, but really he can’t. I was there visiting and offered to install a shower head for him, but he wouldn’t wait for me to begin. He broke the $50 shower head before I got upstairs. *sigh*
.-= trannyhead´s last blog ..There’s a Reason I Look Like an Orca =-.
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