A car identical to the one pictured was purchased in 1971 for $2,400 cash. That’s how much money I had saved while Wayne was overseas. We needed a new car and didn’t want a car payment. Back then, a Volkswagen was the cheapest vehicle you could buy. When we went to the car lot, the canary yellow convertible was the only choice to drive away right then and there. We sheepishly showed off our new ride to family and friends who made fun of the “loud” color. You could see us coming for miles!

What a great buy that car turned out to be. The Super Beetle debuted in 1971 and Volkswagen advertised 89 improvements over the regular Beetle. It had a coil-spring front suspension, a bigger trunk and 60 horsepower! It was fun and trustworthy. We toured everywhere with the top down and oh the shopping we could do. 25 bags of groceries could fit into the Super Beetle’s trunk and we had no problem buying a ping pong table and an artificial Christmas tree – just put the top down.

By 1979, however, the two of us were now five. We had outgrown our Super Beetle and traded it in for a more family-friendly car. Fast forward to 30 years later and we’re back just the two of us. Wayne saw the 1976 Super Beetle for sale in our hometown. Improvements over the 1971 model included electronic fuel injection, sporty wheels and a rear defogger. It looked and felt like our original VW and brought back the thousands of memories we had made. Of course we bought it and are busy once again touring with the top down and making even more memories.

By Denise Tuck