Comment on Hemmings Find of the Day – 1959 Volkswagen Beetle by Scott

My dad bought a brand new ’63 Beetle – the first year with a factory gas gauge. He had to order it in advance of course and I (as a 10 year old) chose the color black. We picked it up from the dealer 86 miles from our home and he drove it home. We were both amazed that the gas gauge never moved in those 86 miles – our other car was a ’59 Olds Super 88.
This was western Montana with lots of wide open spaces and not many Bugs. The then new freeways were wide open with almost no traffic. The car earned legendary status as a snow bug – surpassing many of the 4 WD vehicles available then.
On the almost empty freeways, my dad would cozy up behind a semi and get really close (really CLOSE) and then say “watch this” and then take his foot off the gas and we would be “drafting” the semi with his foot off the gas. When I said something he would just say to “watch the brake lights closely”. Those were the days. . .
When I got married my wife brought a ’74 Super Bug into the marriage with her. Wish I’d kept that one. . .