Air Cooled Engines: The VW Beetle

My First Ride Podcast

What do you remember about the cars from years past? You know, the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Stick with me for a few minutes while I go back in time and explore some great automotive memories.

Lately I’ve been talking about different cars with air cooled engines: the Chevy Corvair, the 911 Porsche, the Tucker and the Volkswagen Beetle. What a deal, not having to mess with coolant and radiators!

My first car was a dark green, 1964 VW convertible. With only 36 horsepower, how was it this car was so much fun to drive? Was it because of the influence of the designer of one of today’s most popular sports cars? Do you have an idea who the designer was?

It all started in the mid 1930’s when Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, of the Porsche 911 fame, and a soon to be crazed leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler, developed a car for common guy: The Volkswagon or “folks wagon”.

From the very beginning, the VW was air cooled until the last VW rear engine Beetle rolled off the assembly line in Mexico. The history of VW is dear to my heart because of my first ride, a 1964 convertible.

Doing the research on this one revealed much that I never knew about the history of the VW. This one is going to be especially exciting for me to talk about and I know you’re going to enjoy this story.

Final thoughts….

You may not have your first ride, but you still have the memories. It’s time to share them.

Contact me if you have questions regarding today’s podcast or would like to be a guest on My First Ride Podcast. 972-771-7898 or send an email to [e-mail]

I’m Gary Neidert and you’ve just experienced My First Ride Podcast.

Thanks for listening and watching.