European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 2, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily in Magazine collecting devoted fans of the vow Beetle by Tara Bradley Steck associated Pressi to been 50 years since lha first Volkswagen Beetle putt putted out of a German factory bul the homely Little Critter Wilh the Bug eyed headlights and anaemic heeler still warms the hearts of collect cars other cars Are interesting but the Beetle is Beautiful says Terry Shuler 39, of Portage pa., president of the Vintage Volkswagen club of America and author of a Book on the car s history. It s so different looking. The Beetle was never copied. Nobody would dare copy the ugly Beetle. Then Volkswagen came out Wilh their Little Rabbit and the whole world looks like  Lester Goldsmith 34, of Memphis tenn., who owns six beetles says. When i think of ugly i think of a 59 Cadillac and 57 Plymouth. Now ii May be homely to some bul it s come to be Cule to me. And once you gel used to it no other car looks  it began As Adolt Hitler s people s car prototype in the 1930s, bul never went into mass production during the third Reich. Eventually 20 million vow beetles were produced after world War ii More than any other car in history and the design changed Little Over the years. Can you conceive of anything coming out of Detroit today lasting50 years asks a spokesman Bob Stockton. It just does t  even the company has trouble explaining the car s mystique and ils enduring popularity. There was something about the Beetle Stockton Bays it was a homely Little Critter sort of like the cabbage Patch doll of the automotive world. Nearly 5 million beetles affectionately called bugs a  a Beetle Saro till manufactured in Mexico and Brazil although the latter a presing out production at the end of this year. So u teem the Little ear is just about done for except among collectors who jus. Can t seem to to ,1 of. People Are not going to let it go says Jon Pale s 36 of Mountain View calif., who owns a is. If c people want vow to bring Back the Bee la. Theone thing Vav did. Coun on ,. It following. E Goldsmi a says. Dab Humb to anything German after the War. Everybody wanted big a is a Highway Cruiser that could go Down the Pennsylvania Turnpike at 60mph," Stockton says. Families were bigger and fuel was cheaper. Why would you want this funny looking German car that goes pull putt pull Ben Pon. An exporter from Holland brought the first two beetles into the United states in 1949. They failed so dismally that he had to sell them at Cost to buy a ticket to get Back Home Stockton says. By the 1960s, however the German import had gained a solid foothold and by 1970, vow was Selling More than 400,000 beetles a year Stockton says. But escalating prices criticism by consumer advocates who claimed beetles were unsafe and a push to buy vehicles made in America tarnished the car s Luster by the mid-1970s and contributed to its demise in 1979. Seven years later an unknown number of late Model bugs that refuse to quil. Refurbished Vintage cars and customized versions still scamper Over american roads particularly on the West coast. To have a Gal Looker a California style Beetle is a big thing for a lot of the kids now Peters says. You re really Cool if you have a Cal Looker with a big stereo system in it the kind that makes the windows vibrate. But even when i Lake my 1950 deluxe Beetle out on the streets you d be amazed at the number of people who will take a look at it who think it s the neatest thing since sliced bread. You open the deck lid and it looks like a Little Squirrel Cage. They re amazed that the thing gets Down the Road on such a Small  Purist like Shuler and his club of roughly 2,000 members covet the Bevelle for ils simplicity end they place a Premium on unadulterated models that Are at least 25 years old. But finding one in Good shape can be a big order. They be been painted covered with Vinyl Shell paper you name it it s been done anything to protect that front Hood Stockton says. Next to authenticity Price is most important. Before they became Antiques beetles were cheap. And it just in t fitting to  Lens of thousands of dollars Lor an old one no matter what kind of shape it s in. It s the poor Man s collector s car Shuler says.1 people put Money into it when they can afford to and a lot of them do the work  collectors sometimes wait for years until someone pails with just the Model they be been wanting. Others Wilh a Little More Cash and a Little less patience will travel to Germany or other parts of the Globe for the truly rare models. Shuler has done both. He called a woman in Maryland steadily Lor live years until she finally sold him her 1950 he Muller a two seater Beetle convertible. He also travelled to Germany three years ago to buy a very rare 1943 Beetle. The stars and stripes Page 19