| Those of us who are in classic car clubs, regardless | | | | rolling a window down or pushing in a lock? If a |
| of model or make, decide to become members for | | | | power window fails, you're looking at a repair that will |
| any given number of reasons. Perhaps we owned a | | | | cost around $400. Maunal seats have given way to |
| particular car in our youth that brings back fond | | | | 8-way adjustable power seats. Is this really |
| memories of cruising the streets on Friday nights. | | | | necessary? Hand-operated levers work fine for a |
| Maybe we remember going to Drive-in movies with | | | | fraction of the cost. While we're on the subject of |
| our date's head resting on our shoulder. Perhaps it | | | | seats, what's up with heated seats? My solution? |
| was simply the sound of our particular car's engine, | | | | Wear a coat.Cruise control is a nice feature to have |
| which could range from anything to a soft purr or a | | | | if you travel frequently on desolate stretches of |
| horsepower-laden monsterous growl as we rolled | | | | Interstate somewhere such as the Dakotas or |
| down the highway. Perhaps some of us are too | | | | Montana, but it's impractical in heavy traffic, which is |
| young to have experienced the era in which these | | | | increasing as each day goes by. I can't count the |
| cars roamed the earth, but we have nevertheless | | | | number of times I've had to hit the "cancel" button |
| been influenced by our elders and appreciate what | | | | as I gain rapidly on somebody in a Buick Lesabre who |
| once was. Whatever the reasons may be, there is | | | | has been in bifocals since the Kennedy Administration |
| nothing quite like finding others who share these | | | | going fifty miles an hour. I can live without it.Perhaps |
| feelings and enjoy the cameraderie and rewarding | | | | the most pretentious feature to ever come along in |
| experiences that are all part of being in such a | | | | today's cars is the Satellite Navigation System. If you |
| group.My particular love is old Volkswagen Beetles. I | | | | want to save thousands of dollars, I have some |
| have been a member of the Chippewa Valley | | | | suggestions. A)If you feel the need to know what |
| Volkswagen Club, based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for | | | | direction you are going, go to Wal-Mart and buy a |
| over three years. We go on many cruises, other | | | | compass for six dollars. B) Look out your window |
| outings, and hold our own show annually. During the | | | | and note the location of the sun. Unless you live on |
| original Beetle's lifespan, which ran from it's infancy in | | | | the planet Venus, it rises in the east and sets in the |
| 1938 Nazi Germany up until 2003, when the very last | | | | west. Now look at your watch. C) On cloudy days, |
| "Bug," as it was lovingly called, rolled off the assembly | | | | try reading highway signs. They will tell you whether |
| line in Puebla, Mexico, over 21.5 million were produced. | | | | you're going east, west, north, or south.Come to |
| As a result, there are still thousands of them on | | | | think of it, this works on sunny days as well. D) Go |
| roads today, and clubs such as mine are dedicated to | | | | to a gas station or, more likely in this day and age, a |
| the preservation of these unique cars. We also | | | | food mart, and buy a map. This will cost about five |
| support other clubs throughout the states of | | | | dollars. If you're lost, ask the attendant how to get |
| Wisconsin and Minnesota.The Volkswagen Beetle | | | | back on track to wherever you're going. Chances are |
| defined simplicity, something that is quite lacking in | | | | that they'll steer you in the right direction. If he or |
| today's cars, regardless of model. There is no | | | | she can't, find someone who can. Trust me. You |
| question that certain items such as airbags and | | | | don't need to rely on a satellite in orbit hundreds of |
| side-impact crumple zones have acomplished much in | | | | miles above.No-frills cars should still be available as an |
| the way of saving lives, | | | | option for those who share my sentiment. There are |
| but let's go back forty years for a few moments. | | | | undoubtedly many drivers who have become |
| Air-conditioning was considered a luxury in those | | | | accustomed to the above-mentioned features. In |
| days, and only select cars were equipped with it. | | | | fact, there are people who couldn't imagine driving |
| Nearly every car manufactured today has | | | | without them, but should they ever question why |
| air-conditioning as standard equipment. In Wisconsin,I | | | | cars of today cost ten times as much as those of a |
| use it in my 1996 Volkswagen Golf maybe ten days | | | | few decades ago, I have put in my two cent's |
| out of the year. While someone in, say, Phoenix or | | | | worth. Or rather, twenty cents...Pat Sills is an avid |
| Miami would beg to differ, I pose the following | | | | Volkswagen enthusiast and writes articles and |
| question: Does somebody in Fairbanks, Alaska really | | | | feature stories for his club's Newsletter. His first |
| need it?Power windows and locks have also become | | | | novel, REUNIONS, was published in March, 2005. |
| the industry norm. Have we as a society evolved | | | | Check it out at: |
| into such a lazy species that we are incapable of | | | | or at: authorsden. |