The Shot Heard “Round the World

Jay Salser on February 7, 2013

'67 Beetle

The year was 1967. Car makers were tooling in secret for their biggest year ever. Even today, those names send shivers down the spines of the most brawny of men! Names such as Shelby GT 500, Pontiac GTO, Jaguar Bertone Pirana, Ferrari 275 GTB/NART Spyder, Plymouth Belvedere GTX. Yes the competition was fierce.

But what was that? The who? They did what? Yes, Volkswagen had done it again! Masters of the understatement, VW of Germany had added 3 whole miles per hour to one’s driving experience by increasing the power of its latest model to an awesome 53 horses.

But, the real kicker was that sticker which, when the driver’s door opened, could be seen on the A pillar—12 Volt. A lightening bolt in red!

Volkswagen had joined the Real World. The proof would be the astounding number of almost a million ’67 Beetles produced Worldwide, with over 300 thousand making their way onto the streets of the USA.

46 years later, one still can savor the flavor. The 1967 Beetle remains an all-time favorite amongst the Volkswagen Community.

But, I gotta ask you: Could the Police REALLY read the license number more easily because of the improved decklid features? Or was this just Volkswagen’s way of saying—”If you can read it, yuh gotta luv it!”

Posted by Jay Salser

My wife, Neva, and I have been driving and working on VWs since 1976. In fact, we raised our family in these cars. Now, we are retired and enjoy VWs as a hobby. The ’67 Beetle always has been our favorite year. We own a '67 Beetle and a '68 Karmann Ghia.

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  1. Tom Griffin February 7, 2013 at 4:09 am

    Jay, I really enjoyed your writing…but I didn’t want it to stop! It sounded like the beginning to an excellent novel. Thanks for “setting the stage”

  2. timm February 7, 2013 at 6:31 am

    Great post!

    1. Eric February 7, 2013 at 6:56 am

      I agree. Jay is a great resource and is helping us grow.

    2. Jay Salser February 7, 2013 at 7:08 am

      Thanks, TIM…

      Our daughter found the ad at an estate sale, preserved in a nice plastic envelope. She knew that I would like it. She and our son learned to drive in ’67 Beetles and drove them to high school and college. Somehow, the ’67 Beetle has managed to insert itself into our lives and remain embedded there. I once thought that it would be nice to be buried in one of my Bugs! LOL

      jay

  3. Ben Haynes February 7, 2013 at 6:36 am

    I agree! The article makes me want more!

    1. Jay Salser February 7, 2013 at 7:14 am

      Good morning, Ben…

      Thanks for your support of 1967Beetle.com! What a great venue Eric has created. May it live forever.

      jay

      1. Don Barker February 7, 2013 at 10:05 am

        Me, too! I love everything about ’67 VW’s. I’m getting up there close to you, Jay, I just turned ’64. My first car was a ’62 Sunroof and traded it in two years later for a brand new ’67 Zenith Blue/black interior.. Eight VW’s and 46 years later, I’ve got another Zenith Blue one. Keep up the contributions to 1967beetle.com. Love this site!!

        1. Jay Salser February 7, 2013 at 1:34 pm

          Hello, Don…We have owned a number of very nice VWs over the years. Time was when our driveway had at least 4 excellent cars that would put many VWs today to shame. We drove them everywhere! We could jump into one and drive on a road trip to visit relatives. What fun we had! Today, we are content to drive to the VW meetings and on an occasional VW Caravan. BTW–We had a wonder Zenith Blue ’67 which my wife named “Friendly” because he would make certain noises on occasion–which my wife took to be “friendly” noises. LOL jay

  4. Jody Sauvageau February 7, 2013 at 9:42 am

    Creative writing Jay, I like it. Who would have thought you we would be driving, enjoying and talking about these little cars all the years later.

    1. Eric February 7, 2013 at 9:41 pm

      I’m proud to have Jay writing with us!

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