Oh, Okay. You Can Have Your Bus Back...

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I can't help agreeing with whoever posted on the story's page that the insurer missed a golden opportunity, here. The VO guy says, "In fairness, she did get paid for it..." Yeah, in the '80s. What did she have to pay to buy it back? The going price of something like that is ten times (or more) what it was thirty years ago. And she says she sent money to the guy in Germany. I'd say she's been robbed twice, but I'll admit it just may be worth that to have a family member back...

Wolfsburg Changes It Up Again

Supposedly, the changes VW is making to the 2011 New Beetle (see: Pseudo Beetle) are going to make the beast a "manlier" car. No more does Wolfsburg want their asphalt bubble to come across as wheels for chicks. Apparently, there's no longer enough money in making "cute" cars. They've chopped the roof and widened the stance, added creases and squared the tail lights; and it looks like they've taken a page out of Porsche's book (okay, who can blame them?) and integrated the exhaust into the back bumper. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't look bad. It's just that it's still just a rounded Golf (albeit a little less rounded). And the engine is still in the wrong darn place. I am not ashamed to say that I much prefer my air cooled Beetle to anything spewing out of Wolfsburg these days.

You can, of course, judge for yourself. Examiner.com has posted a few photos for those non-purists who want to ogle. Heck, even I took a look purely out of morbid curiosity. It looks like a squared-up, flattened New Beetle. If that's your bag, have at. I understand they may even take another page out of Porsche's book and put a boxer engine in the back in the near future. At least then, you could almost call it a Bug.

Mr. Tow helps "Big" Star

I admit: I never read Via, the AAA periodical that comes to our house since we got our membership. Last night, though, my wife pointed to an article and said, "You might like this one." I'm tempted to say that it's eerie how often my wife is right, but in this case I think it's just a matter of having been married to me for as long as she has. The article involved a "green Volkswagen Bus."

Apparently, Tom Hanks (you know, the movie star) and his brother were tooling around the West Utah Desert in said Bus when they ran out of gas, and Mr. Tow was called upon for help. So, see, now I'm going to have to up my Netflix rating on any movie involving Mr. Hanks. If he drives a Bus, he must be a better actor than I've ever given him credit for (not that I've been especially stingy with credit for that guy anyway).

You can even see a clip on Vimeo (conveniently embedded here) of Mr. Hanks telling the story on the David Letterman Show:

Tom's Syncro Westy Adventure from Ryan Alfonso on Vimeo.

More Christmas Than YOU!

Every now and then a great idea comes to you like a bolt of lightning. While the jury may still be out on whether or not this qualifies as one of those lightning bolts of brilliance, I still can't keep from grinning every time I walk out the front door in the morning.

I present to you the first annual Yule-wagen, the Bah Hum-Bug.

Some might be inclined to point out that the house is already encircled by 150 empty milk carton/luminaries and that a rotting VW carcass might just be going a little too far, but I beg to differ. Some months ago I noticed about six Volkswagens sitting in the equipment yard of one of the contractors that I use. When I pitched the idea of him loaning me one for the holidays he didn't even think twice. His eyes just widened as he exclaimed,"that is the best idea ever!" Not a week later he showed up one evening with a flatbed trailer carrying my Christmas lawn ornament and some heavy machinery to place it. (My parents are just hoping he remembers to come pick it back up after the holidays)

My father graffiti-ed the side, some garland and wreaths were graciously donated and a friend helped string the lights. This much Christmas magic is hard to pass up.

The Tetanus Bug Rides Again

I So Want One of These

Yeah, sorry. All I've got is "I WANT ONE!"

WC12 on Vimeo

Josh Clason created a simply AWESOME video at this year's Wasatch Classic VW Show. Well done, man! Well done:

Wasatch Classic 2010 from Josh Clason on Vimeo.