Today’s forecast high in Chicago is a whopping 95° F (35° C), just as I have a very special guest arriving – my mother. Thank goodness my new air conditioner blows really cold. As time has marched on, and no matter what stage of adulthood I’ve progressed through, it seems there will always be a part of me that reverts back to the me that I was before my college-aged independence whenever I’m around immediate family members, especially my elders.
Sometimes, that’s a good thing. Other times, it has seemed of questionable benefit to my psyche. I’ve come to realize that no matter where I stand with anyone I’m related to, I’ve been given one set of blood-related family members, so I try to take everything with a grain (sometimes, hailstone) of salt. We don’t have to like everybody, but we should try to love others, anyway, whatever that looks like.
What does any of this have to do with our featured car? Summertime in Flint, Michigan, where and when I grew up, was a magical place and time, often filled with afternoons of gliding down the slip-n-slide under the lawn sprinkler in our backyard (you have to add just a little bit of dish soap to really fly), playing tag in our front yard by the birch tree, riding bikes, and hearing the tinkling bells of the ice cream truck. When I had seen this mildly customized Karmann Ghia in my neighborhood almost six years ago, its color scheme reminded me of one of my favorite frozen treats – the grape creamsicle.
I’m normally pretty strict about what I eat during the week, but when I have company, all bets are off. The main goals for today will be to stay hydrated, out of the sun (Mom is very, very fair skinned and freckly), and most importantly, staying cool. If we happen to pass an ice cream cart, vendor stand, or convenience store during our adventures, a grape creamsicle just might have to be purchased and consumed on the spot. I’ll just have to remember not to wear a white t-shirt today. Happy Friday, everyone.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Saturday, November 9, 2013.
Whoa, a Dominick’s. That’s how you know it’s not a recent photo. Isn’t that the Whole foods now on Broadway?
You got it!
I think I would prefer the genuine Grape Creamsickle to this four wheeled version. I like Ghias. I like 2 tone cars. I can even deal with purple and white. But as much as I might admire the craftsmanship that went into this one, the design of the two tone scheme fights with the graceful Exner-esque lines of this mini Chrysler K-310.
But it is not my car. It is good that someone is caring for it and preserving it for the future.
And yes, it is a funny dynamic when a parent comes to stay with an adult child. I am on the other end of that one this weekend as we are staying with an adult son. It is not always easy being good guests. 🙂
I had never made the Virgil Exner connection before, until you mentioned it. I totally see it.
I hope you have a good visit! I’ve already Mom-proofed my home, so hopefully nothing gets thrown out or broken. 😉. It will be good to have her here.
The Ghias body is best left monochrome it speaks for itself.
One of my favorite treats is a Dairy Queen Blizzard with Chocolate Covered Cherries and Pecans. (Vanilla ice cream whipped up with cherries, hot fudge and walnut like pecans). It’s sweet, fruity, chocolaty and crunchy—and it reminds me of black forest cherry tart.
The color scheme on this car is not at all reminiscent of that. It’s more like “Quetschenkuchen” (Good luck pronouncing that one!) Quetschen are a variety of plums. They are smaller and more acidic. They are pitted, cut into wedges and placed on top of a pie crust. The Quetschen are covered with a good load of sugar and then baked. The acid will tingle your tongue and make you salivate like biting into a lemon.
It’s an acquired taste for sure. This color scheme is for people who like strong contrast. I think it could work on a rectilinear first generation VW Golf. The curvy-linear design of the Ghia deserves a more mellow treatment, like strawbery -banana maybe and it should follow those curvy lines.
Wolfgang, both the Blizzard and the Quetschenkuchen you described sound *delicious*. The irony is that yesterday, Mom and I were within one block of a DQ. 🙂
That’s a ‘70 or ‘71 FYI. The earlier style bumpers but the larger tail lights point to that.
‘72-‘74 had the bigger squared bumpers and even larger tails and turn signals.
Thanks, Adam. The amber section on the taillamp lenses threw me. Must have been sourced from a vendor of non-U.S.-specific parts. The bumpers also should have been an easy tell. Mea culpa.
Being a huge VW nerd, I can’t help myself in situations like this haha.
This post made me smile for that same reason. I love seeing these things still out and about even if the color scheme is less than flattering
You are correct, it screams for icecream we all scream for icecream. In a 71 I have to a 71 targa top and a 73 convertible Karmann Ghia. Love them both. Cool photo
nice find Joe.
It often catches me out when a car usually seen in a single tone is caught two tone, especially an unusual format like this one. This seems to really change the proportions, making it seem taller and shorter.
Roger, I’ll agree that the body sculpting on the KG does not lend itself particularly well to a two-tone paint scheme. Kind of like some of those ’70s Monte Carlos from ’76 or ’77. However, I love the great gusto with which the owner had customized his ride. 🙂
I would agree that that particular two tone treatment doesn’t really compliment the body design. I like the rear fenders but it fails to tie into the front end. While I was growing up Karmann Ghias were never a big favorite of mine. Lately I’ve started to appreciate their subtle proportions. However now that Porsche 356s and 911s have gone gotten way to expensive for me these might still be a barely affordable alternative. After this, I might have to settle for a VW based kit car like that Gazelle!
Joseph, I hope that you enjoyed that visit with your Mother. The transition from child to independent adult is hard for some parents and older relatives to handle. My parents and older family members have all passed on. My children are all grown up. Now I’ve transitioned to the role of family elder. I try to respect my children and younger relatives independence and maturity but of course, I’m only human. Lucky for me, they do cut me a little slack, but I don’t abuse the privilege!
Jose, thank you so much. My forties have proved to be that weird tipping point where the roles of being taken care of and watching out for someone else are making / have made that subtle transition.
Great find from your archives Joseph. The Karmann Ghia is one of those cars that brings so much whimsy to any photo. I miss the charm the KG, the Thing, and the Bug simultaneously brought to the roads. The owner is obviously having fun accessorizing theirs. Pleasant surprise for a November day.
This heat wave is affecting large swaths of the continent, but thankfully, doesn’t appear long-lived. Your humidity in Chicago is what must make it tough for folks. Thoughtful of you to ensure your mom stays nice and cool. We get that severe humidity here in Southern Ontario as well.
In a strange way, I kind of miss some of the kitschy accessories people would add to their cars. Branded mud flaps, was a popular 70s phenomena in Canada. So many owners would add these cheap vinyl flaps to their cars, mostly with the intent of keeping road salt and rocks off the bodywork. Much of the time, they’d create road hazards when large stone-like frozen masses of accumulated slush from the flaps, would fall to the road. And following drivers would have to swerve to avoid them. Or hear the repeated ‘thunk’ of them bouncing upward against the floorboards as you pass over them. The flaps consistently looked so tacky, especially in white. And particularly on premium domestic cars, typically driven by older guys with matching white leather shoes and belts.
Enjoy a great weekend!
Thank you, Daniel. In a way, this KG reminds me a little bit of the hypothetical result if the game show “Supermarket Sweep” had been played at the local Pep Boys shop. (But not in a bad way.)
Here’s my little DD ’71 Ghia and a friend in the company car park – also near Chicago…..
I’ve never had a grape creamsicle. I’ve had orange creamsicles, but not a grape one. Now you’ve made me curious!
I haven’t seen one of these in years. I grew up in a college town, and a fair number of students drove them in the 1970s. The VW ads at the time played up the car’s beauty, as a contrast to the “homely” Beetle. For some reason, it sticks in my mind that about 80 percent of them were either forest green or orange.
If I recall correctly, a character in a late 1950s Alfred Hitchcock movie drove one of these, when they were still quite rare in the U.S.
I don’t recall ever hearing of a grape creamsicle before today; the orange ones for sure but no other flavors.
I always thought that the Karmann Ghia was a good looking car, especially before the humongoid bumpers got added on. It is just too bad that the car doesn’t have the performance to back up the looks; as I recall the KG had the same drivetrain as a Type I and it weighs considerably more, perhaps as much as 15% more. One of my dreams (for when I win the Powerball) is to find a Karmann Ghia in good condition and then replace the Beetle drive train with the four cylinder engine/five speed transmission found in the Porsche 912. Of course it would be easier and cheaper just to acquire the Porsche and drive that. Maybe if I had enough money I could do both-:)
Based on 1974 US spec brochures, the weight penalty is only six percent. Due to better aerodynamic shape, Ghia performance is still better with exactly the same power and gearing. Top speed, KG: 90 mph, Beetle: 81 mph. 0-60 mph acceleration, KG 18.5 sec, Beetle: 19.5 sec. This is for manual transmission cars and, yes, this seems glacial by today’s standards, but we are looking at 46 hp @ 4000 rpm.
The 2L 912E engine had 86 hp @ 4900 rpm. One could build a similar engine for a KG, based on VW Type I style parts, for not that much money.
5-speed transaxle conversion is a lot more involved, and may not gain you that much.
The paint job reminds me of the dazzle camouflage on WWI ships. Maybe the VW owner is trying to avoid police radar? 😉
Years ago we visited Chicago during a hot spell. I remember buying some excellent lemonade in Grant Park and finding a spot where someone had dumped a cooler after a picnic. Jen took off her shoes and stood in the ice pile for a few minutes.