I’ve always had a lot of interests, but likely the big three would be music, cars and film. Few people in the film business had a larger-than-life career (and life as well) as John Huston. While known primarily as a director, he was also a masterful writer as well as actor, and in addition an accomplished artist. While he helmed films as diverse as The Maltese Falcon, Moby Dick and Annie, his best work (warning; spoiler alert) centered on the theme of people willing to go to great lengths, often outside the law, to obtain that which in the end eludes them or is revealed to have no real value. Thus ended the first part of my Karmann-Ghia story.
I was back in my red Beetle, but poring over the classified ads looking for a replacement. (For you younger people, this was like your local Craigslist, but on paper.) Remember, this was 1978, when the average age of cars on the road in America was 6.3 years. (At 11.9 in 2020 this figure has nearly doubled.) The K-G’s lifespan ended with the 1974 model year, so they were getting to be, to quote Raymond Chandler, “as rare as a fat postman.” (Another metaphor that might go over the head of those who remember when your mail carrier walked from house to house.) In the Midwest, it was not unusual to see serious rust on some cars after only a few years. (My friend and future brother in law had a 1972 Datsun 510, a really neat little car, but by 1976 it had holes in the fenders above the wheel wells.) It was also pretty much expected that any car with over 50,000 miles on it would leak oil and/or some other fluids. I don’t think any store that sold auto parts at the time would have had a complete inventory without the long, wide and shallow galvanized pans that could be filled with kitty litter to absorb what dripped from your engine and running gear and keep your garage floor clean.
Remarkably, I found a 1969 Garnet Red Karmann-Ghia convertible in a nearby suburb, offered by the original owner. Along with my now even more skeptical dad, we took a look and a drive. On the plus side, the car appeared to be in decent shape, both inside and out exhibiting normal wear but little to show any signs of neglect. The exterior paint was showing some oxidization in spots, but no visible rust or dents. It also sported the second generation taillights that I preferred. They had the longest run and were the most familiar. I know, it’s a small detail, but small details count.
(A sidebar: If you remember, the available Volkswagen palette changed rather dramatically around 1970, from the rather conventional and staid hues to much brighter colors (almost as if influenced by the art of Peter Max). I was told decades ago that this also marked the change to an acrylic based enamel. I do know that the paint on the 1970 and beyond models aged very differently, becoming somewhat “chalky” with age, as my 1971 had been prior to its repaint.)
On the down side, it still had black Leatherette. And, it was another “Autostick.” (A friend said, I guess they’ve built enough to guarantee that’s all you’re going to get.) In addition, while the 1971 had a glass rear window complete with a defroster, this had what was likely the original top with the clear vinyl that became opaque as time passed. And some time had passed.
And yet, to quote Blaise Pascal, “The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.” For $900 it was mine. The window was a simple fix. Our friend knew a guy who owned a top shop (of course he did!) and for a nominal sum he was able to replace the not-so-clear window with a clear one. And for about a month or so, everything was Jake as they used to say. But perhaps inching towards the territory of Jake Gittes? Was I catching a subconscious whiff of John Huston’s secondhand cigar smoke at this time?
It began with a distinct loss of power. I felt like I was thrashing the car, and yet it was driving like the parking brake was partly engaged. And the mileage began to plummet. I brought it to my Volkswagen specialist and the valves and head gaskets were shot.
Now, the perverse beauty of the air-cooled Volkswagens was, early on, the life expectancy of an engine was not long, and as replacement of major components or the engine itself was accepted as a necessary form of repair, they were built with that in mind (much like the power plants of the single engine airplanes that they closely resemble). And so, for just under $300 he performed the necessary repairs and I was back on the road.
While not necessarily a head-turner like the yellow Ghia was, it turned out to be a perfectly serviceable car. Early in the fall I had to replace the muffler, and instead of the stock unit (or the many available knock-offs that sold for much less) I instead went with what used to be termed an “extractor” system, which was like a header system that resembled someone’s arms crossed in front of their chest. These were originally manufactured by EMPI I believe, and were ubiquitous on the early Meyer’s Manx and Manx knock-off dune buggies built on shortened VW floorpans. The outlet was in the center of the rear with a triangular three bolt flange, to which I mounted a single glass pack off to the side. The sound, to me, was terrific. I loved driving in a parking garage with the top down. So what if it just had an AM radio? I was listening to motor music. (And while you may think this a rather juvenile pleasure, these days both VW and BMW electronically augment the engine sounds inside the cabin of some of their cars.) Of course, coupled with the Autostick it sounded much faster than you were actually going, but it was a fun, cheap thrill.
I had two unique occurrences with this car. One night I had raced to the Ozark hangar to put in my bids for the next month. (Crew assignments changed each month and you bid for your preferences and the schedules were assigned in seniority order. We had to physically stuff a piece of paper into a box before 6:00 am the day bids closed, and even then being a deadline worker I usually waited until the last minute.) On my way home, the car suddenly pulled to the left. Once I stopped, it was nearly impossible to move the car and I had to have it towed. It turned out to be a brake caliper that locked up. First and only time I have experienced that.
The second one for the records also occurred at night as I was driving in the right lane of a four-lane road. I experienced a quick “wump-wump” along with two vertical jolts and this time the car pulled to the right. Turned out that a piece of asphalt curbing had somehow come to be placed perpendicular to the street on the right side of the lane and the impact bent both rims to the point where the tires could no longer seal. Fortunately, for reasons I cannot remember, I had removed the spare for a period of time from the previous Ghia and still had it, so once it was towed home I was covered. Fall became winter became spring, and I was beginning to become tempted by the “all new” 1979 Mustang. (Which I first wrote about almost exactly seven years ago.) At the same time, the work of the dreaded “tin worm” was beginning to become noticeable. Rust was creeping up the rocker panels and ahead of the rear wheels.
By this time, I was ready for something newer, more powerful and with air conditioning. As you can read in my previous story, I ordered my new car in October, but it was not delivered until April. It took nearly that long to sell the Ghia, which I did in March, with a clear conscience to an instructor from a local tech school who was going to have it “restored” as a project for one of his classes. It seems Karmann-Ghias have become much more popular in the last decade, especially the early, “low light” models. I look upon them with appreciation, but no longer with the urge to own another. Good thing, as they good ones are way out of my price range. And the not so good ones, well, if it is really, really quiet, listen . . . .
Great, so nice that you had a better Ghia experience the 2nd time.
But two autosticks? That seems so unlikely, I’ve only ever seen one in my life.
I think it’s pretty safe to say that the Autostick was created with the US in mind. A way to get automatic drivers into a VW, especially a K-G, as that was a significantly more expensive impulse buy. I did notice that the percentage of autostick K-G’s was higher than on Beetles.
My first ride was in a red Karmann Ghia, a 1958 or 1959 model my parents owned. And a former law partner drove a red Ghia convertible (either a 69 or a 71, I no longer recall) for nearly a decade – an eternity for him. As much as I love the idea of them, I am beginning to think that Ghia ownership will elude me, so I always love reading experiences like these.
You remind me of how far an old but serviceable car has moved in value. $7-900 was the sweet spot in the late 70s for a by-owner car about 10 years old and pretty clean. By the 90s that figure was around $2k for the same thing but maybe 12-15 years old and today it seems to be close to $4k.
Count me as another John Huston fan. The Jake Gittes reference did not escape me – it has been way too long since I have watched Chinatown.
KG’s are getting really light on the streets. Out here in coastal CA, I still see bugs and Westys, but that’s about it.
Aircooled engines were tough old buggers, but they do require a lot of tinkering, which is why so many drivers of old VWs are or get turned into shade tree mechanics. Every 3k miles means another valve adjustment.
Retro Jerry made a lot of references that went over my head (but that were explained well). Fans of John Hughes (not to be confused with John Huston :)) will remember Molly Ringwald’s iconic battered pink Ghia in Pretty in Pink.
Bonus points for alluding to Hammett AND Chandler. 🙂
Nerd note: “The Maltese Falcon” film leans very heavily on the novel, unlike most movies. “The Maltese Falcon” is one of those movies I’ll watch for at least a few minutes every time it’s on.
Huston was actually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, but the “story” is that he simply handed the book to his secretary and instructed her to type it in script format. Both Huston and Hitchcock were experienced visual artists and rarely if ever shot a scene with more than one set-up. (Hitchcock was famous for elaborately storyboarding each scene and sequence, knowing in advance exactly what he wanted in the frame.) I recall reading that when filming his last movie, The Dead, the studio questioned Huston’s request for film stock, as it was about half of what would normally be ordered. He may have done more than one take of a scene if necessary, but hardly ever to change how it was photographed.
Huston was pretty rare in that he was a great director AND a pretty good actor; I guess Orson Welles was the only one who really surpassed him in that regard, although I’m sure I’m missing others.
Regarding Hitchcock – Did any director have a hot streak like he had in the ’50s (by today’s critical standards, not box office standards)?
Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, North by Northwest, among others, all were released between 1954 and 1959. Those alone would have cemented his reputation.
Hitch had his hot and cold periods. In the late ’40s to the early ’50s he had a few misfires, then as you point out enjoyed a great streak that continued through Psycho until The Birds. Then he seemed to stumble along (to me anyway) until his his penultimate film and final masterpiece, Frenzy.
Don’t forget Barbara Bel Geddes and her very nice Karmann-Ghia in Vertigo.
And parked next to a DKW Schnellaster, no less.
Always like to hear from a fellow “hardboiled” fan. If you read my previous K-G article and this one, therein lies a mystery along the lines of who killed Owen Taylor.
I’ve always liked this line from “The Big Sleep”:
“What did it matter where you lay when you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on top of a high hill?”
Chandler gets some credit but maybe not enough for his phrasing, in all his books really. I think I’ve read most, if not all, of his novels, and too few of his short stories.
Back to Hitch: I always liked Bel Geddes’s K-G in Vertigo (along with Jimmy Stewart’s DeSoto and Kim Novak’s Jag), but I always had a hard time suspending my disbelief about the ages of the main characters. Stewart was about 50 when he filmed Vertigo, and Barbara Bel Geddes’s character holding a torch for him since the old college days was a little tough to imagine. But what do I know? 🙂
I would be considered “well read,” but Chandler is hands down my all time favorite writer. That may label me as a Philistine, but so be it. Perceptive as hell and able to communicate his observations in a language that has often been imitated (boy, has it ever) but never been equaled.
From The Long Goodbye (1953): “There ain’t no clean way to make a hundred million bucks,” Ohls said. “Maybe the head man thinks his hands are clean but somewhere along the line guys got pushed to the wall, nice little businesses got the ground cut from under them and had to sell out for nickels, decent people lost their jobs, stocks got rigged on the market, proxies got bought up like a pennyweight of old gold, and the five per centers and the big law firms got paid hundred-grand fees for beating some law the people wanted but the rich guys didn’t, on account of it cut into their profits. Big money is big power and big power gets used wrong. It’s the system. Maybe it’s the best we can get, but it still ain’t any Ivory Soap deal.”
Vertigo was a box office dud when it was released, and Hitch blamed Stewart’s age. Stewart was eager to star in Hitchcock’s next project, tentatively titled “The Man in Lincoln’s Nose” which of course later became “North by Northwest.” Hitch was notoriously averse to any kind of direct confrontation so he delayed the project until Stewart was signed for another film.
The best part was that Cary Grant was older than Stewart…but he didn’t look it.
I’ve never ridden in a KG, although I’ve thought it would be a neat car to own. I drove an autostick Bug once (friend’s in college), and it took me a little while to sort out shifting smoothly.
My red 1969 KG coupe is a four speed, but I specifically looked for a ’69 for the newer mechanicals with the oldest styling. IRS, 12 volts, dual circuit front disc brakes, but 1960 style bumpers and lights. A previous owner removed the side reflectors and lost the backup lights when it was repainted.
My brother still has his 60- something convertible KG (still awaiting the restart of a stalled restoration!) and I’ve never had the opportunity to experience an Autostick VW, which by one line of thinking is a good thing! 🙂
My brother Bob wrote about this car that we shared as teenagers for Karmann-Ghia Obsession Part 1. I believe it was a ’67. As much as we loved the car, we too endured the ridiculous Autostick feature. Anyone inadvertently leaning into the shift lever received an unpleasant jolt. My boyfriend and I learned quickly that affection while this car was in motion was verboten!
A guy in high school had an Autostick Beetle, and I remember grabbing the gear shift on purpose to fluster him. He was pretty much the only guy in my circle of friends who couldn’t drive a stick. Come to think of it, pretty much all the moms and dads also drove manual transmission cars. Not just used car prices and used car ad media were different then.
What became of all of these? They were fairly common in the 80s but all vanished. Since they were collectible, I should think they should not have been junked.
How nice that your second experience turned out to be better and you got a second chance to have your dream car.
I think that vws ended up being tinkered on so much for two reasons. It was possible for a home mechanic to do a lot to them and the rest of the car lasted long enough to make it worth fixing the engines. For most other cars, by the time engines needed replacing, the whole car was worn out.
There’s several within a few blocks of my house. They’re probably mostly hiding in garages like most collectibles.
There’s a guy up the street with a beautiful orange VW Thing that I’ve never seen on the road; I’ve only seen it on the times I’ve walked by and the garage was open.
Mine is currently not registered and hiding in my airport hangar. One collector car on the road at a time. The Thing is currently registered/insured. Another friend has his KG under a tarp in his yard. A lot of survivors are not on the road for one reason or another. What did cause many to be junked was the high cost of collision repairs due to body construction, no bolt on fenders and lead filled seams.
The trouble with Ghias is that they rust and the bodies, being effectively 1 piece apart from opening panels, are as costly to repair as the 356s made alongside them. On a cheap car this did not make economic sense, so many got junked. With over 400,000 made one would hope to see more survivors, though….
I included a photo with my last post but it did not show up. I’ll try again
It needs to be reduced, to no more than 1200 pixels max. in either direction (width or height) in order to be posted.
I have a ’71 Coupe as my daily driver (although I keep it out of the salt) and its a charming little ride. It does all the “car things” I need and the way it starts on the turn of the key is always encouraging. One can get pretty much all mechanical parts and heaps of tuning parts, which makes it easy and cheap to keep on the road for a 50 year old car and basic simplicity means roadside repairs can be carried out. It gets the most positive comments of any car I have ever had and is fun to work on as I perform my “running restoration”. You also have to use all 48DIN HP to keep up with traffic, which is fun. On the interstate it does 75 without too much effort, so you long trips can be entertained. Of course, you need to drive defensively, as any entanglement with an F150 is going to be a whole bowl of not good for the KG and me….
So, I’m still pleased i replaced my 21st Century electric with this weird little vehicle, designed in the ’50s, based on ’30s technology and made in the early ’70s. This’ll be a keeper and my little son already has his eyes on it. If there is no gas available by then, we’ll convert it to electric – there are a number of EV conversions already available….
Okay — last try.
Great picture, if maybe a bit too small. 🙂
Nice to see you’re still dropping by.
Here’s my ’71 KG – needs paint and missing a piece of trim, but still providing transport….
Nice looking car – love the 70’s green! Wonder if it’s the same shade you see on a lot of 912s
The color is “Willow” and it does seem similar to the ’71 Porsche “safety color” of Emerald (Viper) Green….
The color and the light in this photo really bring out the unique front and rear fender lines and how they are both carried and end on the door panel, the front above and the rear below. A contrast to what might have been more the prevailing style from the mid-century, with the rear ascending and the front descending slightly so they would meet under the door handle as one.
True, and the basic theme was used in a later VW coupe. That one had a bit more power, though….
I had a ’65 Ghia hardtop in HS, bought it cheap, it had the nose and headlamp area pushed in, pulled out the damage somewhat but never completed the repair in auto shop and sold it soon after.
Drove an autostick Beetle a few times, if you shifted it like a 3 speed it moved out pretty well, but needed to take care not to forget there is no clutch pedal. If you did the wider brake pedal would slam on the brakes, I remember a time when I did just that, and the guy that was behind me was none too pleased.
It’s funny you mention the changeover to acrylic paint for the 1970 models. My 1969 red Beetle was in a hailstorm in summer 1970. The local body shop that repaired the roof incorrectly used the new acrylic paint and it quickly faded to pink by the following summer. My cousin who ran a bodyshop in a neighboring town pointed out the error, and repainted the roof with the correct enamel for the cost of the paint only. He did great work and was a real asset to the family!
I drove one of the first autostick Beetles that came in to the local VW dealer in 1968. They used it as a demonstrator. This was back in the day when you could leave your car overnight for service (mine was a 1963 Beetle) and take home a new demonstrator for a day’s trial run. It didn’t take a day to determine this was not a worthwhile option: a real slug and no fun to drive.
If it faded that quickly, it was cheap pigment, not because it was acrylic resin. Detroit changed over to acrylic paints by about 1960. I repainted my ’67 and other cars with DuPont acrylic enamel and had extremely long-lasting results.
My yellow ’70 KG coupe rusted and suffered a Viking death in summer 1986 when it caught on fire somewhere in the engine bay. It was traced to possibly the voltage regulator and was totaled and towed. It originally came with A/C as the engine had a second belt pulley in front of the first one and there were AC lines and fittings under the car, plus a couple of holes under the dash.
I was posted to Europe to be an experimental test pilot with Erprobungstelle, the west German equal of NASA under a contract with my employer, Lockheed. So after I had a wonderful time with my 61 beetle (bought for $1888.88 from Hollywood Motors and they delivered it to me in the Valley) Dad decided he wanted me to pick one up but he wanted the KG. I tried to interest him in a new 356C but he thought Porsches were just VWs with a fancy name. (Not entirely untrue in those early years ). We still have the KG and winning car show awards but the 356 would have been worth $100,000 at least. Also currently enjoying my Cal Look 65 bug,
My other VW 65 Cal Look with Fuchs wheels (what else?)
Never had an aircooled VW but my Dad had a ’59 Beetle (but it got totalled). Our neighbor/his co-worker’s daughter had the Karman Ghia. Dad drove Beetles when in the Army in Germany in the early 50’s, guess they didn’t all use Jeeps (also drove Diamond Rio Truck there).
I’ve been a watercooler for 40 years now, having first bought a ’78 Scirocco (which of course was Ghia replacement) after my ’74 Datsun 710 bit some cable guardrail outside of White River Junction on I89 in January 1981. Wanted FWD instead of a (light) RWD car for traction. Only owned (3) VWs, no other makes, since then, including my current ’00 Golf.
A friend of mine owned a Karman Ghia back in the day, said it was the smallest car he ever drove…by comparison I’m sure the Scirocco was actually roomy being a hatchback…but though it was great for 22 year old me, probably not so much for (now) 62 year old me (hence the Golf, and even it is 21 years old).