1972 Volkswagen Beetle from North America - Comments

Had to do minor repairs, tune ups, etc.

Had a little bit of rust on the body.

I loved the way it handled in the snow. In Colorado, there were several big snow storms that my car would perform in so well. Once, as I climbed a very steep hill, passing by all the other 4X4's and big rigs, that were supposed to be so superior in the snow, I kept patting the dash board of my little bug, congratulating it for passing all of them on our way up the hill! It was the best car I've ever had for bad road conditions!

Once, after a very bad snow, a tree branch fell on the hood of my bug, and put a large dent in it. I opened the trunk, and pushed hard, and the whole dent popped right out, just like new! Not many cars are able to "un-dent" themselves!

Sure its good in the snow, sure. Chains or spikes on your tires?

Maybe the people driving those slow 4x4s that were supposed to be so superior are just better drivers than you, and recognize that you're supposed to slow down in adverse conditions because the problem is not with going, it's with getting stopped in time. Any fool can boost their old beater up to 60 in 8 inches of snow, but it's not really the smart thing to do in heavy traffic with everybody trying to get to Vail.

Actually, it handles so well in ice and snow, because the engine is above the back tires, and it is rear wheel drive. So... that gives it good traction for obvious reasons.

Re the above comment: wow, the engine over the drive wheels, why hasn't somebody else thought of that? Just think, if most cars had the engine over the drive wheels, nobody would need snow tires because of all the good traction.

Now, where can I find a car like that...

Buy a new Porche...

Regardless of the drivetrain layout, the weight of the vehicle is always tranferred to the rear upon acceleration. In an FF layout, the weight of the engine may be above the drive wheels, but some is "lifted off" when accelerating.

RR cars like the Beetle, Porsche, and Corvair already have the engine in the back so upon acceleration, it's like adding more weight to your drive wheels. Just look up "1960 Corvair" on Youtube for some amazing demonstrations of rear engine traction. All done on bias ply tires too.

Volkswagen bugs/beetles were always excellent in winter conditions and I drove one through the monster blizzards of the mid-70's in the midwest to know. They work so well because the narrow tires dig into snow without floating, they have very high ground clearance for a car, and they don't have enough horsepower to cause the tires to lose traction. The wind will blow them around pretty badly, but on snow, they really are great. The lack of heat and weak defrosts are another story.