FOND MEMORIES OF THE 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. I owned one of these for years. It wasn’t as reliable as we thought, but it wasn’t bad and it was easy to work on except for the limited engine-compartment space. It had great traction. I once took it up a muddy road in Vermont to Rob Merges’s brother’s cabin — really muddy, like over-the-hubcaps muddy — and Bruce said “hey, nobody’s ever made it up that road when it’s like this without a four-wheel drive.” (To prove his superior mechanical skills, he also said that the #3 cylinder sounded like it was running hot, and sure enough I had a burn-through a few months later. Then again, the #3 cylinder always ran hot on these cars because of the oil-cooler positioning.) The picture in this one looks like a later model than mine, though — more slots on the rear hood and bigger taillights/turn signals.