{"id":652,"date":"2012-06-22T08:31:32","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T15:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickdebruhl.com\/?p=652"},"modified":"2012-06-22T08:32:08","modified_gmt":"2012-06-22T15:32:08","slug":"what-is-a-vw-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/?p=652","title":{"rendered":"What is a VW Thing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

VW Thing is not a nickname.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Yes, it's a Thing! In this case a 1973.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back in the 70s, Volkswagen started importing the Type 181 into the US. The 181 was the indirect spawn of the WW II Kubelwagen which was Germany’s version of the Jeep. In 1969, VW decided to produce the next generation. Called the Kurierwagen, it was based on the Beetle. Mexico actually played a big part because VWs were popular there, but buyers wanted something a little sturdier for the back roads. Down there it was called the Safari.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Officially the Thing is a cabriolet. Bottom line, no top.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 181 arrived in the US in 1973 and was promptly named, The Thing. I wish I knew the story of how they got the name. Was it at the end of an exhausting marketing meeting where no one could come up with something better? Was it a result of VW’s simple marketing strategy in the 60s? Whatever prompted the name, it actually makes sense. When people see one they aren’t quite sure what it is. It looks like a cross between a Beetle and a corrugated shed. Interestingly, it was called the Trekker in the UK, although it never sold well in that part of the world.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Notice the ride height difference between Beetle and Thing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While it’s based on the Beetle, it’s not exactly the same.\u00a0It sits taller\u00a0and parts were drafted from other VWs (floor pans from the Karmann Ghia, transaxles from the split window bus).\u00a0While it looks stripped down, the price was pumped up. It cost more than $3,100 which was 50% more than a stock Beetle.<\/p>\n

It’s not supposed to be sophisticated off road machine. It is supposed to be the kind of car you can bang around and not feel guilty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Thing is pretty spartan inside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About 25,000 were imported into the US before\u00a0VW stopped importing them in 1980. While I’m not sure how many survived, we do see them fairly regularly at the Barrett Jackson auctions. It’s amazing how much effort people put into restoring them into better than new\u00a0condition. These days they fall more into the cute niche\u00a0than the lets-go-thrash-it-in-the-backwoods category.<\/p>\n

The good part is that even people who know nothing about them can point as they drive by and say, “Nice Thing.” And they’re right.<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for the world of Things, start with the 181 Worldwide Registry.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/fb:like><\/fb:like><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VW Thing is not a nickname. Back in the 70s, Volkswagen started importing the Type 181 into the US. The 181 was the \n [...]<\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collectorcarinformation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p27JFw-aw","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":667,"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions\/667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carcentrick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}