The classic VW Beetle was the catalyst, my automotive ground zero, where my love of classic cars all started.
The year was 2005. I was nine years old. According to my Mom, I have loved cars since I was very young, but this is my earliest automotive memory. The moment when I came into car consciousness. The movie was Herbie: Fully Loaded. The instant I saw that shape, it was all over. It was a car that looked like nothing else I had ever seen, like some sort of spaceship! The very idea that someone could own and drive something like that was mind blowing.
I grew up in the early to mid 2000’s where cars had mostly looked long, blobby, and over all very dull, especially to the mind of a young car enthusiast. My Mom had a gold Ford Taurus just like the one you see above. It was a fine vehicle, but it didn’t get the mind racing like that little Bug could. As soon as I got to school the next day, I went right to the library to start learning all I could about it, devouring book after book on the subject until I had read them all in a week. It was as if I couldn’t get enough!
Now I understand why that’s the case. People on the Autism Spectrum, especially those with Asperger’s Syndrome have minds that become “hooked” on various subjects almost to the point of obsession. They, like me, are unable to think of anything else until they are satisfied they have learned enough to jump to a new subject. Often times, it’s because they have seen or heard something that sparked curiosity. Once they are able to break away from whatever they are hooked on, they often have vast stores of information that may be of interest only to themselves.
Growing up, I have had to learn how to work around my mental peculiarities and move forward in different social situations. Josh, who you see in the background of the opening photo of this piece, has had to patiently wait while I stop to take pictures many times on our walks around town and has often had to make me aware of my surroundings, pointing out no trespassing signs and the like, because I will be so focused on getting pictures of whatever car I have snapped to like a hungry shark.
I didn’t intend this article to turn out the way it did, being an exploration of life with autism, but in a way, it and the VW Beetle are what shaped my automotive interests to this day.
There’s a nice specimen!
For me it was the VW’s my relatives owned, the first Herbie movie I saw in a theatre was “Herbie Goes Bananas” which although not a pinnacle of cinematic achievement I found more compelling than, say Malick’s “The Tree of Life”
Interesting take on the autism, if I’d been a kid now I would definately be diagnosed ADHD. I (mostly) learned to deal with it and married someone who is (mostly) understanding 🙂
Once you figure out what works you just have to go with it..
“they often have vast stores of information that may be of interest only to themselves”
I think you just described most of our CC writers and probably many of our readers and commenters… (c:
The Love Bug was one of the first movies I saw – I was maybe five or six years old (my first movie was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, released the same year). Not long after, a Tonka Beetle showed up in my bedroom that I painted in Herbie colors a few years later after Dad got me started building plastic models.
There’s been a constant Beetle thread running through my whole life, in fact, having been brought home from hospital in Mom & Dad’s ’59, that was almost immediately replaced with a used ’60 Chevy Biscayne.
As it happens, the Beetle is a good choice in support of an Autism discussion, for several reasons:
The car evolved outside conventional behavior of the time. Ferdinand Porsche ignored several “No Trespassing” signs during the design phase, and built a car that did not “fit in” with the mainstream.
The factory then took a very single minded approach to building and refining the car, sticking with the design far longer than most manufacturers.
Beetle aficionados often demonstrate an unusual affinity with the car, memorizing minutia and arcane details at a level others may find excessive.
All these facts made the Beetle a great choice for a nine year old to fixate on, since there were many books and article on the topic to explore and digest.
Yeah, its almost unthinkable in the modern era of the car business that the same platform and car would have a 40+ yr lifecycle.
Be thankful you know what you have now and at a much younger age, and learning life skills that will help you seem more normal or less “quirky” (or off-putting) to the neuro-typicals. Just remember that no two autistics are alike (I learned that from my mentor (of sorts, the smartest man I know personally who revels in being an “Aspie”, a term I despise).
Oh, and about a third of AS types also have ADHD. Many have poor facial recognition skills (remembering people by their face). I’m not beset by theses, however, I can’t read people’s non-verbal cues to save my life, it was because of this (mostly) that I got diagnosed at age 46 after suffering a string of social “car-crashes” (mostly personal, some were professional) over the decades. Probably the most important lesson was to stop offering my opinion and heaps of facts when it wasn’t asked for.
Welcome, Pioneer Fox. My car fixation came via my grandparents Oldsmobiles and my dad’s 1959 MGA and 1948 Plymouth, and for a while I was obsessed with license plates. I moved onto other things, and my wife (one of the few things that did not go wrong in my life) is okay with a dorky husband who reads chess magazines and likes kung fu cinema a little too much.
I will leave it at that. BTW, Christine is an awesome Stephen King book.
It certainly all started with a VW Beetle for me too. My first identifiable memory is of being placed in the rear well of a family friend’s VW as a toddler. That’s what inspired me to write my Auto-Biography series. I came to see (and feel) the VW as an extension of myself, or an alternate body of sorts. I would instantly feel as familiar having my body be a VW as with my current body.
Maybe this condition of mine has a diagnosis too?
I’ve wondered if I’m on the spectrum too, given my obsession with endless facts and minutia. Apparently/presumably not, but I certainly had ADD as a kid, and I still am prone to falling down automotive/historical rabbit holes (see my post tomorrow).
In any case, you’re certainly not alone here. I’ve dealt with a few contributors, one in particular, whose autism symptoms were all-too obvious.
I think we’re all a little autistic on this bus. 🙂
You’re on to something here Paul, we all have at least a tough of Auspieism ’round these parts. 🙂
I, too, fell in love with Beetles thanks to a Herbie movie. I don’t recall which one, but it would have been late 60s/early 70s. I used to sit on my parents’ front stoop, look to the four-lane road at the end of our street, and look for Beetles to pass by. Through that I came to recognize the other cars, too.
Very nice medical explanation on how the VW faithful continue to love and cling to their craptacular vehicles. The normal and unafflicted may try out a VW ‘once’, quickly discover what a steaming pile it is, and never go back.
And what type of car do you prefer?
No real, overriding preference. And that’s kind of the point.
Seems to me that the point was that anyone who likes VWs has some mental defect since they are such horrid cars. Which is a pretty shitty point of view if you ask me
Kind of a cop-out, don’t you think, rudiger? The least you could do is show a little backbone and stand up for your treatise.
I was born in 1948. When the VW began to become popular in the mid-’50s, I was crazy about them. I especially liked the old split-window sedans. It got to the point (before cell phones with cameras) that my Dad had to carry a camera in the car with him to photograph VWs (and Karmann Ghias) whenever he saw them. I still have some of the pictures, over sixty years later. Yes, it was a kind of space ship, and Herr Dr. Porsche was a kind of automotive Jules Verne, I would say. I enjoyed the article very much, Pioneer. I have a 19-year-old godson who has Aspergers, and am very familiar with the type of behavior and knowledge accumulation of which you speak. Bravo to you, and best of luck in all your endeavors.
You must scan those and post them! I love seeing old photos of VWs.
Here you go – my first car purchased in 1966, a 1960 just after a repaint in its original color (Indigo Blue) and some accessorizing per JC Whitney.
I was about to say that I don’t have the same kind of childhood close exposure to VWs, but then remembered that the earliest car rides I got was in a Karmann Ghia.
My next door neighbors had several beetles also and I got several rides in them. I have not been in one in a long time.
You are certainly not alone. VWs have been a huge part of my life as far back as I can remember. Look up my COAL on my ‘59 Beetle.
Are you able to drive? I know some with autism on varying scales. One is into newer VWs and works as a tech and one has an obsession with music, specifically classic rock music but cannot drive or live on his own and one of my good VW friends has a step son who is on the low functioning end. To where it’s hard to understand what he is trying to say.
Yes, I can. In fact I’ve owned five cars in the past six years! A couple of them have been featured as COALs
I am a little too young for Beetle love. By the time I was a certified car nut, about 1973 and age nine, I considered the Civic and Corolla far better cars for Montreal winters. That’s because they always ran and had real heaters.
When I think of when the Bug was designed, circa 1933, it was a technological marvel: it was the first mass produced car that could run all day at 100 km/h with four people aboard and do it at less than 8L/100 km, pretty impressive for the time. It was designed to be owner maintained and not surprisingly, a whole cult of ownership emerged.
Even circa 1960 the Bug was still a good buy if you lived say, in Vancouver or on Vancouver Island. They were cheap to run, repair and had good resale.
Then 1968 hit and the Corolla came on the scene. I believe it out sold the Bug that first year. My dad had a second generation 1974 Corolla 1600 and that was a way better car than any Beetle, Super or not. For me, Bugs were old and never worth the time and effort.
Thanks for the post! When I was very young in the late 60’s, I recall my parents telling us boys one night to load our sleeping bags in the back of the blue Ford station wagon my dad drove. We had no idea what was up, since our parents weren’t the type to go car camping. We drove out of town to the local drive-in theater and watched the original Herbie the Love Bug movie from the back of the wagon with the tailgate open. I, too, developed an early fascination in aircooled VWs. Our other car was a 62ish Beetle, the first of three beetles my parents owned. The final one was a 76 Superbeetle convertible, which resides in my garage today! I can’t begin to guess how many people learned to drive a manual transmission on that car. It’s had many body replacements over the years, but I think the engine and tranny are original.
Another Asperger’s Syndrome car nut chiming in. My wife got tired of me commenting on automotive ‘trivia’ whenever we were out in the car and I saw something unusual, so I learned to shut up. But it’s always great to find somebody else interested in cars. We didn’t realise it was part of Asperger’s until I was diagnosed two years ago, so I guess I did a fair job of mimicking the behaviour I saw around me.
When the original Love Bug movie came out, my uncle owned a small-town newspaper. Knowing I was a car nut, he gave me the press release info he was sent, and I framed the photo and had it in my room until I married.
Did you ever notice that the (53) is missing from the open door in this scene? The bottom edge of the door is also cut off at an angle.
Oops, there I go again…
Thanks for getting that out in the open Ed, I had been biting my tongue…
Unintentionally, a ’62 VW was my introduction, albeit brief, to autodom, as my first vehicle. It was short lived however, and it is on my list to do a proper COAL.
Apparently one of your obsesssions along the way was learning to write well.
Severe case of VW itis here. Started with Dads ’66 Beetle which became my first car, 30+ years working for VW dealerships, remember hundreds of parts numbers and details only the truly obsessed would remember, last year worked for VW was 2004. Now have calmed down, just keeping a owned since ’91 Mk2 Jetta on the road for local trips 28 years later.
My uncle was in the Air Force in the mid-1950’s, posted to W. Germany.
He & my aunt bought their 1st new car, a ’57 Beetle, and drove it all over Europe.
When he brought it home to the US, he was practically excommunicated by the holocaust-surviving elders of the family. To this day, I do understand their point.
End of story: Uncle & aunt (now, with 3 kids in back) continued to drive it all over the Northeast, until replacing it with a 1965 Chrysler 300. Time for some creature comforts! Miss ya, Unk Allen!
Yeah, I can relate. I had 7 uncles who fought in WW2. There would have been no tolerance for a German paperweight in the family while they were alive.
My dad was a WW2 vet (Royal Navy) who had a visceral hatred of everything the Nazi system stood for…yet he spoke German quite well and had a great respect for the good things Germany gave the world…like those well-made little cars.
Many of the early buyers in the USA were prior servicemen who had experienced driving captured VWs while serving. They were also responsible for bringing back many Euro spec VWs in those early years. I suspect my ‘59 was one of them.
My first VW, a 1967 Sunroof sedan was a Euro spec car imported by a GI.
That would describe my Father as well.
He served during the Korean-war era but in Germany (in the artillery) onthe Czech border …the beginning of the cold war. He’s no longer with us but I did ask him questions about his service…they would often use REO trucks to haul the howitzers…but instead of a Jeep they often used VW Beatles.
Out of the Army, he bought his first “2nd” car…a ’59 Beetle…since he’d had prior experience with them, they were cheap, and had good traction (we were in Vermont at this point so that was important). Unfortunately it was run into when parked in front of our house and was totalled…he bought a new Renault R10 (by then he was travelling to France and I think that was a factor in his selection.
He never owned another VW but I picked up the reins in 1981, not buying an aircooled one but a watercooled ’78 Scirocco. I’m on
my 3rd VW having only owned VWs the last 38 years.
I’m pretty obsessive about cars and various details myself…maybe I’m undiagnosed? I’ve done quality control as a job for many years, so that likely explains it. Anyway, I’ve always liked the classic Bug. I came home from the hospital in a blue ‘61 so that might have something to do with my love for old Volkswagens.
i am more of a bus than a beetle guy but it’s the same dna. it fascinates me how devoted people are to these things. the kombicrew on youtube spent something like six years driving a t2 bus from chile to alaska. they replaced the engine many times. they are now embarking on a circumnavigation from california to australia. their new vehicle? 1968 bus. they have a list of sponsors who do nothing but support vw buses. theirs is equipped with an expedition ready air cooled type 1 boxer upgraded with fuel injection and dyno tested to 98hp!
My Beetle is my sentimental attachment car but over the years I’ve become a total Bus nerd.
There’s just something about sitting behind that big ol steering wheel and that commanding view of the road that just puts the wanderlust in you. Even though I know the trip would be faster, more comfortable and far less chance of a breakdown in a normal car, a VW Bus is just what I want to be in on a desolate highway watching the miles slowly tick by.
You can get that commanding view from an Astro or Aerostar as well. I know when I’m driving my ’05 Astro that I’m taller than a Grand Caravan as well as my Ranger and nearly level with an F-150, Silverado, or just about any other full-size truck-based vehicle. A full-size van will DEFINITELY give you this view for sure. This may be part of the reason Jeremy Duncan from the “ZITS” comic strip wanted a Microbus in high school. Incidentally, some of the comics confirm that his is a red 1962 Split-Window Kombi.
I’ve noticed several 4WD Astros in my area as camper van conversions. They have moved into the same niche in the eco-system that the VW had 20-40yrs ago.
After reading this article, I believe I have some of the mentality of ADHD & Asperger’s Syndrome too. Like you, when younger I became extremely obsessed with something I liked once I first saw it, such as Thomas the Tank Engine or Pikachu from the Pokemon franchise. Whenever I hear or see the original opening to their respective TV programs (THAT’S how it all started!), it’s an instant trip down memory lane & permanently etched into my brain. And in more recent years when finding information about vehicle models and other statistical/technical subjects, I can become an absolute data freak. I also have a HUGE interest in finding out how mechanical systems work, especially older ones. I’m into collecting antiques too. Probably as a child I would’ve been between Levels 2 & 3 on the Autism Spectrum Disorder scale, but nowadays I’m certain I would be at Level 1 with being able to do more & more stuff independently with confidence, in addition to gaining ever-growing social abilities. There is indeed hope for all the autistic children out there.