Mal is a VW Beetle and the other day I thought about where had his idea originated from and would that be an interesting piece for you to read?
By DEBBIE NICHOLSON
Originally, the idea came from the car itself.
When in my younger years, I saw the movie Herbie, I became infatuated with the car, the way it talked, it’s personality, the storyline, the people involved – the whole drama.
I grew a bit more and on my wedding day, my in-laws loaned my new hubby and me their white VW beetle which looked exactly like Herbie – we drove it for many hundreds of miles enjoying every minute of it and the memories it conjured up with the movie both of us had seen earlier in our lives.
I grew some more and one day I was driving around and there was another shape of Herbie on the road and of course I was instantly smitten. How could a car affect my emotions so much over such an extended period of time?
I grew some more, and one day my husband said that I could choose the car I wanted this time. So what did I do? I looked around and my eyes fell on the sales page of my later to become Mal in a village 20 minutes drive from us. We went and had a look and he said “Yes!” I could have it!!
“The VW Beetle Is Dead Because They Made It Too Good
After seven decades and three generations, the beloved Volkswagen Beetle is dead.
When they produced my Mal shape, the ideas put forward did not hold any special effects and therefore it was not very much like the original beetle. The engine came in the front rather in the back – AND was front-wheel drive. Consequently the luggage storage was now in the back rather than the front – much like an ordinary run-of-the-mill car. It had a round shape and to some it looked like a foolish bit of a joke. Fortunately for me, they kept producing them from the onset date of 1997 right up to 2011.
Now there is a new model that came out in 2012 which takes the beetle family into it’s 3rd generation. Of course there are differences – it’s longer, and comes with a more modern approach to style.
They say it is better than the new beetle which is my Mal. They say it is fine. But does fine work with teenagers who need “safe” for their first car?
There’s even talk of it coming in as an electric car. I have often thought that if I could afford one of those do-overs I would replace Mal’s engine with one that is powered by electric.
Of course, that is only a pipe-dream at the moment.
However, who knows what the future will bring?
I wrote Mal & The Move when we first downsized from our huge home of 5 bedrooms and 3 baths, to our Mobile home which is called Ken.
It’s all about trundling up the road to a picturesque spot in a holiday park surrounded by native trees and birds and all about the various things that both Ken and Mal passed on the way.
It is about saying goodbye to our old home and location and saying hello to our new home and location. It is all about how from here on in, our lifestyle would change dramatically to match our age that keeps going up and will never go down.
Image for the the title of this blog :
1998 VW New BeetleCAR CULTURE, INC.GETTY IMAGES