Whenever I see a cool car around the neighborhood, I take pictures and send them to my pal Eric up in Portland who runs Other People’s Things, my favorite car blog. He responds with some knowledge and we post the results here and it’s called “Car Beat.” Here’s what Eric has to say about this sporty little VW:
This one is one of my favorite unsung hero cars (the Type 1 Beetle and Type 2 bus always seem to hog the rear-engined VW glory). It’s the Type 3, in the 2-door Fastback bodystyle.
The best thing about this car was, unlike the Type 1, the engine was low enough to still make the “trunk” a usable space earning the compact motor the nickname “suitcase.” It also is one of the more sleek of the early VW models in the US, setting the stage for the Dasher, and later Passat models.
Improved engineering also made the Type 3 quieter and more civilized than the Beetle, and came in 3 unique flavors: Notchback (sedan) Fastback, and Squareback (wagon…and my favorite of course).
This one looks to be in great condition, though I have seen several here in Portland that are nice as well. In general I’m just happy to see one in any condition since back east they are all but extinct.
Nice find!
P.S. here are some I have come across in PDX
Thanks, Eric! More pics after the jump:
Love it! I’ve always thought the Fastbacks and Karmann Ghias were some of the greatest car designs of their era, aesthetically-speaking.
I had a 1967 Squareback! I bought it in 1997. It was my first car, the starter motor hardly ever worked and on my first date with this one guy he had to push-start it on a six-lane highway! He married me anyway but he never liked that car. I loved it
Thats my car!!! Thanks for the love! His name is Oliver
I could not be prouder! What a great moment to see my “grand-car” on the net!! His name is Oliver, but I’m pretty sure we’re not assigning a last name to him because that would just be too weird! So glad you discovered him. I know my son must be quite thrilled.
Amelia can’t wait to meet Oliver.
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