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Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:14 am

i live on long island, and in my travels around the north east, i have met many a bus owner. we wave and give a honk as we pass each other on the street. at concerts and music festivals my dormobile pop up always draws a crowd. but what baffles me is if my boyfriend and i are together, everyone always assumes that it's his, to which he proudly replies "nope, it's the lady's"

i have had many parking lot conversations with strangers at 711 or the gas station, and i always get the same response. "Awesome bus! but i never would have expected you to be driving it!"

i have met only one other young woman with a bus, and she was as equally excited to meet me. "i'm not the only one!"

anyone else get this kind of response?

Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:20 am

Well at least your boyfriend lets everyone know that it is yours! Sounds like a good guy. You are in the minority when it comes to male vs female owning busses but what impresses me is that you love yours as much as any guys does.

Keep smiling, keep driving and be happy that you drive something you really like.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:28 am

It's the same with younger people (Like me. I'm 21) owning VW's. Whenever my Dad is in my bus and people stop to talk they always talk to my Dad and ask him questions and he says "Not mine. It's his!" Then they give me a weird look and walk away. Aslong as we're all having fun who cares and personally I'd love to meet a lady my age with a VW of her own :wink:

Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:31 am

Where are you located on Long Island?

Thu Oct 15, 2009 6:39 am

I was into VW's before I met my wife. After we got together I started driving Bugs exclusively. She told me one day that she liked VW's but had always wanted a bus. We found her one (well two we turned into one) and she got the same reactions that you volks are experiencing. My wife is barely five feet tall and small built, so she always heard "Are you that little girl that drives that BIG bus?".
More than 15 years later and she's still a bus pilot :P. She found and purchased the '77 we have now. And even tho' I sold my '72 to finance the rebuild, the '77 is her bus. When I'm good, she lets me drive :). Peace!

Thu Oct 15, 2009 6:45 am

thewalrus wrote: It's the same with younger people (Like me. I'm 21) owning VW's.

i'm in that boat as well, i am 23.

1977_L63H_P27 wrote: "Are you that little girl that drives that BIG bus?"

i'm 5'4, i know how she feels! i have to use the steering wheel to pull myself in :)

and i'm from the great south bay area, glenn. homebase is lindenhurst, but i'm a wanderer.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:34 am

Pics!

Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:49 am

I've had three customers of mine who were women and owned bay window buses. I have another who drives a vanagon. Two of the three bay window owners were very young, less than 20 years old and one was getting the bus as her first car.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:14 am

Girls aren't usually into cars.... that seems like a reasonable expectation - even if, like every other generalization, it has many exceptions.

You'll just have to live with the fact that you are a little cooler than the rest of 'em.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:50 am

I'm a chick and this is my first bus and I don't think I've ever had a "never expected you to be driving it" response when someone sees me with my bus. But maybe I just haven't encountered it yet.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:12 am

vdub_vagabond wrote: thewalrus wrote: It's the same with younger people (Like me. I'm 21) owning VW's.

i'm in that boat as well, i am 23.

Trying being only 20! I was 18 when i joined this site and learned a lot in a very short amount of time. I get more surprised reactions on The Samba then i do around town. Most people think it's awesome and we chat away if they're into VW's.

Most of the girls in my local club drive bugs, but i know 2 that drive buses. One is driving by a pair of girls who are really fun to chat with, and the other is a splittie (needless to say she's not very friendly).

Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:30 am

I'm the typical 40 y/o male bus pilot and VW's are my hobby that my wife has tolerated for 15+ years. Since I met her I've had 2 bugs, 2 splits, a rail and now the '73 westy (that we've had 2 years) which replaced our '70 Starcraft pop up camper. She had never driven any of them until recently we went to the BNNTA event at Mark Twain Lake and needed our boat and camper for the weekend. She chose to drive the bus rather than the Ford towing a boat. Her and my 15y/o daughter had a blast driving the bus the whole weekend and when we got home she said: "When you finish your 21-window project the westy is MINE!"

BTW I have 3 daughters, 19,18,15 that are so...so...about buses but all of their friends freak out when they see my bus especially the females. One even said: "I want to borrow your bus someday because I want to loose my virginity in it" !?!? Yes...my mouthfull of rum & coke immediatly got spewed all over the workbench. I think the attraction to buses by females is they're cool, vintage, rare, small and feed the expression of freedom.

Nothing sweeter than a sweet lady owning and driving a sweet bus.
Now where are those pictures?

Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:44 am

1977_L63H_P27 wrote: I was into VW's before I met my wife. After we got together I started driving Bugs exclusively. She told me one day that she liked VW's but had always wanted a bus. We found her one (well two we turned into one) and she got the same reactions that you volks are experiencing. My wife is barely five feet tall and small built, so she always heard "Are you that little girl that drives that BIG bus?".
More than 15 years later and she's still a bus pilot :P. She found and purchased the '77 we have now. And even tho' I sold my '72 to finance the rebuild, the '77 is her bus. When I'm good, she lets me drive :). Peace!

Does she have a problem reaching the pedals? My wife is only 4'11" and when she rides in the passenger seat, her feet don't reach the floor so she refuses to even try driving.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:46 am

rjonas wrote:
BTW I have 3 daughters, 19,18,15 that are so...so...about buses but all of their friends freak out when they see my bus especially the females. One even said: "I want to borrow your bus someday because I want to loose my virginity in it" !?!?

Blegh that's just strange!

Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:22 pm

I met a girl in her 20s (I think) locally that asked for some help with her bus.

I posted about her bus here to get a second opinion about replacing her door and more people were caught up with the fact that I am married and was helping her out than the coolness of a woman owning a bus that actually enjoys wrenching on it and maintaining it herself.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:54 pm

vdub_vagabond wrote: and i'm from the great south bay area, glenn. homebase is lindenhurst, but i'm a wanderer.

http://www.dasvolks.com Check us out.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:52 pm

when the Bays hit the market, I would say that over 80% of the driver were female, they were new, not needing much work.

This is not saying single or married.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 6:45 pm

vdub vagabond,

I think I may have asked you about your bus after the Dead show at Nassau this spring. A very nice bus if it's the one I'm remembering.

Scooter

Thu Oct 15, 2009 6:53 pm

ScooterD35 wrote: after the Dead show at Nassau this spring.

Scooter
I was there.

Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:16 pm

Ok, anyone reading this thread that was at that show...

Send me a PM with your mailing address and I'll send you high quality sbd MP3s of the entire tour.

Scooter \:D/