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kiwighia68 Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2013 Posts: 2867 Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 1:15 am Post subject: |
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My son, who came home from the maternity ward in a carry-cot we put in the luggage space behind the Beetle's back seat, won't allow his children to travel in my Ghia. No safety belts in the back, and against the law.
Go figure.
My Mum always said that a child who grows up in a house without a fence will never be run over by a car because they learn to assess risks early. _________________ Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015 |
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KGCoupe Samba Member
Joined: July 01, 2005 Posts: 3580 Location: Putting the "ill" and "annoy" in Illinois
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 6:01 am Post subject: |
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kiwighia68 wrote: |
My son, who came home from the maternity ward in a carry-cot we put in the luggage space behind the Beetle's back seat, won't allow his children to travel in my Ghia. No safety belts in the back, and against the law.
Go figure.
My Mum always said that a child who grows up in a house without a fence will never be run over by a car because they learn to assess risks early. |
Isn't that basic Natural Selection?
The ones that don't get the chance to grow up (because they incorrectly assessed the risk) don't get the chance to pass along their poor risk assessment gene. |
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slo ride Samba Member
Joined: February 18, 2013 Posts: 12 Location: butler
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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kiwighia68 wrote: |
My Mum always said that a child who grows up in a house without a fence will never be run over by a car because they learn to assess risks early. |
sort of a funny quote given that the real danger here is to the child in the car seat who isn't getting a chance to assess the risk to begin with.
personally i will not be driving my child in either my ghia or beetle until they no longer require any kind of child seat. perhaps a little up and down the driveway but definitely not on the open road.
earlier this year i was t-boned in a grand cherokee and rolled twice. but for some random circumstances my wife would have been in the car 8 months pregnant. i walked away without a scratch but it really changed my perspective on the relative risk of driving. |
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dubulup Samba Member
Joined: November 13, 2008 Posts: 387 Location: Earth People
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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I have an 8lb'der in the house...Ghia in storage haven't touched my bronco in 6 weeks either |
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Clatter Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2003 Posts: 7527 Location: Santa Cruz
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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_________________ Bus Motor Build
What’s That Noise?!? |
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Clatter Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2003 Posts: 7527 Location: Santa Cruz
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:24 pm Post subject: |
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_________________ Bus Motor Build
What’s That Noise?!? |
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SvFalcons74 Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2014 Posts: 28 Location: United States
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 12:38 pm Post subject: Interesting Thought... |
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I'm 17, so hopefully babies are a long time off but it is an interesting subject to approach. I know if I could I would keep my Ghia (Whenever she gets done) no matter what...She is a labor of love between my Pops and I. HOWEVER, if I had a kid there is no way she/he would be in that car ever. I'm still thinking about probably not letting my girlfriend get in this car. Even with the rollcage for reinforcement I feel like i'll let myself be the idiot risking my life when some jackass smacks me on the road...But damn will I look good doing it |
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furbo Samba Member
Joined: November 28, 2003 Posts: 147 Location: Harker Heights, TX
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:34 am Post subject: |
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Having kids had no effect on my Ghia, in fact I bought it right after #2 was born. Installed decent rear seat belts, and the four of us put the top down and went all over Italy, Austria, and S. Germany including Elba Island and the Grossglockner pass.
What forced the Ghia's retirement was when they got too big to fit in the back seat!
I still have the Ghia, it's just waiting for a different time in life.... _________________ 79 Westy
70 Ghia Vert
95 Mex Beetle
Eccl 9:10 |
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mountainkowboy Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2008 Posts: 951 Location: Socal
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 10:10 am Post subject: |
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I think its funny how people "wouldn't let my child ride in a Ghia or Beetle". I grew up in 57 chevys and MG "A's" with no seat belts and I even remember riding in the way back in my dads 63 bug, and I'm still here. I even played lawn darts with metal tipped darts!!!
My son did and my grandson does and will continue to ride in my VW's and my old cars without airbags and crumple zones. Life is to short to limit its experiences, and if we get into an accident that takes our lifes in them, it was all in his plan since the beginning anyhow. I'm a very good defensive driver and don't think its an issue.
My take _________________ Chuck in Socal
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71 Super Convertible...DD
78 Honda CB750K
06 Honda CR-V (wifes)
63 IH Scout 80 "Beater" |
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BerneseMtnDog Samba Member
Joined: July 07, 2014 Posts: 146 Location: Oregon
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 10:36 am Post subject: |
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My take. My wife and 9 year old were in a pretty bad accident in August. A guy ran a stop sign and my wife's car t-boned his truck. That guy came out of nowhere so no amount of defensive driving could have prevented that. The street that he came out from was in a neighborhood where there's a 4' stone wall surrounding the properties which makes it difficult to see where all the traffic is. Her newer Volvo was totaled and I have no doubt whatsoever that if they were in the Ghia they would both be dead and I would be a widower trying to raise a teenager on my own. Not fun. Everyone has their tolerance for risk and mine is that I drive the Ghia on nice days infrequently. I would never consider any old VW as a good choice for a daily driver unless you are single or an adult couple with no kids or kids who have grown and are self sufficient. I grew up as well when we only had lap belts and often didn't even wear them. We have much better choices now and it's just plain irresponsible to put children into dangerous positions when they have no choice or say in the matter. I'm not one to believe I'm part of a master plan but if you want to take that route you could argue that God gave us brains in order to make smart choices. I liked my metal tipped lawn darts too but it became pretty obvious after enough kids were injured by them that it was a bad idea. I do find it interesting the range of opinion here.
Steve |
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Clatter Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2003 Posts: 7527 Location: Santa Cruz
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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I prefer to stay inside the house 100% of the time.
Everything is delivered, so I don't have to ever leave.
Much safer that way...
On days that I'm feeling particularly vulnerable, say from earthquakes, I stay under my bed.
Capping the drain to the bathtub is really important, too, because you never know when a poisonous spider might come out and bite!
I spend days sitting by the tub overflow drain with a can of bug killer, in case one might come.
At least, when I'm not hiding under my bed..... _________________ Bus Motor Build
What’s That Noise?!? |
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mountainkowboy Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2008 Posts: 951 Location: Socal
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:16 pm Post subject: |
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Clatter wrote: |
I prefer to stay inside the house 100% of the time.
Everything is delivered, so I don't have to ever leave.
Much safer that way...
On days that I'm feeling particularly vulnerable, say from earthquakes, I stay under my bed.
Capping the drain to the bathtub is really important, too, because you never know when a poisonous spider might come out and bite!
I spend days sitting by the tub overflow drain with a can of bug killer, in case one might come.
At least, when I'm not hiding under my bed..... |
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!
life is to short for me and I intend to slide into death completely used up from the ride. I have been an adrenaline junky all my life and have tried to instill that into my children and grandkids and hopefully I'm around to do it to my great grandkids. no regrets _________________ Chuck in Socal
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71 Super Convertible...DD
78 Honda CB750K
06 Honda CR-V (wifes)
63 IH Scout 80 "Beater" |
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BerneseMtnDog Samba Member
Joined: July 07, 2014 Posts: 146 Location: Oregon
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 1:19 pm Post subject: |
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Sometimes I like to golf during lightning storms or walk down the middle of the road at night in a black jump suit for relaxation. I also never wear safety belts because I feel like "the man" wants me to and they wrinkle my pants. Sometimes I stare at the sun for as long as I can because it makes me feel vital and alive. I never wear safety glasses when I'm cleaning rust off things with a wire wheel because I don't want to give the rust the satisfaction. On really special days I like to fire my handgun straight up in the air for fun because obviously nothing bad could ever happen to me and life would be so boring if I couldn't do these things.
Steve |
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Samer1275 Samba Member
Joined: July 24, 2011 Posts: 205 Location: Jupiter, FL
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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BerneseMtnDog wrote: |
Sometimes I like to golf during lightning storms or walk down the middle of the road at night in a black jump suit for relaxation. I also never wear safety belts because I feel like "the man" wants me to and they wrinkle my pants. Sometimes I stare at the sun for as long as I can because it makes me feel vital and alive. I never wear safety glasses when I'm cleaning rust off things with a wire wheel because I don't want to give the rust the satisfaction. On really special days I like to fire my handgun straight up in the air for fun because obviously nothing bad could ever happen to me and life would be so boring if I couldn't do these things.
Steve |
There's truth somewhere in the middle. Safety or recklessness aside, I think this thread has really taken a detour. Maybe a different thread can be started on Ghia/Beetle safety and children if people wish. I'm pretty sure from the title of this thread and the first posting from OP that the intention was about people having to get rid of their Ghia once a new child has arrived. There could be various reasons for this; financial, less free time to work on a car project, etc. I'd be more interested in hearing about the latter myself. How has having a child affected your Ghia ownership, available money, or time? _________________ 1969 Karmann Ghia Coupe |
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mountainkowboy Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2008 Posts: 951 Location: Socal
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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it had no effect at all and was 20 years ago. _________________ Chuck in Socal
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71 Super Convertible...DD
78 Honda CB750K
06 Honda CR-V (wifes)
63 IH Scout 80 "Beater" |
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mountainkowboy Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2008 Posts: 951 Location: Socal
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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BerneseMtnDog wrote: |
Sometimes I like to golf during lightning storms or walk down the middle of the road at night in a black jump suit for relaxation. I also never wear safety belts because I feel like "the man" wants me to and they wrinkle my pants. Sometimes I stare at the sun for as long as I can because it makes me feel vital and alive. I never wear safety glasses when I'm cleaning rust off things with a wire wheel because I don't want to give the rust the satisfaction. On really special days I like to fire my handgun straight up in the air for fun because obviously nothing bad could ever happen to me and life would be so boring if I couldn't do these things.
Steve |
and he lives to tell about it, cant fix stupid _________________ Chuck in Socal
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71 Super Convertible...DD
78 Honda CB750K
06 Honda CR-V (wifes)
63 IH Scout 80 "Beater" |
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John Moxon Samba Moderator
Joined: March 07, 2004 Posts: 13943 Location: Southampton U.K.
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 12:24 am Post subject: |
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I don't think you're ever going to get an agreement on the subject of the safety of vintage cars. It's obviously not unique to KGs it's every car on the road old and new and having children of your own usually gives rise to a change in attitude.
All the KG owner can do and what every owner should do is to ensure their car is as safe as it can be. Don't cut corners, literally and metaphorically, you owe it to anyone who rides with you and anyone else out there on the road.
Let's not get into an argument of who is right and who is wrong...there is no definitive answer...this could run to 100 pages and we'd still be none the wiser.
Same with, should I/how can I, keep the KG when the kids come along. Money and time available changes, more for some than others...no definitive answer another 100 pages.
Now if you want a useful non divisive topic, how about, "How Can I Make My KG Safer." _________________ John.
Judson Supercharger Information on The Samba
My 1958 Shorrock Supercharged Karmann Ghia
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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Clatter Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2003 Posts: 7527 Location: Santa Cruz
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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Wasn't the name of this thread
"Babies: Ghia Killers"
NOT
"Ghias: Baby Killers"
Or did I get this mixed up somehow?
_________________ Bus Motor Build
What’s That Noise?!? |
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John Moxon Samba Moderator
Joined: March 07, 2004 Posts: 13943 Location: Southampton U.K.
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slo ride Samba Member
Joined: February 18, 2013 Posts: 12 Location: butler
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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"It's not how long you live, it's how much you live."
Said no child ever.
Typically when I'm driving alone (not in the ghia) I'll do 80mph all day long on the highway...once the wife and kid are in the car it is the speed limit.
I feel perfectly safe at 80 and don't really feel I'm at any greater risk...but getting places faster and driving at what I consider a comfortable speed isnt a priority when I'm responsible for others lives.
The same is true of the ghia. My wife enjoys riding along but at a leisurely pace only and I understand that. My daughter isn't capable of making such decisions for her self and I'm not going to put her needlessly at risk in the name of a "fuller" life for myself.
I know if some accident were to impact her life or take it, and I hadn't done all I could as her father to avoid it, no amount of prior no regrets living would ever make up for that regret....and so she will not ride. But I am keeping the kg. |
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