Putting your child behind the wheel of a classic Beetle?

[Alte Blechdose]

I have a daughter that begged for my bug for years , She just thought/thinks it the coolest thing out there . I thought hard about giving it to her for her first car but decided not to in the end . My reasoning is based on something I learned along time ago and has nothing to do with cars .

I grew up hunting game and one of the first things you learn about after your first kill is to skin the animal . That instilled something in my mind , It's one thing to shoot Bambi or thumper and recklessly look at the fur and say no big deal but when you skin the animal you get to see what damage a bullet can really do internally . You see my daughter looks at my car like Bambi ( The deer ) but she has no desire to know the inner workings of the car , How it's constructed , What makes it run and keep running . It just looks cool to her .

Investing yourself from start to finish into something gives you the big picture of cause and effect . Like shooting a gun " Don't pull the trigger unless you plan on dealing with the mess afterwards " . It would give most teens a pause to think if they took a year of fixing a beater bug they struggled to keep alive , In short it's called appreciation . My daughter has a newer compact car because she doesn't want to work on building her own bug . When she gets ready to build her own I'll be waiting .



Alte Blechdose

[mgamike]

Here's 2 cents worth that you can take or leave.
The ACVW beetle is as safe as it was built to be, and when it was built, there was nothing really technology wise that would improve it. Now we have many improvements. Forget about air-bags. They are great, but if that's not enough reason to get a newer car, let's look at some other things. Most cars today have completely plastic, deformable, interiors. This helps the occupant. Older cars could kill you and still look driveable. Even the interior. I think you were looking at a 72 Beetle. What happens when the kid hits the dash, even if padded slightly?
Now, look at the fuel tank. The newer cars have roll-over valves in them, basically vents that shut on roll-over. When was the last time you saw a car roll over and catch fire? It doesn't happen as much now as it used to , and that's why. Does the car have side-impact rails? (I don't know, they were fairly new then.) A good hit into the side of a car not designed for side impact is nasty.
What about headlights? The old headlights look yellow because they are dim at night. The brakes, unless disc, are a little slow to stop a car and do require a little extra push.
As a daily driver I would say, "No." As a hobby car that my child can enjoy with me, my answer is an emphatic, "YES". But then, he or she will be using it sparingly and only when supervised, even if I am in another Beetle going with my child to an auto show, swap meet or other such.

[mgamike]

Sorry, you were talking about a 67. Steel dash, no side rails. I don't think so for a daily driver.

[willimammoth]

I am 16 and my dad bought me my first car last year. A 1963 hardtop.

I drive it like it's the last one of it's kind (being a matching number '63, it kind of is.) If your kid respects the car and loves VW's like I do, he'll do the same, thus, being very safe. In which case I'd say go ahead and let him drive one.

Of course, there is no telling what could happen due to other peoples carelessness, but again, if he loves the car, he will constantly be looking in the mirrors and all around him and spot danger a mile away. It's what I'm constantly reminding myself to do while driving mine.

On the other hand, if he wants a car that can take abuse, go fast, and allow him to be worry free in, don't think twice, go with something else.

I hope this helps to show you that not all teens are careless. Though, I admit, most are. You just have to know whether your son is, or not.
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[Teriyaki Donut]

Nope.com

That's my answer.

Let him figure how dangerous OTHER drivers are while he's learning to drive himself. Train him to become a very defensive minded driver. Today's vehicles are either bigger, faster, or easier to handle and give driver's have a false sense of control and security. Some find this out too late when they lose control and slam into something or someone.

Once he's comfortable, experienced and knows how other drivers behave on the road, he'll be cautious driving the VW and respect the fact there are idiots with drivers licenses.

In my opinion a vintage beetle requires your full and undivided attention while driving. When I was 16 I was a frequent passenger in modified VW's with no seat belts, beer in my hand and invincibility in my mind. Someone must have been looking out for me.

Give him some time.
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[Max Welton]

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[GaugeDoisher]

I grew up riding around in old bugs, and I think that it honestly just depends on his love or passion for cars as previously stated. I'm turning 19 in a few days and will be getting my first bug really soon, but as I said, I grew up around them, and I daily a 83 rabbit truck, so I have some experience driving in "unsafe" vehicles. But even with it being said that I feel as though I am a responsible driver and have a passion for older cars, I still feel unsafe about driving around in something air-cooled.

So I wouldn't really put my son in one unless he knew consequences, and truly wanted the car.

[carcass]

I didn't "put" my kids in anything-all 5 of them chose and bought their own first cars(remember the "old days",when that's how it worked?)
They didn't choose Bugs,but If they had,it would of been fine with me.
Of course,I'm a horrible parent,because I also let them ride bicycles,skateboards, razor scooters,mini bikes,and go-karts growing up, which,of course,are all life threatening vehicles...

[schunacher]

Safety features? How about the steel spear that VW calls a steering column that is pointing directly at your kid's heart just daring him like Dirty Harry to hit something.

My buddy and I both drove '67 bugs in high school and I remember at least 3 serious accidents one of which involved a broken open gas tank. Also the infamous "up on two" incident where the bug just happened to tip back onto 4 wheels, the 4 female classmates who went over the cliff in their bug, the burned out shell of the bug that caught fire, etc ... All good memories only because we all survived.

[jhicken]

I'm sure there are many folks on this list that started driving Beetles when they were 16 and are still hear to tell about it [myself included]. Hell, I'm sure there are quite a few 16-17yo kids that are currently on this list that drive their Beetle daily. I won't argue that a current car is "safer" than a 40yo Beetle but I'd say that it's probably more dangerous for your kid to play high school football.

FWIW, if my daughter wanted to drive a Beetle when she was able to drive [17 here in Jersey], I'd require here to get a little "skin in the game" before I'd give her the keys. I'd have her invest a lot of her time and money into the car before she climbed behind the wheel. Get her to respect the vehicle first, learn it's limitations and then let her enjoy it as we all do.

-jeffrey
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[mgamike]

Regarding the steering column, I don't remember the year, but I believe that th 70s bugs had collapsable steering columns. On those you have to watch that the expanded steel used for the column doesn't rust out, causing a steering failure.

[mgamike]

Regarding the steering column, I don't remember the year, but I believe that th 70s bugs had collapsable steering columns. On those you have to watch that the expanded steel used for the column doesn't rust out, causing a steering failure.

[swinewerx]

I have a daughter, that is twelve right now!!! she has taken a keen interest in my 1971 super beetle, it is such a great car, mechanically, it just needs a new paint job, and me to take my tooled leather abilities way too far with her beetle, after she showed interest in it, I promised i would not rape parts off of the 1971 to feed the hunger of my 1962! this was a hard decision, I was gonna just take the 1971 and pull the engine and transmission, and make a trike out of it, and just keep the body and pan stored, and ready for retransplantation of the motor and transmission, when I felt it was ready to be a complete bug again! My daughter is a genious! I really mean it! she is in the top five of the whole school she attends, and she likes being smart! she does not act like other children at all, she is very mature and really is getting into art!~ and being that I do leather work, and I am gooing to cover her seats, and her dash with tooled leather that will be molded to the dash so tight, it will be amazing and light blue in color for the leather! the way she is, and how she is very respectful, and polite, I beleive my child will be very happy and safe when it comes to driving, so, yeah, she will be behind a super beetle, I know, there are the ones who do not like the super beetles as compared to the classic, but, to me, an aircooled beetle is where it is at!!!!

[Xo4]

I'd say No.

I'm 19 and have a 67' that I drive on weekends and sometimes to work. I Love my car to death and I keep myself a good distance from every car I can, but sadly with new technologies people think their Suburban is a tank and they can text and be fine. Its Selfish. So I say wait until they learn how to drive defensively and safer. Even then I don't trust a single other driver out there.

[Herrbern]

I have been thru the different posts and I think you can be the best driver in the world, you can still be killed by someone else on the road, whatever you're driving; beetle or not. Injuries will be much higher in a bug than in a modern car, as the beetle is an old concept that can't absorb the energy as good as a modern car does.

You have to take into account that the beetle is a car designed without computer simulated crash zones. The collapse zones on bugs (yes, there are some, like front beam on a classic beetle and spare tire on a super) are empiric solutions. Just look how the cash tests where done in the 30's. Drop a bug from a cliff and see what happens...

In the 60's VW made some tests with airbags :

Lot's of cars have been made without real safety solutions, because designers didn't know how to make cars safer. Look at figures of the dead by
road accidents in the 50-60's.

As from the 90's, cars have changed thanks to computer simulations. Real safety features are present, which make them really better than older cars. Dead figures started to drop.

Todays cars are large and heavier than in the past, people preferring to buy SUV's,... Real military tanks ! We have cars that are so well designed that we feel invincible in our metal cans. But a car remains a weapon and requires full attention. What most of today's drivers forget...

Crashing with a beetle and an SUV car, is like crashing your bug into a wall. The other car will have almost nothing and the beetle will be total loss. And the driver too. It's a physical reality. The bigger and heavier wins.

Are bugs unsafe ? the answer is sadly yes. Today they have become unsafe for the driver and occupants on the road when crashing.
Do we have to get bugs off the road : for me the answer is no. Bugs are still safer than driving around on a bike.

Do we have to allow bugs to be driven by unexperienced folks: not for every day use. I think I would allow it if I know that my son has taken driving lessons and knows how to brake without ABS or knows how to react when the car oversteers.

[vwlovr73]

I'm one of those who got a Beetle at 15--and I'm female and only child (so, overprotected daughter, yadda yadda). I lived in northern Minnesota (where we got a lot of snow and ice) at the time too. My dad's thought? Well, they don't go very FAST anyway. I cared so much about my beetle. It taught me to be a very safe, conscious driver. You couldn't eat, use a cell phone, or do any of that stupid stuff kids tend to do in their cars because you had to pay ATTENTION. I learned that quickly and it stuck with me, even though I've had several other "modern cars" including a Toyota Land Cruiser (the biggest of them) and a Saab 900 (the smallest of them).

Now I'm 30 and have another Beetle... (along with a newer honda). The bug is a such a kick in the pants. You need to use your senses. New cars drive themselves and IMO, that is not a good way to learn to drive. The bug doesn't stop on a dime, it doesn't automatically shift, it doesn't even have two mirrors. Teaches you to pay attention and be aware of your surroundings. Use your ears, no loud music. Use your eyes, no texting. Use your hands, you need them both. Use your feet, again, need them both. Use your nose, monitor the state of your engine. Use your BRAIN, no daydreaming, no brainfarting, no cell-phoning.

I don't have kids yet but on whether I'd let my own kid drive a bug? It depends. I would, if they had demonstrated responsibility in other areas of their life... AND if they were actually passionate about bugs and old cars. I think you have to care about a car to gain that extra level of ownership of your actions. Teenage me actually gave a shit about her car (unlike any other teenage girl I knew and their car--most of whom were in fender benders or rollovers within their first year. imagine that.) And I gained valuable skills like checking tire pressure (most new cars just tell you if it's low with a light on the dash), timing, valve adjustment, oil changing, tire changing, and in-motion window-defrosting with a spray bottle of wiper fluid reached out the window .

For fun here's me with my "Arthur" in about 2000. I'd have been 17 here.

Aaaand more recently in 2012 with my "Darrel."

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Past - 1973 Beetle "Arthur" (owned 1998-2005)

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[79SuperVert]

Very well said. If you had been my daughter I think you would have convinced me to let you drive a bug.

But I still would not be able to go to sleep until I heard your bug pull into the driveway.
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[VOLKSWAGNUT]

For those of you who have contributed and are interested, I have asked this topic be moved from the Technical forum to General Chat.

This post is still a good read. Opinions Opinion Opinions.
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