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Showing posts from January, 2017

A 1961 (and later) Volkswagen Beetle

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Front bumper with 'towel rack' is an original feature.        MOST VOLKSWAGEN Beetles in Cuba appear to be of 1970s vintage and almost certainly came from Brazil, where the original Type 1 body style remained in production long after it was retired elsewhere.    This Santiago bug, however, dates to 1961, according to a notation painted on its rear deck lid.    Many of its parts – the headlights and taillights, the "VW1302" badge, the housing for the rear licence plate lamp – are clearly from a later era. But the hole on the hood just below the centre chrome strip confirms the Beetle's age. It's the mounting point for the Wolfsburg crest (missing on this car) that was dropped after 1962. With metric speedometer, this bug wasn't intended for the U.S. market. 'VW1302' badge is at least a decade newer than the car.