Despite VW deception, happy memories of The Bug

Re: Celia Rivenbark column of Oct. 4:

Bringing memories back full-circle, that's what Celia Rivenbark's column on the Volkswagen emoted and it was very much on point. Her family was not the only owner of the Volkswagen in the United States during the 1960's, count me in that number also.

I remember going to Charleston and placing an order for a black Volkswagen beetle in 1959 as a senior at Green Sea High School. Four months later, we were informed that one of the first mini-economy cars had arrived. After paying the $1,805 for my first car, I was ready for my next challenge: driving it over the old Cooper River bridge, the one that rattled at the very peak. Check that off. I made it!

And Celia's right, it was very much a novelty. It was unique to Highway 410 and Highway 9, being able to make sharp turns, attracting attention, circling King's in Tabor City and the Dairy Maid in Loris. I suppose they call it cruising now. Not only did I have access to all the football games at the low cost of 30 cents a gallon of gas, I was also getting about 32 miles on each gallon. That meant I could go to a football game in Southport for $1. You could never run out of gasoline and as the main tank emptied, all you had to do was flip a lever and you had an extra gallon.

Taking care of the "bug" was very important and each Saturday the car was meticulously washed and shined. I was told by my father that "if you take care of it, it will take care of you."

The car also went with me to college at the University of South Carolina and transported other students from the area back and forth on weekends. It was very dependable and the luggage rack made it easy to accommodate three other area students.

It was the best. It was the product of German engineering. It was the first of its kind in the area. And it was very economical. What more could you ask?

Then came the news. Celia was right, when the Volkswagen story about dishonesty and deception in the 11 million Volkswagens came to light, it was very depressing. Faking emission standards took its toll on all the Volkswagen autos. The epitome of honesty was no more. That ended Volkswagen's dynasty in the positive public relations arena. Greed prevailed.

But that is now. They can't take away my memories. I still remember the good times and that's good enough for me.

The writer lives in Myrtle Beach..

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Despite VW deception, happy memories of The Bug."