41 years old today!!!

By: luv_ghias Mood: High Date: Jun 27, 2009 Music: None

When I first got "Deirdre" back in 2000, I immersed myself in everything "Karmann Ghia." subscribing to magazines, getting on mailing lists of parts dealers, even getting a picture of the machine on a credit card!

I believe the one thing I cherish most is the "birth certificate" I received from Volkswagen of Germany.  Now, I'm sure many folks who buy cars get some kind of "history" in order to reveal any old, hidden or potential problems.  While it didn't tell me how the front clip came to be replaced, why it sports front seats from a different year, or why the last owner filled the oil sump with kerosene (and neglected to tell me upon purchase!), I was pleased to learn what she was like at her inception.

Built in the Osnabruck (sp) plant on June 26, 1968, this particular Karmann Ghia rolled off the assembly line and readied for export the next day.  She was originally garbed in Regatta Blue (a slate blue/gray for those of you without a '68 swatch guide handy), black interior, whitewall tires, and the safety/emissions stuff required for U.S. sales.  She arrived on the sunny shores of California through the port of Los Angeles (no date given).  Where she may have travelled in the times between her arrival and my purchase in El Cajon will remain a mystery, but I can live with that.

Today's "celebration" is a testament to all the designers, laborers, builders, mechanics and owners/operators whose efforts ensured this vehicle's longevity on this mortal coil.  While a majority of her kin from 1968 are most likely buried flakes of oxidized rubble, she remains "alive and well."  I hope that someday, when I've passed Deirdre on to the next owner/caretaker, she will continue the legacy and enthusiasm that Volkswagen advertising so quaintly described as "fahrvergnugen" (aka, "the joy of driving").

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEIRDRE!!