Minnesota Street Sighting: VW Karmann Ghia convertible

As one knows from reading my blog, I have an eccentric taste in cars. I generally like the first iteration of classic car, or at least one bodystyle or generation of a classic car. With VWs, it's often the earlier versions I covet most. As is the case here. When the Karmann Ghia came out in 1957, it truly was a stunning looking car-- definitely not quite what you'd expect from an American manufacturer at the time. It almost looked--dare I say it, Italian. Though, that comes as no surprise given the origin of the name "Karmann Ghia". Karmann was a coach company that made convertible versions of cars from everything ranging from this little VW to the horrible Chrysler Sebring/200 convertible. Carrozzeria Ghia is a coachbuilder that makes tons of concepts/one offs for different carmakers (most those of European origin though.) Sadly enough, this is the same Ghia that has his name plastered on the backs of whatever Ford Granadas are still in existence.
During the Karmann Ghia's evolution, the design became more and more bland, (as did the design of the Beetle). It went from being a svelte, swoopy two door coupe and convertible, to being just another symbol of German mediocrity. This 1972 model marks the last little update before the model's death in 1974. As you can see, the KG has gained ugly chrome bumpers, rather heinous wheels, and an assortment of other pitfalls. What you can't see if the godawful four spoke steering wheels hiding in the interior. If the model was maybe ten years newer, I would've shot better detail shots. As it is, though, the badge on back is my favorite part of this later-run example.
Yes, I did shoot this car before-- really early in my blogging "career". Nice to see it hasn't really changed all that much. Sadly, that can't be said for a vast majority of the street sightings I shoot. While I previously said this car looks great, my knowledge of cars has caught up with me. Yes, it still looks nice from a distance, but up close is where its hard life is evident. The orange hue looks decent, but because of the unequal thickness/glossiness, I can tell this is a pretty old repaint. The wheels, too, look like they've been repainted at some point in their life. That can be both good and bad. Good, because it shows the owner at least cares enough to not let it become a rust hulk, but bad because shoddy resprays generally do lead to rust. In the case, I wonder what this car is hiding.
Would I make this example mine? Probably not. While I don't hate this bodystyle completely, I do fear that this example is a hidden bondotrap. I don't know what kind of life it led, but I only see it every summer driving. In the winter, I've seen it parked under various snowpiles on Iriving Ave, and James Ave. I think if I wanted a decent driver, this is it-- and nothing more.