Minneapolis Street Sighting: Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

I realized I haven't posted up any Volkswagens from before the Malaise-era lately--and I seek to change that. I rarely see pre-Rabbit Volkswagens here that aren't Beetles--or clapped out for that matter. Every time summer rolls around, it appears that Karmann Ghia is the classic of choice in Minneapolis. With good reason; they all look good, but the earlier cars look best. They're relatively cheap as far as classic VWs go, too. I found quite a number (okay, six) for sale on craiglist near me--in driver condition for under $10,000. I have no idea why, but I assumed they'd be quite a bit more expensive.

The name Karmann Ghia sounds classy, and catchy doesn't it? Well, it is-- but the name also has great significance to those who are really in the know about cars. Both Karmann and Ghia are well known names in the coachbuilding--and specialty cars  field; Karmann builds convertibles (or used to until they closed their roof a few years ago) and Ghia made some remarkable cars; unfortunately, their name got plastered all over British Fords as a trim level. I'm sure that was the builder's first and foremost want and need. Not. 

Production of Volkswagen's personal car started in 1957 and ended in  1974; as with all classic cars, age did a number the still-decent looking car by the end of its run. The earlier cars had disc- wheel covers on smooth wheels, and the chrome was slimmer and better executed than the later cars. Another huge difference among the various model years is the taillights; later models had fairly ugly lights compared to the earlier, much prettier cars, but overall differences between years were quite slim, making it still an attractive car even in the mid-1970s when production ended.

I would love to have one, as it's easily my favorite Volkswagen aside from early Beetles, and the Brasilia, which we did get in the United States. Really, these cars look great, and are in my opinion, very far ahead of their time styling-wise. Too bad the Porsche 914 effectively replaced these.

This thing is beautiful; dressed in a very pretty medium green color, this little Ghia looks great; the polished chrome trim sets off the color exquisitely; the car itself looks far more expensive than it probably was to buy--or restore for that matter. I don't see many green ones (in fact, this may be the first one I've seen in person), and it's a shame; this color is perfect. 

The chrome on this example is pretty damn flawless, and not at all what I would expect for a Minnesota car; the grilles are in impeccable shape, as are both bumpers--a far cry from the orange one I've shot a few times. Heck, I've even seen this one being hand-washed outside a local garage. That fact alone should tell you something about the level of attention this KG receives from its owner.

I haven't seen a cleaner one here, and I doubt I ever will again; I had fun shooting this example, and cars like this are why I shoot. I love finding cars not in the norm almost more than I love shooting them' finding things like this make the summer days of putting miles on my bike worth it.