Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Our First New Car

Janice and I bought our first, brand new car in early 1968. It was a green Volkswagen beetle. Before then, both Janice and I only had used cars; Janice was driving an American Rambler and I had a 1956 Chevy sedan. We kept Janice’s car after we were married until we committed to buy this new VW beetle for $50 a month. The price tag was a total of $2000. We were really financially pretty well-off at the time, since Janice’s and my assistantships each provided slightly less than $500 a month. And we did not have to pay tax on my federal fellowship from the US atomic energy commission. Further, my postdoc salary was even higher after September, 1968.



  1. Great story! Bet the beetle saw a lot of fun years! :D Maintenance and regular checkups definitely extend a car’s service life.

    Leisa Dreps

  2. I have a friend who’s been driving a Beetle for several years now, and he’s really having a lot of fun with it. You know, with the fast-paced changes in the car industry, it’s kinda funny that he never considered selling his VW Beetle for sentimental reasons, I think. Anyway, a year has passed already, and I hope the Beetle is still in god condition and I hope you’re enjoying driving it too. :)

    -- Michelina Douglass

  3. Beetles are still very stylish and are still very cool, though some of my friends don’t necessarily agree with me. Well, we have different tastes in cars. I’m about to buy a blue one and add that to my collection at home. I guess I can still drive it sometime in the future, but I’m really hoping I could have that car. Fingers crossed! :D

    [ Mickey Doshi ]