1973 Volkswagen Beetle

The history of the Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, dates from the late 1930s and was born from one of the infamous regimes the world has ever known. Over the many decades that followed, it had infiltrated every road in the United States, attracting customers by its low cost, durable mechanical components, and well-packaged interior. It was affordable, utilitarian, attractive, and unique - offering an alternative to the Detroit products which were large, high-performance gas guzzlers. It truly was the 'People's Car,' being assembled in over 60 countries with over 21 million examples produced of the original Beetle design and ranked as the most popular car the world has ever seen. In 1999, it was designated as one of the four most important vehicles ever produced, a distinction that was also bestowed upon the Ford Model T, Mini, and the Citroen DS.

The Volkswagen Beetle design remained unchanged, although it received a myriad of small changes every year. In 1968 it received larger bumpers, followed a few years later by the slightly larger Super Beetle which had more luggage capacity, a semi-trailing arm rear suspension, and MacPherson front struts.

The 1973 Volkswagen Beetle was available as a 2-door sedan, Convertible Sedan, and a Super Beetle Sedan. Pricing began at $2,300 for the 2-door and $3,050 for the Convertible. The Super Beetle had a base price of $2,500. Power was from a horizontally opposed, overhead-valve four-cylinder engine displacing 102.5 cubic-inches and offering 46 (SAE) horsepower.

The 1973 Beetle was given 5-mph bumpers, larger tail lamps, black windshield wiper arms, and improved intake-air preheating which aided in quicker cold weather starts. The Super Beetle received a larger windshield and improved flow-through ventilation.

by Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2014