how long does a vw beetle float? Just watch!
Posted on March 11th, 2010 by admin
Wanna have the DVD? Visit http://www.painteddesigns.nl
In July 2007, I received an email from Lew Wood, the actor who appears in this commercial. He tells:
I am the guy tha D-D-B chose to be the spokesman for that famous “Floating VW” TV commercial in June , 1972.
My name is Lew Wood, and I was doing commercials and V/O’s in NYC when I was booked for the job. We shot it at a launching ramp in Stamford, CT on LI Sound. The production crew was Horn-Greiner. Director Norm Greiner. D-D-B’s creative director was Tom Yobaggy. And even Mr. Bernbach was on the location!
They hired a stuntman to drive the VW into the water. However, Norm Greiner suddenly woke up to the fact that I had to deliver that last line “Now, what other car gives you this kind of quality at this kind of price?” from the car! I said, “Norm, I’m a sailor, I’m at home on the water. I’ll drive it in!”
I splashed it three times. (We used three identical Beetles, all burnt orange in color. Splashed two of them alternately, the third never got wet and was used for “beauty shots.” Swimmers went in to tow them back to shore after each take.
We all thought our commercial would win the “Clio” that year, but the “Snowplow” commercial took the prize.
However, the residuals were nice!
After many years of searching for a 1972 Super Beetle in burnt orange with NO RUST, I finally found one a few years ago in Vista, CA, and snapped it up. I now proudly drive around town frequently and get admiring looks.
Now, you know “the rest of the story!”
This commercial has a surprise in it. At the and you can watch a beetle being driven into the water. Funny is the text in the commercial says: allthough the beetle does definately float, it will not float indefinately. Fun!
From the DVD ‘Legend on wheels’. Wanna have this DVD packed with 2 hours of high quality digitally remastered old vw commercials? The DVD really brings you back to the ’60s and ’70s. Send an email to: beetlejuice150@hotmail.com
Duration : 0:0:55
[youtube 1qB0lb401ZU]
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
It’s too bad the VW …
It’s too bad the VW beetle is overpriced now.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
“so well built” he …
“so well built” he just peeled the thing off the door..
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Back before VW’s …
Back before VW’s were cars
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
is this a joke
is this a joke
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Nice add!
Nice add!
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
now thats a great …
now thats a great car add.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
more then you buddy.
more then you buddy.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Showing your …
Showing your intelligence again I see. Nice language.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
that why you dont …
that why you dont soak the distributor idiot. it grounds out the arc. you mention an engine will run with suberged exhaust? yes but if you let those rpms fall the water WILL flow into the cylinders, once that happened it stalls, your cylinders with open exhaust valve fill up, then your hydrolocked. 50 posts in one day on one video and you havent said anything useful.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Beetle Black …
Beetle Black Edition 2010: Un amigo de colección
Volkswagen apuesta a los coleccionistas y presenta la edición especial de su modelo más representativo en el mundo.
Para leer la nota completa visita la página de Playboy México
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Nah, Central Texas.
Nah, Central Texas.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Any chance of being …
Any chance of being in Queensland
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
We’ve got a 71 …
We’ve got a 71 super beetle we were trying to sell but so far no one seems to be interested. So we’re considering rebuilding the engine instead.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Sweet project car. …
Sweet project car. I’ve got a ‘65 Beetle and a ‘78 Westfalia (Corvair implanted).
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Aircooled VWs were/ …
Aircooled VWs were/are always catching on fire. Fuel system gravity feeds gasoline to the engine and any leak weeps gasoline over something hot enough to catch. Once the fire starts it keeps leaking and burns the car up. Always replace the fuel lines often and add a fuel valve to the bottom of the gas tank so you can turn the gas off in case of fire. Also the carbs have a brass fitting that falls out here the gas line connects. Its an age thing.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Rust was another …
Rust was another big heat killer. Even the late 70s buses had good heat when the van was new. My friend and I both have 1978 campers. Her’s has very low miles and came from Arizona. Mine has 200K miles on it and spent several salty winters here in TN. Her heat worked very well in all temps. I compared the systems and mine had little heat shields that had rusted away, loose hoses, etc. You either have to have very hot air or lots of lukewarm air. Mine had neither.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
I had a good ‘82 …
I had a good ‘82 Super Beetle. GREAT heat. Fume free heat too. The problem was all the hoses and seals had to be intact to keep the heated air moving into the car and to keep the exhaust smell out. It worked REALLY well until a sloppy shadetree mechanic started leaving parts off or failed to replace little rubber parts that wore out or broke. The heaters got hot fast too. Had to disconnect the heaters in the summer b/c even off some heat always got into the car.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
The heaters would …
The heaters would be the easiest place for the water to come in. They are 3″ tubes that run from the engine all along the floors. As the heaters leaked water inside the car, you’d begin to sink.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Well the 60s …
Well the 60s version of the Beetle did not have any ventilation except the windows. Somewhere in about 1970 or so auto makers that sold cars in the USA had to add ventilation that caused some air to move through the car anytime the car was moving to keep carbon monoxide from building up inside the car. So the 60s and 50s cars would be pretty air tight with the windows closed. The 70s cars would leak air out (water in) no matter what.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Well you could fix …
Well you could fix it forever anyhow – at least until rust set in. None of these cars were galvanized, just heavily painted. A stone could chip that paint and rust could set in.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Do a little …
Do a little checking. There was ALOT of cars in Europe like the Beetle. VERY lightweight. Very basic. By modern standards very few of them crash worthy. On the other hand two of these cars having a collision wouldn’t be as bad as say a modern SUV vs European economy car from 1968. When I was stationed there folks were very aware of how safe what they chose to drive and were cautious enough. I would drive one if more of our traffic in the USA was lighter weight again.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Yep, just like a …
Yep, just like a motorcycle. Works great. Or watch the odometer. Your car is generally going to need gas about the same number of miles later each time. My daily driver is usually within 20 miles each time.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
The reason these …
The reason these aircooled engines stall generally is the ignition cap condensates inside (hot cap, cool water) and wrecks the ignition charge from the coil to the spark plug.
Alot of engines have this problem. Take your hot engine to the car wash and spray the engine while it is running. Get the distributor wet enough and the engine stalls. Some cars are worse than others.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
No, they’ll run …
No, they’ll run with the exhaust under the water. I’ve done this dozens of cars at different times. Launching boats, out with the 4WDs and crossing creeks, flooded roads, etc. I have done with a CR-V, motorcycles, Beetles, VW Westfalias, etc. The water in the exhaust is not a problem unless it floods the exhaust b/c the engine is stalled. On a rear engine it’s also dangerous b/c the very hot cylinders and heads are low and could get quinched cracking them.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
VW made this …
VW made this commercial. So they messed up one car to sell millions more. FWIW it wouldn’t even be that messed up. Drag it out, pull the spark plugs, blow out the water (maybe the driver turned off the engine saving the engine), and change the oil in the engine and tranny. Drive some more. Folks do that with Jeeps and four wheelers all the time. Not instant death to a vehicle. Salt water is much worse of course… VBG!