Funkengroovin in Giza

Ahh, the antiquities that abound in Giza are beyond belief. Some people go for the Pyramids, but Vagabondblogger finds classics of another nature quite interesting. These photos were taken along "Dead Donkey Canal Road", as we were driving home after visiting the Giza Pyramids, and lunching at the Mena House.

Giza's nickname is "Volkswagen City." The pictures here should give you an idea why, but for Vagabondblogger it just wets her appetite for more. Vagabondblogger's mistake was refusing to be "the bitch" in the car on the way home. She insisted on sitting on the right window seat, to get better VW photos, when in actuality, she probably would've been better off in the middle (bitch) seat. All photos were taken "on the go". As Vagabondblogger told everyone, "I've got my camera set on the fast moving object setting." Sure enough, she didn't hear the end of that, until they all got bored and fell asleep in the car.

Here's a few road rules for driving VW Buses (taxis) in Giza:


1) Maneuver through traffic to avoid nicks at all costs.





















2) Pimp out your vehicle to easily identify it and you as a lean, lovin' taxi machine. "Love Xpress" is the perfect logo. (Hey, that's me in the mirrors!)
































3) Birds of a feather flock together. Park near your brothers/sisters.













Don't park next to these fugly "Ramses" buses, (Russian designed, but built in Egypt)


































4) Air out your rear end. It gives the engine more air, and some folks think it keeps the engine cooler too. Let me add that some people also think that turning off the headlights at night, saves on gas!





















5) The side door is always open. That makes it super easy for people to jump on and off when you're moving through traffic.
































6) Avoid dead donkeys in the road, which sometimes fall into the canal. Thus the name, "Dead Donkey Canal Road." (Dead donkey photo taken by Number One Son.) This was the second dead donkey we spotted along the canal this day.






July 30, 2003: Last Vee-Dub Marks the End of an Automotive Era

"Born in Germany in 1938, the Volkswagen Type 1 was built to fit Adolf Hitler's specifications for a "people's car" that could accommodate two adults and three children while costing no more than 990 Reichsmarks. Production was under way but relatively few cars were built prior to the start of World War II.

2003: The last "old style" Volkswagen Beetle rolls off a Mexican assembly line.

In 1972, the Beetle surpassed the Ford Model T as the best-selling car of all time.
Still, by the early '70s the Beetle was in decline, facing new competition from increasingly efficient Japanese cars that also eschewed the Vee-Dub's simplicity for more bells and whistles. The last German-made Beetle left Wolfsburg in 1978 and production shifted mainly to Brazil and Mexico, where the car remained popular.
But it was all over by 2003, and on July 30 the last original Beetle, No. 21,529,464, rolled off the line at Puebla, Mexico, and was promptly shipped to the Volkswagen company museum in Wolfsburg."



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