Funkengroovin Wednesday - Tricked-Out Bugs!

Vagabondblogger apologizes for the lack of communication. This has been the medical / auto appointment week, in addition to preparing for Thanksgiving, constantly being called (by members of the family who think that since she's back in the U.S. she's available at all hours), and regular housewifely duties Vagabondblogger hates, thus leading to procrastination, resentment, piss-offedness, and just a general atmosphere of one bad-ass-itude, which leads to reading a book (more on that later. Vagabondblogger does not like to mix car talk with politics.) And it hasn't stopped yet. Don't you hate when others decide to schedule your highly complicated life for you? As if, you have all the time in the world to do their errands, because they really don't want to do it themselves. Vagabondblogger cut it off when a request came in to take one of the cars out for a detailed cleaning, which lasts about three hours (according to the detailer) and it's freaking getting cold, and damp outside now too! Who are these geniuses, you know the Number Ones, and Awesome people who dirty these cars up, plus The Boss Man who expects to do a personal inspection on each car?

So now, out of the blue, The Boss Man says he has ordered something for our transmission, from Jon in Maine - the dude who installed our South African VW Jetta engine, and most recently put in the 5 speed. Okay, so now Jon says he's going to get fuel injection for these buses. That's not what The Boss Man ordered, but it is now on his list. According to The Boss Man, "Oh, yeah. The other thing Jon said with the new fuel injection, even without a supercharger, a Vanagon with a 5 speed gets close to 25 - 27 mpg and ups the horsepower to 165 - plus lower pollution emissions." Supercharger? Did Vagabondblogger hear someone say, "Supercharger?" Apparently Jon can also install a supercharger, and The Boss Man has nixed it? I guess he hasn't discussed this with Number One Son yet (who laughs when passengers tell him they're "getting sick!"). Thanksgiving dinner should be interesting. Yes, Vagabondblogger has made sure there's plenty of booze to soothe the VW Lovers' souls. And of course, she had to go out with an explicit alcohol wish list in her hand to the local package store. Well, not exactly local, because that Package Store lady died recently - more on that later.

For all of you out there wanting what Jon promises - take a number!

And, be patient.

So, continuing on the tricked-out theme, Vagabondblogger presents some Beetles from Cairo, Egypt (Yeah / no, Vagabondblogger doesn't have any tricked out Buses or Vans). Sorry, but Vagabondblogger would like to point out that she's damn lucky she even got her act together to do her weekly Funkengroovin post this week.



Yellow Bug parked at Carrefour, Maadi.






























(Vagabondblogger is not quite sure what's going on with this bug, but it's definitely fugly.) Is it even finished? Silver Bug from the Nasr City Car Market.














(Maybe there's a reason some of these cars don't sell. Not sure, but Vagabondblogger just thinks of bees when she sees this.) Yellow and black Bug from the Nasr City Car Market.























NEWS (SOME OLD, SOME NEW) ABOUT TRICKED OUT BUGS:

ArtCar Fest Brings New Life to Old Rides

ArtCar Fest began Thursday with a caravan snaking across San Francisco to the Lawrence Hall of Science, high in the Berkeley hills. There, art-car owners, designers, engineers and enthusiasts gathered overlooking the city to eat, drink and ramp up for a weekend of shocking passersby and seeing old friends.

"I collect art, so why not drive it around?" said Scott Alan, one of the owners. Others have different motives. "We want to encourage everyone who wants to sell their car to turn it into a dinosaur," said long-time enthusiast Tom Kennedy.

A frontal view shows Oh My God!, created by art-car icon Harrod Blank. So what if the California plate spells a key word a little differently? It's an art car and has poetic license (plates).

Photo: Lane Hartwell

(More photos on the article link, above.)








VW Bug Motor Home -(Hahahaha)



Click on the link for more interesting photos. Vagabondblogger wonders what the hell these people were thinking! Anyway, if you're into this, you can order plans too.














Taming the Baja 1000 in a 'teched out' '69 Beetle

And it's going to be loaded down with the kind of high-tech gear that will make it possible for its owners, a team of 12 dedicated people from all over Silicon Valley known as Desert Dingo, to know precisely where they are at any moment, to know what giant pothole might be around the next bend and to Twitter every little development back to the rest of the world as it unfolds.

- Meet the Car -The Desert Dingo - More Photos

Super-Tricked Out VW Bug - Vagabondblogger thinks this car looks anal (got to see the photos), or it farted and someone lit a torch to it - you decide.

Tricked out VW Micro Bus - The Chameleon - New tricks for an old Bus (Vagabondblogger may have previously posted this link.)

Michael's Volkswagen Beetle: "Tricked Out Bug" - 1970 Bug Truck

Switches - VW Bug - Video of a levitating, tricked out Bug

Motorbooks; First edition (November 15, 2007)

This book provides a fantastic overview of customized Bugs. It shows the scene from which the demon bug emerged, and focuses on specific styles, from the mild to the wild. Cruisers and dragsters, sleepers and monsters--all are captured by Stephan Szantai's unmatched photography.

Accompanying these remarkable pictures is the how and why of each cars build. Painted, re-equipped, modified to taste, these are the Bugs of a generations dreams, a most humble vehicle suddenly and magnificently transformed.

If you're really desperate, Pimp My Ride did several shows on pimped out VW's (Buses and Bugs.)

NORMAL NEWS:

Wheels and wings highlight event - San Antonio Raceway

“This is really an ‘all make’ show, but we’re promoting it in the VW crowd, so I think there may be more VWs than other makes,” Kinsey said. “Most of this area’s classic, split-window buses should be there. I don’t want people who have a Model T or a Corvette to think they can’t come out. We’re looking for everybody, and we’d like to see them. We encourage anyone with a classic or collector car to come out.”

Beetles, Ghias and buses on display at Saturday's Volkswagen Show and Swap -Yuma, Arizona

The Old: Moammar Gadhafi's baby blue Volkswagen Beetle, now parked in the national museum.

Amid Hinderances of Old Ways, Libya Opens Up

All Things Considered, November 6, 2007 ·

In recent years, Libya has undergone a nip and tuck.

CBeebies was smart move for 'Nina the Neuron'

Nina then jumps in her VW camper van and chugs round to their houses to conduct an experiment, which will attempt to provide the answer.

More about the show here at the BBC site.


Vagabondblogger says, "Do What You Want!"
By OK GO