Wheels Blog: My Other Car Is: A 1965 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Courtesy of Vince Vespe Vince Vespe’s 1965 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible.

Vince Vespe admits that dating a German woman – and perhaps hoping to make points with her father, a Volkswagen owner and aficionado – influenced his decision to buy a red, white-topped Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible in 1961. As it turned out, his relationship with the German car outlasted the one with the German woman.

Then, in 1962, Mr. Vespe, who had just started his career as a history teacher, took the Karmann Ghia on a cross-country road trip with a friend, spending two months crossing the continent and traversing Mexico.

Mr. Vespe bought a 1965 convertible model after a drunken driver hit his ’61 Karmann Ghia. The new one was red with a black roof and interior. It came with worthwhile upgrades over the 1961 version, including a gas gauge and the optional AM/FM radio.

Courtesy of Vince Vespe Vince Vespe’s 1965 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible.

Built on a wider VW Beetle chassis, the Karmann Ghia took its name from the German coachbuilder that assembled it and the Italian design company that shaped its pretty lines. The car was introduced as a coupe in 1955, with a convertible added in 1957. Both were built until 1974.

Ghia had also been responsible for building several Chrysler concept cars in the 1950s, including one that evolved into the limited-production Dual-Ghia luxury car, as well as the Norseman prototype that sank off Nantucket aboard the doomed Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria in 1956. Ford Motor Company bought control of Ghia in 1970, and Ghia-built prototypes influenced the design for the 1974-1978 Mustang II.

The underpowered Karmann Ghia was more “sporty” than sports car, but its perky style, reliable powertrain and easygoing road manners made it popular around the world. Volkswagen manufactured about 445,000 of the cars, building another 42,000 of a Karmann Ghia variant known as the Type 34, which had a handsome, squared-off body resembling the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair. That model was not officially imported to the United States, but numerous owners shipped them here individually.

Fans of the 1960s TV show “Get Smart” will remember the Karmann Ghia’s appearance in the opening credits on some episodes, when Volkswagen sponsored the show.

Courtesy of Vince Vespe The Karmann Ghia remained Vince Vespes only car until 1974.

After the 1965 Karmann Ghia entered Mr. Vespe’s life, so did a new woman, Gail, who would become his wife. For their honeymoon, the newlyweds, both teachers at Bergenfield High School in New Jersey, packed the convertible with a tent, cans of Dinty Moore beef stew and other supplies and spent their summer break on the road, revisiting Mr. Vespe’s earlier adventure to California and Mexico. They camped in state parks for 50 cents a night.

“It was safe to drive through Mexico back then,” said Mr. Vespe, who lives in Hillsdale, N.J. “Gas was 25 or 30 cents, and the car got about 40 miles per gallon.”

The Karmann Ghia’s diminutive 1,200 c.c. air-cooled flat-4 engine, which made all of 40 horsepower, remained a reliable partner for the entire trip. Mr. Vespe did all the driving, because his wife didn’t have a driver’s license and couldn’t drive a stick shift anyway.

In 1969, the Vespes tried to drive the Karmann Ghia to the Woodstock Music festival, but were halted by the torrential rain that ended up turning the concert field into a giant mud puddle. They took the trusty convertible on one more cross-country and Mexico drive in 1971. Mr. Vespe also recalled a later vacation trip to Florida, with their toddler son, Vince Jr., sitting in the rear “seat” (which is really no more than an upholstered luggage shelf) the entire way.

The convertible remained the Vespes’ only car until 1974, when they bought a larger Plymouth to accommodate their growing family, now with a daughter, Jacqueline. Ms. Vespe finally acquired a driver’s license and drove the Plymouth, while Mr. Vespe commuted in the Karmann Ghia, which by then had begun to rot.

Courtesy of Vince Vespe The back seat of a Karmann Ghia isn’t really much of a seat, but it was good enough for a toddler during a Florida road trip one year.

“The Karmann Ghias were terrible rusters, and the convertible would rot out faster than the coupe,” he said. “That’s why the convertibles are rare.”

When he couldn’t bear to watch the car get worse, Mr. Vespe patched its rough spots with duct tape and sprayed oil on various parts in an effort to slow the spread of cancer. He bought an Audi for daily driving in 1985, but still tooled drove his rusting Karmann Ghia on weekends. His daughter drove the car to her junior prom, duct tape patches and all.

Eventually, Mr. Vespe sent the Karmann Ghia to a Clifton, N.J., restoration shop, which spent two years returning the car to like-new condition. The shop finished the job in 2002, and Mr. Vespe said he was likely the only owner of a stock-condition 1965 convertible in the Karmann Ghia Club of North America.

“All the others are modified in some way,” he explained. Modifying engines to make more power, or installing larger VW or even Porsche 4-cylinder engines are common upgrades that Karmann Ghia owners make. “I always left mine stock,” he said.

Courtesy of Vince Vespe Vince Vespe’s 1965 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible, top up.

The Vespes’ Karmann Ghia has been solicited to appear in television commercials, and, three years ago, a production company rented the car to use in a remake of the 1960 film, “Butterfield 8,” for which Elizabeth Taylor won an Oscar in the original version. Mr. Vespe attended an all-day location shoot in Manhattan, but has not heard anything further about the movie’s completion or eventual release.

The Vespes, now retired, own two Audis but still drive the Karmann Ghia often. They finally made it to Woodstock, attending the various reunion events in the car. Mr. Vespe, who is 74, continues to do the driving, because his wife still can’t drive stick shift.

“I’ll keep it forever” he said. “I’ll drive that car into oblivion.”