The Twinkie Mobile: How a Volkswagen Bus Became a Part of Family History

My husband's family has a love affair with first cars; they are such an important part of family history that each and everyone of them still drive the first car they've ever owned.

Dad's first car was 1951 Hudson pacemaker, baby blue with a chrome grill; it doesn't have the whoomp of the Hornet but it's still a sweet ride.

Mom's first car was a 1953 MG which has the ability to drop jaws from 2 city blocks a way.
Oldest brother had one of those muscle cars, an early 1970s Chevy some-thing-or-other that makes a lot of noise and is the type of car that every teenaged boy wants to own.

My husband's first car was a plain old 1974 Volkswagon bus. Not one of the ultra cool splities from the 60s, or the nifty Westfalia with the sweet camper set up, or even a beater with peace symbols and Grateful Dead stickers and a patchwork of daisies...just a plain old bus.

After we married it became my family car, the one I used to drive the kids around and run my errands and buy the groceries with and the one we would take on family vacations. When my oldest son was 10, one of his friends dubbed it the "twinkie mobile" and the kids were utterly mortified beyond belief. It soon reached the point that they wanted to be dropped off a block away from friends and school events, and as soon as I gave them the nod they rode their bikes everywhere rather than risk the horror of being seen in a blue twinkie.

In the 90s, we restored it and even took a Best of Show in a Volkwagen Car show...not because it was anything special with fancy paint and gleaming racks, awnings and 29 windows that slid up and down and doubled as solar collectors...but because it was the only stock vehicle in the entire show, having never been modified or "groovified" as my kids called it. The trophy was pretty cool, I admit, but the kids still refused to ride in the twinkie.