Hi, Erin (and everybody), You've got to remember that every state, county and town in Germany was pretty strapped for cash for a good 20 years following the end of WW2. The Volkswagen was a purchasing agent's dream: Nobody could touch them in price, and their cheap maintenance and misely fuel needs made them the all-purpose Basic Transportation.
If you follow that link in the Yellow Angels posting you'll see dozens of different versions working as road service units. The 1st German Police Oldtimer Museum in Marburg has several beautifully restored police VWs (go to www.polizeioldtimer.de and click on the "Oldtimer" tab at the top for their photo gallery). At one time (1972) there were over 10,000 VW police cars in service in Germsany, and they were also widespread in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Austria. A TV documentary series a couple of years ago was called, "When The Police Still Came by Beetle" (check out http://www.myvideo.de/watch/6053648/Als_die_Polizei_noch_im_Kaefer_kam and turn up the volume). Some of the cops they interviewed complained that they were cramped, underpowered, cold, and grossly inadequate -- but they sure beat bicycles and motorcycles! They always made the rookie ride in the back seat: he was called "the ballast"! And what did we all learn as teenagers? "You can't outrun a radio!" Even if it's a Telefunken! Gute Fahrt! Bert -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of No Quarter Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 9:27 PM To: Air-Cooled Volkswagen Discussion List Subject: Re: [vintagvw] Yellow Angels Bert - I have never seen any VWs like what you describe but I do have to laugh about Beetles as used in law enforcement. They never seemed to me like a car that anyone would take seriously. You couldn't have a high-speed chase in a beetle. That's for sure! :) They are still neat and served their purpose no matter where they were :) NQ ____ _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw
