Green Peace

One of the well loved stories in VW history is how the British helped saved the marque from oblivion after WWII. Ivan Hirst, the British Army Major was regarded a prominent and very important figure in this period. He believed in the Beetle and this foresight eventually allowed the VW Bug to be what it is right now, an icon of peace and universality, totally turning around its infamous past. Incidentally soon after rebuilding part of the ravaged car factory, a Beetle was instructed to be painted green by Hirst for presentation to the British Army. This paved the way for the restarting and manufacturing of the vital orders of 20,000 Bugs, thus resurrecting the VW margue and the rest they say, is history.

By the way, a huge part of those vital first orders of VW’s were use for patrol cars and government use during postwar and peace-time Germany. Could this be the reason why the Duetsche Polizei cars are now in green/white combination? A British racing green on the VW is a testament to this? Maybe?

I do have a charming example of this VW Polizei car in this color combination. A good coincidence is that this is a ‘Corgi’ brand diecast. Made courtesy of the….British of course.

The front wheels steer via the ring hub around the blue siren light.

The trunk opens to reveal a par of boots. Two policemen are on board. Love those gems as headlights!

The 1200cc motor can be admired from the opened deck lid. A neat touch is that the mudguards have VW logos!

A Pig’s Year

This should be a good year!
They say 2007 should be very abundant in all earthly bounties.
Much of this optimism stems from this year being the Chinese “Year of the Pig”.
So what does this all mean for me?
Should I go fattening myself by gobbling up tasty gastronomic desires?
Will my wealth skyrocket to unprecedented heights?
Should I accumulate properties this year?
More cars perhaps?

It seems my new interest will jive with this year’s mascot.
Before you get into wild guessing, I won’t be in pursuit of boars.
Yup, they should make for some tasty steaks, YUMMmmY!
But then again, I should watch my health too on fatty galore.
Instead, I’ll start the year right and get acquainted with them “Pig’s cars”
If you didn’t already know, Police or Cops are known as “Pigs” in the USA.
I don’t know why they call them such. Are there similarities?
Maybe because adorable Pigs come in black & white too.
Oiiink!

My illustration of a Pig’s Cars, the ‘Pulis Matulis’

A English made vintage diecast, ‘Husky” VW 1300 Polizei

A dubbed Ford Mustang Highway Patrol Car