The wildest car I've ever owned was a 1974 Volkswagen Thing -- here's the cover of the 1973 Thing brochure.

Built on the VW Beetle chassis, it was a factory oddity that pre-dated the whole rugged look fad we're going through right now by three decades. HUMMER, the Nissan Xterra, the Honda Element -- all owe a tip of the stylistic hat to the Thing.

Talk about basic transportation -- it had no soundproofing, no windows, no interior carpeting, no heater to speak of. It had a totally manual top that was basically useless for weather protection -- it was useful for shade, for the most part, that is until it caught the wind one day on the road and ripped right off the car. Just as well. My Thing was orange with black seats and top, and I loved it -- until my commute changed, and I was forced to drive the Thing on the freeway everyday. You get to appreciate such niceties as soundproofing and heat when you have a 30 mile commute. I had to let the Thing go, sadly. When I see one on the road today, I still get a pang, even though mine has been gone for over twenty years now. When I get nostalgic, I take a spin around the VW Thing WebRing for old time's sake.