Volkswagen Kharmannghia

 

 

 

VW Karmann Ghia — now that’s one o’ them sweet little German cruisers folks used to run all over Norway back in the ’60s and ’70s. She weren’t no fire‑breather, but she sure was a fine long‑haul ride considerin’ how rough them roads were back then. The bigger engines had a bit more kick, but mostly she was just smooth, steady, and easy to live with.

My daddy knew a fella way back in the ’70s who drove one. Strange ol’ character, had that deep inland Vestfold‑and‑Grenland kinda dialect. That man used to take long hauls up to Northern Norway and all over Europe and the Nordics almost every summer.

He kept his cars forever — only had three from 1970 clear up to 2020, ’til he had to give up his license ’cause of heart trouble. And honestly, thank the Lord — ain’t many folks over seventy who oughta be drivin’ all the way to Northern Norway.

He had a medium‑sized house with a big ol’ plot of land. One time my daddy said the guy told him everything was fine with him, but somethin’ was wrong with his husbok. I figured he meant the house was fallin’ apart — but nope, I was dead wrong.

See, that man slept in his car on them long trips ’cause he had a heart that could snooze through a thunderstorm. And his cars? Lord have mercy — by the end they were rotten, worn‑out, and held together by hope and habit.

So what was wrong with his husbok? Turns out he meant husbukk — them wood‑eatin’ critters that chew through trim and boards. And since his cars were half‑rotten anyway, well… his ‘husbok’ was somethin’ else entirely.

Now, the VW SP2 — that’s a whole ’nother story. One downright slick, rare, and mighty cool Brazilian spin on the Karmann Ghia, built in small numbers after the original Ghia went outta production. Brazil’s famous for keepin’ old Volkswagens alive long after the rest o’ the world moved on.

The classic Beetle? Sold brand‑new down there all the way ’til 2004, built ’til 2003. The old hippie buses? The earliest ones ran ’til ’75 in Brazil — everywhere else they stopped in ’67. The next generation kept goin’ ’til 2013 down there — while the rest o’ the world quit around ’79.

Brazil don’t let a good VW die easy, partner.”




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