I would posit that it has far more to do with the overall trend toward larger cars (only recently does this seem to be abating) and humanity's overall asinine nature. More people in bigger cars means more assholes in bigger cars.

Here's a photo of my '57 that's made it around the internet a few times. It's the car that got me into cars.

It does look an awful lot like a Ghia design, doesn't it...

I've driven a '62 VW bus coast to coast and drove one daily for a few years as my only vehicle. No car I've ever driven, ridden in, seen, or heard about gets the same amount of attention. Kids see them in their cartoons (it's probably the most animated model of vehicle ever), teens associate them with freedom and…

Personal fav. Pretty, looks fast, built next to the Porsche 356 at one point and even shared many components, but slow as a bug and proud of it!

I imagine that's probably an early V10 TDI Touareg. They were pretty incredibly powerful and had some trick torque vectoring that would have helped considerably. I think a V10 Touareg holds a world record of some sort for power output.

Additionally, isn't the Lotus that the early Teslas were based on mid-engined? Even if it was a conventional car, the hood wouldn't have been hot. That said, editorial or no, it doesn't sound like a particularly far-fetched anecdote. There are plenty of douchebag cops, but there are also plenty that are more than…

I'm a pretty serious VW guy, and I've seen a lot of interesting conversions... some well done, some not. This one falls squarely in the later category. If you want a project you can pick up bajas that haven't been so thoroughly butchered all day around a grand.

That's actually pretty interesting... The way I'm always able to pick out people on their cell phones, and the primary deviation from normal driving I'm guilty of while talking on a cell phone, is slow driving. If someone is in the wrong lane going slow, you can just about guarantee they're on a cell phone... Driving…

I'm trying to sell my '74 FJ40 to get into a squareback, but I'm also considering some later (post-'64) bugs as baja fodder... This article definitely had me clicking over to the Samba classifieds.

Best and most factual paleo-poop story cum "polished turd" analogy I've ever read! Hats off to you!

I really enjoy working on my cars, but if I had to pick something I liked the least it would be anything that was exceptionally dirty (I'm the type with a dedicated jumpsuit wearing latex gloves when I work on my cars). If you count body work as maintenance (a bit of a stretch maybe), then sanding, hands down. I'll go…

Once it settles into an PRM range, it sounds EXACTLY like the little blower thing that goes with the air mattress in my closet.

I'd buy into this one from the getting looks and even photos perspective, save that it would be hard to make the case for enthusiasm from non-enthusiasts.

Nope.

I was raised in the back of a 64.5 Mustang Convertible. Gets looks, that's it. Looks alone do not equal enthusiasm.

I own a Beetle (currently in resto). It gets looks and photos, but there's also the other end of the spectrum. Beetles are very love/hate. Just about everyone of a certain age has fond memories from their youth involving Beetles, but there's almost a classist thing opposite what you get from the high end cars going…

Been there, done that. Not a crowd pleaser. Only the very tip top of the line gets any attention (I'm talking SLR). AMG badges mean nothing to non-car people, and Mercs are intentionally unassuming.

I currently own and DD FJ40 (which is arguably the same basic thing), and I can tell you it's a snoozer compared to many others.

I've driven one. Nowhere near the top as far as looks from non-car people go. People will look, and even take photos, but that's about it. There's a lot more to enthusiasm than looking at something.