VW Karmann Ghia 1955-1982, compiled by R.M. Clarke.

VW Karmann Ghia 1955-1982, compiled by R.M. Clarke. Paperback book published by Brooklands Books (no date), 100 pages with black and white photographs and illustrations.

I was about 16 when I first encountered the Karmann Ghia. My friend Kathy had an aunt (Mary) who owned one of these gems and as you do when you're a teenager, we would often get lifts to wherever it was that we were going. I'm not sure why I fell for it, maybe it was the uncomfortableness of the tiny hard back seat that appealed (… she wasn't my aunt, so I rode in the back) or maybe it was the cool sleak curves of what was a rather unusual car for suburban Melbourne in the 1970s. A number of years later I was casually chatting to my boss about cars which was a very unusual thing for me as i'm not really a car talking sort of guy, and he asked what my dream car was. I didn't even hesitate in saying a Karmann Ghia as that was truly the first car that came into my mind. Despite his encouragement at the time, I didn't rush out and buy one. Many years later a chance to own another classic VW arrived and I took it... and lovingly drove a 1967 Beetle up until I moved away from Melbourne. I miss the Beetle and I miss the Karmann Ghia that never was.

Maybe that's what this book is about... a collection of various articles... car porn for people like me that will probably never own one of these beauties. Wouldn't it be nice?