New Milford VW Closing Brings Back Story of Mindy, Ethan and the Yellow Beetle

First the sad news ... I am sorry to report that after 65 years, one of the oldest VW dealerships in the country, New Milford Volkswagen, will be closing for business at the end of this month.

Ted Orr, the dealership's owner, told the News-Times that even though the dealership is financially healthy, Volkswagen has put a stop to Orr's line of credit because it hasn't shown a profit in three years, which obviously means New Milford VW can't even buy any cars to sell.

The VW Beetle holds a soft spot in our hearts, because my wife, Mindy, purchased a brand new yellow VW beetle fresh out of college in 1973 for $2,000.

She's told me about the many fond memories she holds for her very first car, like the time I broke up with her and she decided to pack up her stuff and travel cross country with her ex- best friend, Elaine.

During that trip, we talked every day and as she was actually "standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona," we decided to get our own place together when she returned.

There was the time on her return trip from out west, when she picked up a hitchhiker in San Francisco named Daryl, who was going back home to the Bronx. That's a lot of time together just driving in a car, so I remembered asking her if any hanky panky went on during that leg of the journey.

To this day she's never answered my question.

Her little bug was the car we drove to Parkersburgh, "West-By-God Virginia" in the freezing cold where there was only heat on the left side and no defrosters during the winter of 1978, where I interviewed for my first full time radio job. Good times!

My fondest memory was driving down the Taconic Parkway with cross-country skies tied to the roof and a big ass smile on my face to begin my career here at i95 in February of 1979.

We ended up selling her yellow VW Beetle, complete with a small hole in the driver's side floor board, to a Korean guy. Those were the days my friends!

Goodbye New Milford Volkswagen. You will be missed!