This next car is advertised as a VW Squareback Type 3…but I’m not sure how much of the original pancake-4 powered rear engine remains, aside from the body. Power comes from a front mounted 2.6 liter Mitsubishi 4-cylinder engine that was used in a variety of Mitsubishi, Dodge, and Chrysler vehicles…and the rest of the […]
The Type 3 was a Dustin Hoffman approved Fastback, Notchback (coupe) and Squareback (wagon) that offered an improved driving experience for VW lovers over the ancient Beetle, but in a familiar rear-engine air-cooled setup. Prices for the Type 3 were always higher than a similar condition Beetle, and the days of cheap examples is long gone, but you don’t need to be a Rockefeller to afford a decent version. Find this 1969 Volkswagen Type 3 Squareback offered for $6,600 reserve-not-met via eBay with 5 days to go in Lakeland, FL.
The Volkswagen Squareback is a wagon variant of the popular Type 3 platform, which was a shared floorpan that used Type 1 Beetle (and Type 14 Karmann Ghia and Type 2 Bus) parts to build rear-engine air-cooled Notchback, Fastback, and Squareback. It is funny to think that 50 years ago Volkswagen was this tremendous builder of economy cars that were interesting and different from the mainstream, but today it owns Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Porsche — and it mostly sells boring same-as-everybody-else-but-marketed-different junk. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about being the largest seller of vehicles in the world, but where did all the aircooled fun stuff go? Find this 1972 Volkswagen Squareback offered for $2700 in Sacramento, CA via craigslist.
The VW Type 3 Squareback made big promises over the Beetle: namely more practicality, more safety, and more technology thanks to fuel injection and an automatic transmission…and it delivered on those promises and sold well from 1961 through 1973. However, some folks felt it needed more power, such as the builder of this next insane […]
You are an Libertarian leaning Republican who loves air cooled Volkswagens, but you can’t drive a Beetle or a “Hippie Bus” because you’ll look like a damn communist. What if you combined the free market vibe of a Volkswagen Squareback with the redneck utility of a pickup truck? You’ve even got a spare Ron Paul […]
The VW Type 3 Squareback made big promises over the Beetle: More practicality, more safety, and more technology thanks to fuel injection and an automatic transmission. This one has none of those selling features. However, it is more powerful and eye-stabbingly noticeable – a winning combination around here. Find this 1973 VW Type 3 Squareback […]
The Volkswagen Type 3 was a successor to the popular Type 1 (Beetle), but maintained the Beetle’s basic architecture; rear engine, air cooled flat-4 and affordable price tag. It was a significant update in styling terms and sold new as a notchback, squareback and fastback. It wasn’t ever sold as a pickup truck, so El […]
The Volkswagen Type 3 was an attempt by Volkswagen to repurpose its Beetle components in a new body to expand market share in the early 1960s. The Type 3 variant was known colloquially as the Squareback and sold under the Volkswagen 1500 nameplate in the US, and today has a significant cult following. This 1965 […]