Apocalypse Beetle - The Automotive Experience - video Dailymotion

Executive Automotive Society

Today we caught a bug!  Not just any virus or pandemic!  No, we caught a VW Bug!  The Volkswagen Beetle is a classic car, one of the most produced vehicle in the world and the different variations are incredible, but I think this one fits most into current events.  It has a Steam Punk, Mad Max, Wasteland style, fit for fighting zombies already, that not many cars can match and it's ready for the end of the world.  From the missiles and machine gun, to the skulls and stylish paint, there's not many bases this doesn't cover.  It's a blast to drive and crazy to try to figure out.  So today we talk about what it's like to drive, how much it would cost to build a similar one, what is the upkeep and maintenance like, and finally give it an assessment on its ability as a daily driver.  Check it out!  Visit our social media locations and podcast for more automotive news and reviews, supercar discussion, fashion, business and motivation.  For all your high end car needs and event coverage.  For quick look up use our Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/vipprimo  TheSociety Website: https://www.executiveautomotivesociety.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ExecutiveAutomotiveSociety Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/executiveautomotivesociety/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/executiveautomotivesociety Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ExecAutoSociety LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/executive-automotive-society Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/executiveautomotivesociety Daily Motion: https://www.dailymotion.com/executiveautomotivesociety  VIPPrimo YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/vipprimo Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/vipprimo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vipprimo/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vipprimo/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/vipprimo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vipprimo/ Kick: https://kick.com/vipprimo TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vipprimo  Podcast: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BZFhP8GxqhsNWaNpFGTDD Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcast/89022484-40e0-44ec-9af9-49172bd7c9ad/car-side-chat Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/car-side-chat/id1588813691 Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy82Y2YxMWJiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw Anchor: https://anchor.fm/executiveautosociety

Transcript

00:00So, you're in the middle of a global pandemic.

00:04The world is falling apart around you.

00:06What do you do?

00:08And most important, what do you drive?

00:10Well today, we're going to show you the Apocalypse Beetle.

00:40I'm your host VIP Primo.

00:49I am going to apologize up front.

00:51I know this is our first episode, yes, our first episode of what it's like to drive this

00:55year.

00:56Unfortunately, with current events right now, with the world ending and all, we couldn't

01:01actually get anything to put together.

01:03A lot of people did cancel on us to bring their cars out.

01:06And for good reason.

01:08These cars are here.

01:09You're going to be able to drive them, so we were definitely patient, put everything

01:13together, and then brought you one of the great shows.

01:15But that is what makes this vehicle perfect for our first show.

01:20Welcome, the Apocalypse Beetle.

01:23This car is made up to be Mad Max.

01:25It's got a lot of steampunk features to it.

01:28There's a lot of stuff here that you're not going to be able to see how much went into

01:32this.

01:34The machine gun's in the top there.

01:36It's going to have a rotating beam on it.

01:38These right here, the missiles on it, actually have a rotation.

01:41I'm going to try to get as much of this car as I possibly can, but it may be impossible

01:46to get everything.

01:47This might be a car that you will have to see at a show at some point.

01:51But our job today is not to go over the car that way.

01:54Our job today is first to find out what it's like to drive.

01:57What it costs to build a vehicle like this, and lastly, what it costs to maintain a vehicle

02:03like this.

02:04And what are the driving conditions?

02:07How is this car to drive on the road?

02:09I have to say, this is the first time I've ever been really afraid to drive a car.

02:14There's not a lot of visibility in it.

02:16It's a very rough setup.

02:19This is going to be interesting.

02:21But we're going to check it out right now.

02:29Alright guys, welcome to the inside of this bug.

02:34This thing is apocalypse waiting to happen.

02:37It is enclosed.

02:38The roof is right here.

02:41The pedals are tight together.

02:44It feels like it wants to kill me, and in fact, it already has tried to kill me once.

02:48But I lived through it, which is good.

02:50So if the end of the world does happen, I'm ready for it.

02:55Everybody is staring at us.

02:56It's funny, we've gotten everything from laughs to, I don't know if you guys have seen Chris

03:00before.

03:01Chris has been on the show.

03:02This is his car.

03:03He is no stranger to this.

03:06We're getting laughs, we're getting everything.

03:09We're getting the whole, everybody is staring at me right now to get moving.

03:13So I'm going to get a dude to try and pull this thing.

03:23Oh, e-brake.

03:24Yeah, you've got to take that off.

03:26That's probably important.

03:27I'm in first now.

03:28We're good.

03:30Up here.

03:33I'm on the open road now.

03:43Okay.

03:44Okay, so I feel like I'm, oh.

03:47Bump, bump, bump, bump, bump.

03:49I'm shifting.

03:51Oh, I did that.

03:53Oof.

03:55We have run aground already.

03:58Oh yeah, it's getting nuts in here.

04:00Was that bad?

04:02It's alright.

04:03Did the brakes work?

04:05By the way, they're regular brakes.

04:07They're not hydraulic or anything.

04:09There's no power assist here, so.

04:11There we go.

04:13This thing scares the piss out of me.

04:16Oh my god, this is such a learning curve.

04:20I can't find the gear.

04:22Why is it not going into first?

04:24Oh, there we go.

04:25You've got to get used to this.

04:27I have to say it's a lot of fun, but it's going to be a lot of getting used to.

04:31Okay.

04:32I'm like stretched out because the view place from where I'm looking at is like, bang, bang.

04:40That's first.

04:41Okay, cool.

04:42I figured it out.

04:43The first gear is not where it's supposed to be.

04:45It's not.

04:46It's where it's supposed to be on a bug.

04:49Right.

04:50The coolest thing is the rear view mirror.

04:53Everything's all archaic, and then you get to the rear view mirror, and it's all tech.

04:57Oh, I found it.

04:58I found it.

05:07See, I can tell it's coming to me.

05:16Okay, so to go back, this car isn't for everybody.

05:22It takes a lot of getting used to.

05:24I am paying attention to every spot on the road.

05:28The blinkers don't untap.

05:30It's like you got to do everything yourself.

05:34Oh, that was smooth.

05:36I actually get a good shift there.

05:38We're going to try another one.

05:40We just passed an officer, and he was just like all into this thing.

05:44But no, usually I'm talking.

05:46You got to pay a ton of attention to what you're doing in the car and how you're driving.

05:52I'm sure if you knew what you were doing and you were driving this for a while, it would

05:55probably be a lot easier to get used to where the gear shifts are.

05:59I am more afraid of hitting the ground and scraping stuff right now, so I am directly

06:05attentive to that.

06:07But yeah, just going to say it like this.

06:09Very unruly.

06:13I don't want to say the word inhospitable.

06:15This car wants to fight you.

06:17But it fights you, and I'm really having a lot of fun with it.

06:22I'm just going to say it again.

06:23Not for everybody.

06:25This is specifically for a person that enjoys a certain style of vehicle that's just not

06:30like anything else.

06:32Oh, I got it.

06:33Don't do you.

06:35I'm getting it.

06:40Once you get used to seeing the rear view mirror and seeing the road and the limited

06:44amount of space you have, you really start getting into the groove of it.

06:48And then it starts becoming easy.

06:51See, now I'm shifting fine, paying less attention to the road.

06:54This thing really scared me when I first got into it, but now I'm really having a lot of

06:58fun with it.

07:00And I don't know, I'm starting to want to suggest stuff like this to people.

07:04I've always wanted to have something like this, but this is the kind of thing that there's

07:10a good reason to be afraid to get into it, because it's really a wake-up call to how

07:16you want to drive it.

07:21Oops.

07:23Stand by.

07:34Okay, so that's my heroin driver.

07:36You can see Chris is laughing his ass off right now, because this is what he does all

07:41the time.

07:42He'll drive this to our meet tonight and have like a ton of fun.

07:45Me, he's sitting here watching me piss myself, and he's all excited about it.

07:49We are here.

07:50I am ready to review this thing.

07:51I hope you guys enjoy.

07:52Get ready.

07:54I'm stuck.

07:55It won't let me out.

07:57Oh, look at that.

07:58Okay, I'm good.

08:11Okay, so what is it like to drive?

08:13Well, it's rough.

08:16It drags.

08:19It tried to kill me.

08:21What else?

08:22It bumps a lot.

08:23We had one big bang in there that actually scared the life out of me.

08:27It's very close to your head.

08:29It's tight.

08:30The spaces are just, I don't know.

08:33It's intolerable.

08:34It's a very tough car to drive.

08:36Shifting is difficult.

08:37You have to get accustomed to it.

08:39It doesn't have a power assist brake, and with all that being said, it's probably the

08:43funnest car I've ever driven.

08:45It's such a guilty pleasure.

08:48It's one of those things that a lot of people would say it's not a car I want to own.

08:53It's a car I want to drive, and it is a perfect example of a car that is better than any Cobra

08:59kit car you could ever pick up.

09:01Any of that stuff.

09:02It is just an unruly beast that just wants to go hog wild and have fun.

09:08It is a huge attention getter.

09:11We had people taking pictures, people smiling, people laughing.

09:15I have never had a cacophony of responses to a vehicle like I've had with this thing,

09:20and I have to say it was really fun to do.

09:23The best part about this car is it's actually street legal.

09:27It has all the working things that it needs, a working horn, turn signals, the whole nine

09:32yards, and if you can actually see it, it has an inspection sticker on it, so it actually

09:35passed inspection.

09:37There's no shock.

09:38When you're driving it, everything is there.

09:40I didn't feel unsafe in the vehicle.

09:43I felt really crazy fun, and the thing was I was actually kind of shocked because there's

09:49not a lot of space to view out of this, and when you first get in it, you feel compacted

09:54into the space, but once you're in it, it kind of feels like a normal car.

09:58It didn't feel cramped.

10:00It didn't feel like I was falling apart.

10:02It didn't feel like I was losing visibility.

10:04One thing that was added to this car that I think is the best thing in here is it has

10:08a rear view mirror that actually has a backup camera in it and a forward camera, so there

10:13really was no possibility of me missing anything on the road.

10:16It was just a lot of fun, and I have to say, I really, really enjoyed driving this vehicle,

10:23and I hope to get to drive it again.

10:25Okay, so how much would it cost to build something like this?

10:30Not as much as you'd expect, so making an offer per se on just a bug body or something

10:35like that, I mean, you could probably find them anywhere from $500 to $1,500.

10:40You want to find something obviously solid.

10:42I know this may look rusty, but it's not.

10:45It's very well put together.

10:47It's a solid vehicle, and with these, you want to find something that's solid.

10:51You don't want to find something that's going to fall apart because obviously safety is

10:55a concern down the road, but all said and done, $5,000 to $10,000 depending on what

11:02you did to your car and how much you wanted to do similar to this one.

11:06There is a lot that's gone into this, a lot of technical stuff.

11:10I'm hoping that a lot of the pictures will get it, but the reality is that there really

11:15isn't that much stuff to do.

11:17It's a Volkswagen bug, so it's a car that you can get into, do a lot of research.

11:22There is a huge Volkswagen population out there that loves these cars, that just lives

11:29off them and talks about how to upgrade them, make power with them, do whatever you want

11:34to them.

11:35There's a huge group of people that support aftermarket stuff, even these older things.

11:39If this is the kind of car that you want to get into just as an aftermarket piece, there's

11:44a lot to get out of this, and there's a huge group that's going to be out there ready to

11:48put their words in and get you to the other side.

11:51This is a good project.

11:52Any Volkswagen project, I would support.

11:55The thing with this one is it may be something a little bit too much for you, so if this

12:00is too much for you, I understand you can go a little bit more conservative with it,

12:05be a little bit less aftermarket with it.

12:10Volkswagen bugs are fun to do, so that's the thing, think about a bug, they're a great

12:14car.

12:15Lastly, what is the maintenance like on this?

12:18I know it seems like a lot, but it's a Volkswagen Beetle, so how much can the maintenance be?

12:24A lot of the things on this is a little bit more done up than what you're used to.

12:28You're going to see the artwork on this car, the dynamics it's done with this, there's

12:33some other concerns that he has, and things that he looks at.

12:37Most of those are driving conditions, though, the style of the vehicle.

12:40You have to make sure that you're not hitting certain potholes in the driving dynamic itself.

12:45This thing does run aground a lot, so it's something you have to get used to.

12:51It really is watching out for the road conditions that are going to put you in those positions

12:55to have it.

12:56But otherwise, those little things that we hit, even though it made me jump and I was

13:00scared for my life that I had broke something, in reality if you put it together really well,

13:07you won't have much of a concern with that and things won't need to be replaced as much.

13:11If you don't do the right work, and you don't put in the love the way you need to, you might

13:16actually have to put in a lot more love to make this car, I guess you could say, user-friendly.

13:23But otherwise, do your oil changes, do your other stuff.

13:26We say this all the time, but this is another vehicle, access to engine here.

13:32Do your own oil changes.

13:33These are air-cooled cars, totally different monster.

13:37The joy of getting into these things is really doing the work yourself and turning the wrenches

13:42yourself.

13:43Obviously with paint and some other work, you're going to need help, but do as much

13:47as you can by yourself.

13:49And like I said, there's always people out there willing to support you in the community

13:52that want to make sure that your car succeeds and looks as good as theirs.

13:56So is this a car I would suggest for the normal commuter?

14:00No.

14:01The driving conditions on this are really low.

14:04It is not a car that you're going to want to daily drive.

14:07It's not a car that, it's going to be a weekend warrior.

14:10It's going to be for that pandemic when it happens and the world falls apart.

14:14If you need something to take care of zombies, you have a car to take care of zombies.

14:20And go to shows and show it off.

14:21I mean, if you love attention, this is your car all day long.

14:25But for the most part, like I said, drive it as much as you can, love it as much as

14:29you can.

14:30But the thing is, is you're going to want to have something that's going to be able

14:32to get you through your commute regularly, especially if you commute long distances.

14:36But yeah, that's the unfortunate thing.

14:38So yeah, driving conditions is low, but interior wise, it felt really good.

14:42The interior was not out of place.

14:45The shift points on it, you just got to get used to where everything is at.

14:48The mirror on it, like I was saying before, the mirror that's in the center there, I didn't

14:53have any problems seeing around the vehicle.

14:56It's a really small vehicle, so you know, it's not hard to look around.

15:00And then the ports that you're looking out of the nose here, it may look tight, but it

15:05wasn't really that bad.

15:06So I'm sure there are going to be some tall guys out there that are going to be like,

15:09no chance that you'd ever fit into this.

15:12And the reality is, is you're probably right.

15:14But that thing is, is I'm 5'10", and I had no problem sitting in it, no problem driving

15:19whatsoever.

15:20So for the weekend warrior, for the car show, and obviously for the end of the world, this

15:24is your car.

15:26So that was the thing, is everybody told me that if you're ever going to do a show, and

15:29if you're even any sort of car guy, that you have to have driven a Volkswagen Beetle in

15:34your life.

15:36You can now chalk it up to say, I've now driven a Volkswagen Beetle.

15:39And not only a Volkswagen Beetle, but probably the coolest Volkswagen Beetle on the planet.

15:44And I am ready for any apocalypse you guys can throw at me.

15:47Thank you guys for coming out.

15:48Thank you guys for checking out the show.

15:50I want to thank Chris again for showing us another great car.

15:53I can't say enough about his craftsmanship, his ability to do stuff.

15:57You guys check him out.

15:58We have some other videos that I'm going to put in the description below to show you some

16:02of his handiwork.

16:04The guy is incredible.

16:05So I love all this stuff.

16:06I want to thank you again for having us to come out.

16:08I want to thank you guys for checking us out.

16:10Remember, check out these other videos.

16:12Don't forget to like and subscribe.

16:14Hit that bell icon, and we're going to be on the search for the next awesome car to

16:19show you what it's like to drive.

Apocalypse Beetle - The Automotive Experience

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