Describe the "old VW smell"

"505Turbeaux" (505turbeaux) 07/03/2014 at 10:43 • Filed to: None

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Air cooled, water cooled, they all smell like VW on the inside. Take a stab at what it is, since someone !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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ttyymmnn > 505Turbeaux 07/03/2014 at 10:50

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Hot vinyl mixed with gas fumes.

My dad owned a couple of VWs in my youth, most notably a '73 (maybe '71) Ghia. And yes, that car had a very distinctive smell I remember 30 years on. IIRC, the fuel fill was on the right front fender, and fuel would slosh out during hard left turns, the kind my older brother would make, because I was (tragically) too young to drive it.

But it was some weird mix of hot black vinyl, gas, exhaust and hot plastic. Smelled like Victory.

The Ghost of Oppo > 505Turbeaux 07/03/2014 at 10:51

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Warm crayola crayons

GhostZ > 505Turbeaux 07/03/2014 at 10:53

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This is the best way to describe it.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > 505Turbeaux 07/03/2014 at 10:53

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Crayons, petrol, and soap. But they could smell like shit and I would still want a Scirocco.

Hermann > 505Turbeaux 07/03/2014 at 10:54

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Doesn't that have something to to with them using horse tail fibres on the seats on the Beetles or something?

My Grampa's Passat GTS and our Gol GTS also had very specific scents, the Passat had more plastic/vinyl smell, but also something organic. It's very similar to our Mercedes 1913 truck. The Gol had a more subtle smell. The Recaro seats had no specific smell that I can remember. But I do remember the plastic smell it had when left in the sun.

doodon2whls > 505Turbeaux 07/03/2014 at 10:57

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It's usually the seat covering and filler, carpet, and carpet backing material that dominate a car's interior scent.

505Turbeaux > GhostZ 07/03/2014 at 11:00

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hahaha

fhrblig > 505Turbeaux 07/03/2014 at 11:04

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Dust and crayons.

Jack T > Hermann 07/14/2014 at 21:29

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There are no 'horse tail' fibres. What you smell is vinyl. And the "horse hair" is just a name for the coconut fibers. It's not actually horse hair.