Test Drive the Volkswagen Thing w/Exhaust Clip and Full Tour

[chrisnzella]

I'm surprised that there's any of this car left on the road. Recycled beer cans for sure. :) I still like them. :)

[TUFFGUYS1]

no nothing? automobile? might as well call it a manuelmobile then :)

[jenaliset]

The thing is a 1973

[ggdeibiza]

Damn, Kyoe, you need to ease up on the clutch, not release it in a single go - thats an accident waiting to happen!

[crashtest2302]

Popped the clutch at 4:30

[dps023]

changing very kindly these gear...poooooooor clutch...maybe survive 3 months! kkk

[isadorus]

in my country (Mexico) these cars were known as Volkswagen Safari and their production was between 1970 and 1979

[Kenoberle]

The Thing's predecessor was the Kubelwagen, used by the German Army. This iteration (Type 181, Thing, Safari, Trekker,...) was built from 1969 to 1983, but sold in the US from '72-'74.

[halflife103]

With clutch control like what was demonstrated at 4:30 you must get all the women?.

Naaah i keed. Happens to everyone..

[SwPiotrek]

This car was used in II World War by german army.

[halflife103]

@SwPiotrek are you sure about that?.

[SwPiotrek]

@halflife103 YES, check also "VW Schwimmwagen".

[landlocked30]

the idle is up way to high...eesh

[bokbok454]

its missing some decals for sure. I have a 73 with 30k miles all original. i also have a 2 74's.

[saabkyle04fan]

Nice man i got a 1675 thing they are great

[norfolksouthern8941]

it was called the type 181 or type 182 for the rhd model also nicknamed the "kublelwagen" in germany translates to the meaning "bucket car"

[norfolksouthern8941]

@hblollypopstar your close, its was 1969 to 1983.

[ProtegeTuype]

Looks like military car or something .

[hblollypopstar]

1973 to 1980 those where made but the sales ended after 1983

[LukeLamping]

its called the "Kübelwagen",developed for german army in corporation with porsche

[CarsAndReviews]

@stammon you better be quiet because Saabkyle04 is a really good car review guy

[slyguyaction]

Nice tire chirp at 4:30...

Sly

[8rapid2x]

Hey I wanted to see that Thing's engine! :(

[MicroOrginisum]

hahahaahh kyle, that was the funniest intro i have ever heard.

[b67717]

This is one of the most weirdest, yet coolest VW's i've EVER EVER seen in the world, I love the Thing, it's amazing! :D

[jason123456789210]

it's a 73 as evidenced in another vid

[AllThingsAviation]

insurance for that THING must be expensive lol

[Ryoga2K]

Here it was called VW safari a friend of mine has one, but his family also has a lot of other cars all in a country house and they don't use them that much, not sure if his still works, some years ago it did work as he used it when he had to send his car for repairs.

[Laceration242]

You have very Feminine legs.

[MegaThunder70]

@stammon ok listen he knows how to drive so unless its ur car don't put this stuff on his comments! !!!

[Stammon]

Ahhhh, stop grinding the starter!!!!!!! Why did you shift into gear and then start the car? I know you are young but learn to drive without tearing up the car!

[Stammon]

Stop riding the clutch and learn how to shift. The car needs a tune up, it's idle is waaaaay too high.

Other than that good job.

[MicroOrginisum]

@Stammon Older the car is harder to shift. And you don't know what weight of oil is in the gearbox.

[lopiaz123]

i see whats its called "Thing"

[lilguy49]

my family had an orange, 1974 thing, then sold it in 1990..

[Jrhoney]

Anyone know where I can find an engine for a 1973 VW thing? Its the only thing missing from one I want to buy.

[brian62793]

They were only made in 73 and 74

[bokbok454]

@brian62793 correct.

[bisbutt]

1975 vw thing nice ride

[araflygare]

What? I think that the thing is no longer made by volkswagen.

[OneThirdLife]

You drive a manual like a bitch.

[zaifi1000]

Learn how to down shift would ya! you ride the clutch like a girl. NIce car minus the buick hub caps.

[LKCJCMB5]

This is a 73. The 74 had the protruding side vents and a fan heater. This would have a gas heater in the trunk.

[zcheeseolly]

Looks like quite a fun little car.

[1997JNR]

My dad has told me stories about when his dad had one when he was a kid, he was so embarrassed. but now u look at them an say thats a cool car because it is so different. love the vid!!!!!!!l try find a nice one and that would be an awesome video

[prosopgeil]

I wanna drive it :X

[prosopgeil]

stick shift the best \:D/

[slyhitman214]

that thing reminds me of a golf cart

[DeathDealer2469]

The Type 181 "Thing" was built from mid-60's to very early eighties. Not exactly sure on the dates. Only imported state side 1973-1974. Dude that said he has a '75, is either not in US or the Thing was sitting on a sales lot and sold as a '75. Many dealerships did that back in the day. You could actually buy a '72 'Cuda and it register as a '75 if it sat unsold that long. Usually did not happen with 'Cudas, but you get the idea.

[aleckzboy]

its actually a 74 tops, being that i have a 75, and on mine was the first to come out with those vents that protrudeo out on the sides.

[oleg1973durov]

Осталось покрасить зелёной краской, посадить за руль офицера в немецкой форме и спеть "Deutsch Soldaten ..." :=)) (It remains to paint green paint, put behind the wheel of an officer in a German uniform and sing "Deutsch Soldaten ..." :=))

[BetterThanYouStudioF]

My mother's friend drove type 181(Thing). She sold it, but what she didnt know was that VW only made 25,000

[zango4]

Your riding the clutch all the time you should learn to take your foot of the clutch when you don't need to use the it.

[gruflord]

its a VW Kübelwagen 181. LOVE THIS CAR

[tacoeatingzebra]

Not 100% certain, but I believe I've read that this was the first Mexican manufactured vehicle sold in the USA and also I believe they were on the US market for the years 1973 & 1974 only.

[poopitypaintsh]

it was from 1969 to the early 1980s

[Mraajdar]

I want a thing so badly! there is one for sale near my town....now i just gatta learn stickshift!

[Infinitrium]

@Mraajdar Buy it quick before it's gone! Don't worry about learning to drive a stick, clutches are cheap!

[yamahonkawazuki]

@Mraajdar find a gravel parking lot. worst thign you do is sling rocks. i learned on a superbeetle. thse are similar in power to the beetles

[beatleboy9020001]

seriously dude who taught u how to drive a stick

[grizzlybearization]

And where the climate control?;)

[hondaccool]

More basic than that : it does'n exist... but nice sounding car :O

[mb8vu2]

still yet to see an american use a manual properley i cant understand what is so hard about them there at least amollion times better than an automatic

[vierrabrittany]

i would have stolen your camera

[vierrabrittany]

drive stick like a bitch

i would have stolen your camera

[vierrabrittany]

drive stick like a bitch



[Captainskier]

My dad told me about these. He said they marketed the car with the song, "It's Your Thing", by The Isley Brothers. They wanted the owners to customize them to their specifications I guess.

[manthunting]

U don't even know how to use the clutch pedal ..... stupid u use it just 1...0... 1....0 hahahahahahahahahaha

[blackpool321]

Love it

[2010Romaine]

omg please stop drivin stick shift cars u suck at it

[rsjagax]

you can't drive man!!

ow my god!

[5566Mira]

Nice drive

[MrSimonlau]

our old neighbours had a 1974 vw thing, it had seatbelts, am stereo, custom 16" rims, purple paint, ran great, still remember sitting in the thing as a little kid loving the sounds and all that

[cliffythemailman]

Very rare car i have my fathers 74 sitting in my garage the reason they are so rare is because they where in america for only 2 years very unique car they where mad from 73 to 74

[cliffythemailman]

Very rare car i have my fathers 74 sitting in my garage the reason they are so rare is because they where in america for only 2 years very unique car

[drewzerz082594]

way to ride the clutch out of first gear every time... and popping the clutch out of every shift on a 1970's... that cant be good for it X-D good job comming out of the corner *RUMMM! scrEETCH! woops...) i love this car though. it looks nice, sounds nice, and probably drives nice. i want one so bad.

[Motorfordtoyota]

Sounds like my old lawnmower, and I think my lawnmower was faster, safer, and prettier! Good vid though!

[Motorfordtoyota]

Thats horrible car, I hate these. Good vid though!

[zeeshaan1990]

It has the lamps from a Beetle.

[cliffythemailman]

@zeeshaan1990 those are standard 70's vw headlights and infact i think they are a little bigger than the bugs

[zeetek007]

@cliffythemailman Yeah they do look similar though.

[SpeedyCheeze]

@cliffythemailman all old vws have the same size headlights. The car was imported 73 and 74 but was produced for international and military use as well but even though 100,000 were made only 30,000 were imported to the US.

[toyotacrapolla]

maybe the most ugly car i´ve seen!

[beavisPDBSK]

in Germany its called a Volkswagen Kübel (Kübel being the german word for Bucket)

[humanparody12]

I love your whole attitude about getting behind the wheel.

"I'm gonna DRIVE IT!"

[Walterfreudt]

when driving this was fun for you, try to find a Trabant 601.

East German car, 26 hp.

[rrpl430]

volkswgen type 181, also known as safari or kurierwagen, 1969-1983

[geniusjonw]

Great looking car! I always thought this was like a squared off classic Beetle... it used the same headlights and taillights, along with most of the same mechanics. But the Thing was a 4 door car and the Beetle was a 2 door car. I'm sure if VW made a 4 door Beetle, they probably would have sold better.

[ae490]

it sounds like my lawn mower!!!! lol

[sandrochatlos1]

1973-1974...

[alloutoftime]

Although vw"s are good cars, the vw thing is not something I would want. I think it is an ugly car. Sorry.

[asrockrpg]

This is a 5 speed manual transmission gasoline engine.

[speacialperson12345]

i think you let the clutch out to quickly and thats why you get a rough shift

[asrockrpg]

So this is a 5-Speed Manual Transmission Gasoline engine.

[MERIVA53]

It is a Volkswagen Kübelwagen Typ 181 (Kübel) I think it is a 1979.

[surfmaster14]

thats not the original exhaust is it? we have one, and we put a super beetle exhaust on it cuz we couldn't find a replacement. and what years did they make them in the US? i thought it was 71 ti 73, but i could be wrong. and yes u need to work on shifting, im a 15 yr old and i could do better

[surfmaster14]

thats not the original exhaust is it? we have one, and we put a super beetle exhaust on it cuz we couldn't find a replacement. and what years did they make them in the US? i thought it was 71 ti 73, but i could be wrong.

[jdwebbbear]

nice vw. please keep your foot off the clutch when not changing gears sir.

[glk001]

I might suggest you spend more time on a standard shift, you need a lot more practice...You can't even nail it right going in between gears...Decent video though...

[joshuaklange]

Its 1973

[dnl5649]

thats what it is, a thing. well Volkswagens are weird anyway. but i do love 60's bugs

[browntowel67]

VW THING = MEXICAN BEER CRATE

[MeInTheNewWorld]

LOL, it was funny when you were like " I have no idea what it is but i'm gonna drive it" Definetly looks very unique i have to say.

[SPTunnelMotor]

4:30 - The 'usually automatic transmission driver' is in charge here :) Lovely vids! Thank you

[SPTunnelMotor]

4:30 - The 'usually automatic transmission driver' is in charge here :) Lovely vids! Thank you

[itsjustme2919]

its like a lawnmower haha

[DarkMan2555]

it is 73

[StuMB29575]

It was actually manufactured from 1969-1983. Civilian sales stopped in 1980. Great looking car, would love to find one myself. Great video man.

[saabkyle04]

Thanks bro!

[DtoWnSux1]

i have trouble with only one gear in my vw. getting into 5th. i go from fourth then up about 4inches then right a few inches then up fully in the corner and alotttt of times its in third. is there a trick to it in a vw or sumthing with the rpm's idk about please leme know if you might know

[saabkyle04]

I'm not sure about that haha, I thought this was 4 gears, unless you're talking about another model. I'm not too familiar with VW's shift patterns

[xxTornadowarrior1xx]

thats what i call an old jalopy. lol

[cadga1390]

just for future reference, try to take it a little slower on the clutch, your letting it out awfully fast. not that it hurts anything, just makes it more comfortable to ease out the clutch, you dont hop around as much or anything.

[MercedesF700]

Yikes! What happened at 4:30? Let off the clutch too early and gave to much gas. Man these cars are classics. Be careful on shifting these old VW's.

[Goldenrod636]

Is it really named "The Thing"?

[uber1337gamer]

Yes sir.

[brtsah304]

haha its soooo goofy

[skabiker2112]

It's a '73 model. The vents on the '74 models protrude out on the sides. That's the easiest way to tell the difference between the two.

[saabkyle04]

@skabiker2112 thanks a lot man, sorry for the really late reply!

[TheTheErdfg]

VW called this car a type 181.

[TheTheErdfg]

These I think were made for the German Army.

[FootsieToes11]

It was used by the German military police and other agencies.You can tell its an army vehicle by how extremely basic it is, not one bit of luxury in it. The only purpose was to get from here to there.

[thetundra100]

how fast does it go?..lol

[hadabenz]

This is called a Volkswagen Safari in our country.. Aircooled VWs are among the must-have things.......thanks for the ride ! do u sell this?

[SrpskaCCCC]

I noticed it doesnt have a grill, does it ever overheat?

[TheTheErdfg]

These cars were air cooled w/ no radiator

[MasterSnowstorm]

they were built from 1969-1983

[saosurvive126]

Not in the US. :(

[MasterSnowstorm]

you should become a YouTube partner

[saabkyle04]

I really want to, I've applied twice but they said my channel doesn't get enough traffic :( I think it gets awesome traffic, but I guess I'll just keep trying, maybe someday!

[PoliceWillProtect]

How does it pass with out seat belts and airbags :S

[saabkyle04]

That's a good question, the airbag doesn't matter, but the seatbelts you would think would be the problem!

[bigbravo25]

i think the actual "THING" was only made in '73 and '74 the other models were a spin off and were called the 181. but really nice condition, we have a '73 and my uncle had a '74 the one you are looking at is a '73 because it doesnt have the air scoops on the side, instead it has the vents.

at least you can drive that thing man, mine is a pain to shift! LOL!

[saabkyle04]

haha thanks for clarifying that! Yeah it was fixed up nice, that thing is no piece of cake to shift either haha, the first time I drove it last summer it was so hard to shift back into 1st gear, I had like 4 other friends in the car with me which make it so much funnier hahaha

[surfmaster14]

really nice condition. i think it was made from 71 to 73, but im not sure about that. we have one from 73, yellow. how many miles does it have on it? ours has 16000 on it, and 11000 of it was behind a winnebago. everything else on ours is original

[saabkyle04]

idk how many miles it had, but dang yours has some really low miles!

[americanstylefreak]

Make a detail photo, and I'll translate you the German things into English..

[saabkyle04]

If I still had the car around I definitely would, the owner doesn't take it out much

[americanstylefreak]

It was built in the late 40's earl 50's..

[americanstylefreak]

I was built earlier..

and it can also swim, just by the way..

[saabkyle04]

Oh yeah that would be fun

[ElevatorFreak32]

where u get that frame thing at the start of the video then when it changed scenes

[saabkyle04]

it came a part of iMovie '09

[pshhhhhhBOOM]

hey where in nc are you? i swear i've seen this car near durham

[saabkyle04]

Reidsville, you might have seen it haha, they've had it for 8 years!

[averagejustin]

they fixed up a Thing on pimp my ride but they over did it T.T

[saabkyle04]

Oh that's cool, I don't think I saw that episode, don't remember lol

[averagejustin]

lol yea it as an okay show but sometimes they put in stuff that the owners don't need

[denjen010]

dude can you take a video shot of your footwork i want to c how smooth the clutch is bro. love those things man.

[saabkyle04]

I unfortunately don't have the car anymore, since it wasn't mine lol, but I can tell you that is was a very easy car to drive after you get used to the weird gearbox. it's like angled and just an odd pattern, also the car has no power steering but is alright once you get moving, definitely the most fun car I have ever driven!

[VeeDubbChad]

i have a 74 Thing for my daily driver its way badass

[saabkyle04]

That's so awesome, I wish I had one, I would drive it every day!

[thecarexpert18]

?!?!?! omg!

[saabkyle04]

hahaha yeah it's that awesome LOL

[drewboydrummer11]

can show engine too

[saabkyle04]

I didn't think about it :( I'll have to wait till next time, whenever that may be

[ctb395]

the Volkswagen thing was mad from 1969 to 1983 and was called the Volkswgen Type 181. It was also only sold in Germany and Mexico

[saabkyle04]

Dang I didn't know that, that's pretty cool info

[fanowner12]

So you have is at the dealer?

[saabkyle04]

Nah this belongs to someone, I wish lol :P

[jmurray01]

haha. vw thing. the thing is a good movie, have you seen it ?

[saabkyle04]

haha nah I haven't, is it old?

[jmurray01]

its about 2004 i think. type it in google and click on the page with ibm or something like that under it.

[Wannabe000]

HA HA love the thing dude...

[saabkyle04]

Haha thanks man

[fuzzzymaine2]

i think they missed a few interior parts on the assembly line.....lol

[saabkyle04]

haha it would appear so LOL

[NorthStarOlds]

is it actually called the thing?

[saabkyle04]

Yes that's the real name haha!

[saabkyle04]

Guess VW couldn't think of any other way to describe it lmao!

[NotARealUTubeAccount]

I ROFL'D at the title of the video and ROFL'D even more when i saw the car!

[saabkyle04]

Hahahaha I know right, it's so funny looking, yet awesome, the name is the best part LOL

[gajda1984]

it probably has the same engine the old beetles had. is it a horizantally opposed engine?

[saabkyle04]

haha I have no idea, sounds like you would probably know better than I would, I don't know anything about these cars lol

[gajda1984]

sound's like it! though i am not too familier with imports. i know a lot of cheaper European cars like Volkswagen, Volvo and even Porsche (they still do) used horizantally opposed "boxer" engines.

[saabkyle04]

Oh yeah that makes more sense now, I'd just never heard the term horizontally opposed LOL, I've heard of boxer engines, I know the subaru wrx has that, as well as other subarus I believe!

[gajda1984]

yeah subaru's have great engines.

[nicks1258]

u can drive tht i thought it would be illegal

[saabkyle04]

I don't think so, the only way I would think that would be the seatbelts, but I have seen way crazier stuff on the road lol, the owner drives it all the time, they've had it for 8 years! Found it in a barn and re built the motor, which is all original! Someone else that went to my high school actually had one and drove it to school everyday haha.