Outstanding original dry Western car with excellent original floors, original steel fenders and beautiful rust free body. Fresh interior and very good correct yellow paint. Just did major service to the motor with new intake manifold and carburetor, brakes, plus routine service. Nicely optioned. New cocoa floor mats, and other cosmetic details at a cost over $1375. Nice options include original gas heater, dual side view mirrors, fresh factory rebuilt side curtains, ($750), “THING SHOP” roll bar, ($750), Glove Box Door, ($135) 4 Chrome Jackman hubs, 4 almost new Wild Country Radial Multi Mile tires PR25/70/R14. New Battery and Battery Box, ($150) new glove compartment door ($125). Horn, wipers, all lights, signals, flashers, instruments and gauges, emergency brake, seat belts, speedometer and odometer all working correctly. Spare tire and jack. Jack points are rock solid too. Removable factory hardtop in excellent condition with clear glass. This thing shows what I believe are an original 98,000 miles. This is a Western car that has been well taken care of by its former owner of 10 plus years. This is an ultra reliable THING that can be driven daily or cross country! Shifting is very easy with a GeneBerg shifter. It runs terrific, and looks great too. Hard to find this nice , well serviced and ready to drive right now. Must see and drive it to appreciate! Priced realistically at $9,300. Call Stanley at 386 447 6925 or email at sgcce@aol.com.

For those who thought the mostly business - but partly familial - control struggle between the Volkswagen Group and Porsche AG couldn’t get any weirder or more complicated, it has.

Porsche, strangled with debt incurred in trying to acquire more than 75 percent of VW, reportedly was negotiating a non-binding agreement with the Qatar Investment Authority that would not only see the Middle Eastern investors gain as much as 25 percent of Porsche but also be granted options to buy as much as 20 percent of VW.

The situation’s increasingly circus-like atmosphere was bolstered by Porsche’s rejection of a VW offer to buy half of the tiny sportscar maker for a reported $5.6 billion - a refusal that came with a petulant admonishment that VW’s offer went to Porsche chairman Wolfgang Porsche instead of the company’s executive board.

The two German automakers have been locked in a years-long battle to decide whether tiny sportscar maker Porsche AG or giant Volkswagen Group will control the other. The Porsche family, in unsuccessfully attempting to take over VW, also riled Ferdinand Piech, the immensely gifted engineer and notoriously prickly current chairman of VW. Piech also is related to the Porsche family and is one of Porsche’s chief family shareholders.

Porsche reputedly racked up more than $12 billion in debt in its run to control as much as 75 percent of VW stock; Porsche currently owns a controlling 51 percent and options to acquire much more. It is those options Qatar Investment seemingly seeks to own as part of its proposed investment in Porsche.

Earlier this year, it seemed Porsche and VW would do the businesslike thing, bury the hatchet and merge. But a concrete merger deal never emerged and the bickering between the companies and families intensified. Now VW questions whether the Qatar proposal for Porsche investment -one that brings no voting rights - is nothing more than a backdoor method of acquiring a large stake in VW.

Middle Eastern investors have turned up the interest in the German auto sector in recent months. In addition to the latest Porsche-VW maneuvers, in March an Abu Dhabi investment firm, Aabar Investments PJSC, spent almost $3 billion to obtain 9.1 percent of Daimler AG, owner of the Mercedes-Benz brand. The stake made Aabar Daimler’s largest shareholder.

Source (article): AUTOOBSERVER

Source (picture): SPORTSCARCUP, AUTOFANS

1974 Volkswagen Thing

Recent professional repaint original color

Mechanically excellent with new brake system front and rear including working emergency brake
New front axle, Excellent clutch, transmission

New shocks and most front end parts as needed, New muffler, 4 good tires plus spare and jack.

Brand new convertible top

Rebuilt side curtains

Speedometor, odometer, gas gauge , lights working dual side mirrors. Excellent correct bumpers

New carpet set front and rear

New rear seat upholstery

Over $7,000 in actual receipts not including the car!

$8,600. Drive it anywhere. Very good reliable driver!

Available to see any time by appointment or arrange your own inspection. I have owned, restored and enjoyed Volkswagen THINGS for many years. This is a very good one at a very fair price. Delivery arranged anywhere. Stanley 386.447.6925