The most desirable Volkswagen Beetles among enthusiasts are those built prior to 1968, due to the purity of their design. Solidly built of quality materials, they retained the charm of the early Beetles, including their metal dashboards, chrome bumpers, simple dashboard controls, low seat backs, and six-volt electrical systems, without the cumbersome modifications made to later cars to meet new safety standards.

The 1965 Beetle Sedan (as the coupe was called) offered here is one of the favorite vehicles in the Mohrschladt Family Collection, as the latest of many fine Beetles that Henry Mohrschladt has owned in a lifetime of “Bug” enthusiasm. A wonderfully preserved car, it still wears the majority of its original finishes, including a beautiful patinaed original vinyl and cloth interior and original Sekurit glass, and is thoroughly clean and attractive throughout. The engine is strongly believed to be original. The body appears to have been partially repainted the original Panama Beige, particularly the doors, but much of the finish is nonetheless original, with the decal from selling dealer Traverse Motors of Traverse City, Michigan, still visible on the rear deck.

While the Beetle’s original owner is not known, past caretakers were Wallace H. Smith of Harbor Springs, Michigan, and later Ladue, Missouri, in the 1980s. It later returned to Michigan in the ownership of Margaret Ellen Fowler of East Jordan in 1991. The car is documented by a selection of original registrations and by its original plastic folio of manuals and service booklets from 1965. Most impressively, a title on file indicates that its fewer than 25,400 miles are the actual mileage since new.

Numerous Beetles are always on the market, but few have the originality and charm of this “survivor,” which looks much as it did on the sandy shores of Traverse City back in 1965.