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On Fri, 21 Feb 1997, Alan W. Presley wrote: > First of all, Squarebacks were imported into the US starting in '62, it > was the ONLY T-3 VW imported back then. Fastbacks started in '66. > (Just wanted to straighten that out.) Sorry Big Al, but... *every* source I have read--from current books to auto and financial magazines from the early/mid 1960s--completely contradicts the assertion that squares were imported before the 1965 model year. One 1996 book source that I have indicates that some 12,000 T3s were brought into the U.S. pre-'66, but that was against VWAG's will as they didn't have the parts network and mechanic training in place to support T3s in the U.S. in the early '60s. I know first-hand somebody who bought a brand-new 1964 Notchback from a VW dealer in California, but it certainly didn't leave Wolfsburg with a bunch of Beetles, hop on a boat bound for San Francisco, and get delivered to the California VW dealer; it was one of those vehicles that found an alternate route in. VW was too financially strapped after huge outlays of capital to support the T3's introduction in Europe alone (new manufacturing machinery & dealer parts support) that it simply could not afford to send the T3 to the U.S. at that time. Furthermore, a Notch's selling price was estimated to run about ~$2100 (I can look up the precise estimate at home) in 1962 U.S. dollars when it was introduced, including the exchange rate & importation costs. That fact alone completely priced it out of the U.S. market in the early '60s. Can you please provide some references to support the claim of a pre-'66 model year introduction of *any* Type III to the U.S. under the good graces of VWAG? I would love to be proven wrong! Respectfully, -Greg (with no first-hand knowledge, having been born after D-Jet was introduced...) '71 squareback '63 Beetle