Danville Street Sighting - 1973 Volkswagen Type 181 Thing

Back in May I featured a 1974 Volkswagen Thing from Alameda, the place Murilee Martin of The Truth About Cars (formerly of Jalopnik) dubbed The Island That Rust Forgot. Now we're looking at another Thing, which I think is a 1973 model.

Alameda Street Sighting - 1974 Volkswagen Type 181 Thing

Thing.

There's something wonderfully silly about naming a car "Thing". What is that thing? Yes. That's what it is. Unless you're in the UK or some other country, in which case your VW Type 181 might be labeled a Trekker or Safari or what have you. Safari? Where I come from, that's a GMC van or a Pontiac wagon, not a Volkswagen. While that name may be just as apropos for an open-topped four-door car based on the WWII-era Kubelwagen that would look at home on the African plains, it doesn't sound nearly as playful as calling the boxy little vehicle the Thing.