The Volkswagen Bus' long, strange trip from hippie van to hot collectible
LOS ANGELES - "You see? You see? You see?" Enrique Aragon shouts over the loud purr of his 1966 Volkswagen 21-Window Deluxe Bus as he gestures toward gawkers yet again.
For the last hour, the 42-year-old electrician and member of the Volksstyle Car Club has cruised Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Calif., in his dominguero. And all along the ride, people won't let him be.
AAA tow-truck drivers pull up and mouth, "Beautiful car!" Middle-aged couples in Ohio State sweatshirts wave from a bar. Bearded hipsters offer the thumbs-up. Children flash a peace sign.
Nearly everyone else just stares.
Aragon is used to it. His '66 is a glimmering shrine to Southern California car culture. He spent three years and $45,000 to restore it from a shell with no wheels or seats to its current, showroom-ready state. It has a two-tone brown paint job that tapers into a V in the vehicle's flat front. A ragtop that rolls up like a carpet to reveal a
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