Til death do us part: Hong Kong car enthusiast says his classic VW Beetle is like an old friend

Car sales warranty supervisor Andrew Ng, 52, says his 1972 Volkswagen Beetle 1303 is like an old friend, and he will keep it as long as he lives

“I fell in love with Beetles when I was a child. My father used to have a 1964 Beetle in same colour in the late 1960s. The Disney movie about Herbie, The Love Bug, also encouraged my fascination for the Beetle.

The car I have now was parked very close to where I lived and I saw it every day when I was a kid. It was sold by the first owner to my friend and he held on to it for me for a year in Hong Kong. I’ve never given the car a name, like some owners do, but I guess my wife thinks of it as my second wife.

My taste in cars has changed a little as I’ve got older, but I like both my Bug and my daily car, which is a Volkswagen Golf GTI Mark VI, so you can say I’m loyal to the VW brand. Volkswagen’s emissions scandal didn’t worry me as there were no safety issues. Software gets bugs all the time, no matter how advanced technology becomes. I still like the brand

I only drive my Bug at the weekend or when there is a Classic Car Club of Hong Kong event.

I joined the club in 1988, and I’ve had a Beetle since; this is my third. I won’t use it as a daily car because it has no air con, and it’s no fun sweltering in a traffic jam. I like taking the Bug into the countryside, where there is less traffic and more fresh air. It’s a lovely drive out of town.