the man who brought humor and humanity to car repair manuals, Peter Aschwanden, illustrator of “How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive” (thank you Larry!)
The illustrator’s legacy is being celebrated through May 1, 2025, at the New Mexico History Museum, with the exhibit “The Art of Peter Aschwanden: For the Compleat Idiot.”
I must confess to a love-hate relationship to the Muir book. It was nicely illustrated and I certainly appreciate the art of the illustration, but some of the written advice was terrible. I knew someone back in the 70's who had this book (and a VW that sometimes ran). And I suppose it was better than nothing for the "compleat idiot" sort of hippie to whom it was addressed, but I could never get behind a book that recommended you torque the flywheel bolts by whanging them with a cold chisel, or that because the electric choke is so devilishly complicated, you should just take it out and warm up the engine while doing yoga. I knew a person later who said possession of the book was a useful tool. If he knew someone who used it, he would follow them closely, knowing he would soon run into a good deal on a VW that ran badly. I also knew a mechanic who specialized in VW's whose opinion of Muir's advice was more ballistic. He was, perhaps a bit too animistic in his relationship to them, but I think he felt that some of the recommendations were like a form of pet abuse. Not sure enough to stake anything on it bu I think it was Muir who recommended replacing the #3 cylinder alone, since it wore worse than the other three, a practice my old (and no doubt now late) friend Mr. Stringham considered little better than crime.
I must confess to a love-hate relationship to the Muir book. It was nicely illustrated and I certainly appreciate the art of the illustration, but some of the written advice was terrible. I knew someone back in the 70's who had this book (and a VW that sometimes ran). And I suppose it was better than nothing for the "compleat idiot" sort of hippie to whom it was addressed, but I could never get behind a book that recommended you torque the flywheel bolts by whanging them with a cold chisel, or that because the electric choke is so devilishly complicated, you should just take it out and warm up the engine while doing yoga. I knew a person later who said possession of the book was a useful tool. If he knew someone who used it, he would follow them closely, knowing he would soon run into a good deal on a VW that ran badly. I also knew a mechanic who specialized in VW's whose opinion of Muir's advice was more ballistic. He was, perhaps a bit too animistic in his relationship to them, but I think he felt that some of the recommendations were like a form of pet abuse. Not sure enough to stake anything on it bu I think it was Muir who recommended replacing the #3 cylinder alone, since it wore worse than the other three, a practice my old (and no doubt now late) friend Mr. Stringham considered little better than crime.
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