Latisha & Her Thing
Model:
1973 Thing
Name:
No name
Color:
Color: Raiders silver
Mileage:
42,832
Motors:
I believe it’s the original motor.
Owned since:
2019
Owners:
We are the second family to own it.
Location:
Nevada
Favorite driving song:
Rumor” by Lee Brice or “Come Over” by Sam Hunt.
I didn’t always want a Volkswagen. My husband is the one that started bringing them to the house, and then I fell in love with them. The Thing is mine. The Bus and the Beetle are his. You can take the windows off the Thing, you can take the top down. It’s like a little mini jeep. My daily driver is a Jeep, but my Thing gets all the waves.
I had an instant connection to the Thing. I love the Raiders. They bring back memories of betting against my dad—he was a Vikings fan. So when I saw it was silver and black, I knew that I could express myself without adding anything else to the car. I want to keep it original—no stickers or anything on my baby.
You don’t see many Things anymore. They were only made for two years. When we got this one, it was in really good shape. There is another Thing in the club, but it’s not so nice—it looks like old soup. I bought it from a woman whose uncle was the original owner. He passed away and gave it to her dad, and then her dad completely redid everything. It was in their family for generations, then I bought it. We’re the second family to own it.
When I run into older people, they come over to talk, and you can just see it in their faces and their body language that they’re just so happy, thinking of good memories of their first VW or thoughts of past adventures. That makes me happy.
Volkswagens are easy to work on. The engine is just four bolts, and it comes right off.
We go on a lot of Volkswagen cruises as a whole family. When we’re all together, it’s just so powerful. Everyone’s waving and honking and it’s fun. Knowing that you made someone else’s day when you drive by makes me feel good. Sometimes we take the Thing, sometimes we take my husbands Bug. I breed bulldogs and sometimes the dogs come along too.
​
The club, Old Slammers of Reno, itself is a family-oriented. We do toy runs for the Kids Kottage every year for Christmas, and in the summer when the weather is nice, we go cruising every Friday night through downtown Reno and under the iconic Reno Arch and then stop and get some food. I usually get home around one o’clock in the morning!
