Much like the Jeep, Hummer, and the term FUBAR, the Volkswagen 181 (aka the Thing) was originally developed for the military only to later find its way into civilian use. It was also once demonized by none other than the auto industry’s greatest wet blanket himself, Ralph Nader, who demanded  it be pulled from the U.S. market for its inability to meet the automotive safety standards of the era. Well, duh. For all its quirkiness, lack of finesse, and high likelihood of killing its passengers, not only has the Thing not faded from the public consciousness, it has in fact somehow become a collectible. If you check out the prices being asked for them in the classifieds – admittedly those are aspirational demands, but they still indicate markets values – they are going for cuckoo for cocoa puffs prices! Much like with the ’70s Type 2s, I just down’t see how this can be. There seems to be a LOT of them on the market, so it doesn’t seem that supply isn’t keeping up with demand, and I can’t figure that so many people really want to roll in so crude a piece of transportation as this. What’s your take, why do you think the Thing is at present “The Thing?” Image: dastank