Driving This Thing, She Always Takes the Long Way

Elizabeth Weinberg, 40, a Los Angeles-based photographer, on her 1974 Volkswagen Thing, as told to A.J. Baime.

I have a son, so I need a safe, reliable car. I use an Audi Q5 as my everyday driver. But I have always wanted the opposite of that. I find myself drawn to old, barely-functioning vehicles. For years, I looked around for a Mercedes from the ’70s or ’80s, what they call million-mile cars. Then I came across the Thing; I saw a picture of one online. It is so ridiculous and so cool looking. Something drew me to it. So, in 2020, I started looking.