Print

Share

• Email to a friend
• Add This

Feeds

• Local News

Article Rating

Current Rating: (

0

/5)

Low High

(Rated

0

times)

By Joseph Cress, Sentinel Reporter, May 18, 2008

Last updated: Sunday, May 18, 2008 12:51 PM EDT

A good friend once told Bruce Meyers that whenever he feels bitter, he should pretend he’s a canary stuck in a cage.

And just like the caged bird, the inventor of the fiberglass dune buggy had a dark time when he did not feel like singing.

But before explaining the bird theory, a little background might be helpful.

A judge had taken away his design patent, clearing the way for a host of imitators to step in and exploit his idea.

“I counted about 50 across the country,” said Meyers, 82, taking a break from signing autographs and talking to fans at the Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals in Carlisle Saturday.

“I could not compete with Ma and Pa shops with no overhead,” Meyers said, recalling how his company lost so much money he had to fold and quit the industry.

First and foremost an artist, Meyers turned to other creative pursuits including designing bed frames for boys made to look like racing cars, fire trucks and tugboats.

Just be happy

In 1994, Meyers received an invitation to visit France from book and magazine publisher Jacky Morel. Meyers interacted with clubs of dune buggy enthusiasts and led more than 100 of the vehicles in a parade around the Le Mans race course.

Morel noticed how his downturn in fortune left Meyers in the dust, feeling bruised and battered.

He encouraged Meyers to try and be happy by forming an auto club in the United States, writing a book about his life and designing a new model Manx dune buggy for the 1990s.

When Meyers asked how he could possibly be happy, the Frenchman responded with bird brain logic.

Just like a bird, Meyers should learn to sing again when sunlight peeks through after the cover is removed. Morel also suggested Meyers take it out on yesterday’s news lining the bottom of the cage he made for himself.

“When you are a negative and bitter person, you draw people away,” Meyers explained his new-found philosophy. “When you do that, you only get more alone and bitter. You would be a happier person if you live for the moment.”

Meyers figured, since he can’t change the past, he may as well learn to fly free again in the present by balancing youthful optimism and creative energy with the wisdom of years.

Kick-Out or Finale

He has since restarted his company and is working on the fifth and final version of his famous Meyers Manx design. Due out in a few months, it will incorporate dune buggy features Meyers found in his travels throughout the world.

“I am anxious to get back to my shop and finish the work,” Meyers said. “We are trying to find a good name for it. It should be identified with the beach culture.”

Meyers was test marketing the name for the design during the show Saturday asking fans whether they prefer Manx Finale (favored by his wife Winnie) or his suggestion, the Manx Kick-Out — a surfer term for finishing a run.

It is only natural for Meyers who grew up in Manhattan and San Hermosa, two beach communities near Los Angeles. He is quick to correct the misconception people have that he invented the dune buggy.

Beach comber vehicles go all the way back to the Model T, Meyers said. He explained how “cowboy farmers” used to ride around in “water pumpers” made by wielding together the spare parts of junked vehicles.

This created machines that, while functional, were loud, ugly and belched flames up in the air, Meyers said. While macho and cool to the eye, “water pumpers” bogged down in the loose sand dunes of Pismo Beach.

“Then I noticed a VW without a body on it,” Meyers said. “It was very quick and nimble like a mosquito on water.”

The reason the import was able to skit over the sand dunes was because its engine and transmission was built over the rear drive train making it easier to grab traction.

Doodle to design

Inspired, Meyers began to doodle on whatever was handy. After serving in World War II, Meyers enrolled in art school and learned the value of figure drawing in creating a sense of movement in a sketch.

He had learned early on the look of a vehicle was its most important element if it is to be commercially successful. The engineer only had a part in the design after the look is determined, Meyers said.

Growing up, Meyers fell in love with the automobile. His father had worked closely with Henry Ford and started many of the early dealerships in the western United States.

Meyers learned to appreciate art, beauty and creativity from his mother, a professional singer. He was working as a parts designer for a fiberglass sailboat company when he came up with the original Manx design.

“At the most, I thought I would only sell 20 cars,” Meyers recalled. His boss took one look at the innovative design and said Meyers could easily sell 200. They were both wrong.

Starting in 1963, Meyers sold 5,280 of his original Manx dune buggy and another 7,000 kits of subsequent designs. His design made the dune buggy mainstream and, oddly, he sold more in the East than in the West.

It is youth

Meyers believes the reason why is people in Chicago and other cities wanted to experience something of the California lifestyle. “It smacks of adventure. It is wind in the face. It is youth. Everybody wants to be young again.”

Much of his time is spent going around the country to authenticate real Meyers Manx vehicles. Meyers jokes about one day buying a bishop mitre and robe to more properly bless a vehicle.

John Marcinka of Long Island, N.Y., had Meyers autograph an original 1968 Manx dune buggy that had been stored in a garage for 37 years. The body is in near mint condition.

“It is great. I like his outlook in life,” Marcinka said of Meyers. “You can’t help but to have a smile on your face riding in a dune buggy.”

Tom Thompson of Westbury, N.Y., is owner of Tijuana Kustoms, which sells parts for dune buggies. “The overall feel of the car. It is not like anything. Once you get behind the wheel of one, you are hooked for life.”