No car stands for the fun of California like the dune buggy. The little car literally kicks sand in the face of the conventional auto industry. Instead of being heavy and feature-laden, it's light and as uncomplicated as a car can get. Many believe the modern dune buggy got its start with the Meyers Manx, a creation of entrepreneur Bruce Meyers, who is now celebrating the car's 50th anniversary.
The dune buggy became little more than a fiberglass body bolted to the chassis of a Volkswagen bug. Many were sold as kits to off-road enthusiasts. The dune buggy is as basic as a car can get, able to tear through the deep sand of California's desert dunes, and that's what makes it so enjoyable.The downside was that the idea behind the car was easy to copy. Meyers says the number of imitators was in the thousands. But he indicates he enjoyed making motoring history.
