Tucson radio station giving away '65 VW Bug

When Volkswagen rolled the 1973 model of its popular Beetle off the assembly line, customers could get the two-door "Bug" for $1,480.

Today, buyers are paying as much as $95,000, according to the national online car marketplace Autotrader .

On Saturday, Nov. 23, Tucson radio station KDRI — The Drive is giving one to a lucky listener.

The 5-year-old station will select a winner during its giveaway from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Larry H. Miller Volkswagen , 900 W. Auto Mall Drive. Nov. 23 also is the final day to enter by registering to become an official Drive Roadie on the station's website, thedrivetucson.com ; or by listening between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. weekdays for the Official Beetle Horn and entering the name of the song that follows on the website's checkered flag link.

As of last week, the station already had nearly 30,000 entries, said Matt Gentry, The Drive's program and digital media director.

This is the station's fourth classic car giveaway after the founders — Bobby Rich, Fletcher McCusker and Jim Arnold — gave away a fully restored 1965 Karmann Ghia in 2021.

Since then, they have given away two other classic cars: a 1965 Ford Mustang and a 1923 T Bucket Roadster.

The independent KDRI went on the air at 101.7-FM and 830-AM in August 2019, aiming to attract the 45- to 64-year-old demographic that the owners felt were being "lost" among Tucson's radio industry.

A year in, Nielsen rated the station No. 8 in that demographic; the most recent Nielsen ratings, released in September, rates KDRI No. 4 in the 50-plus audience and No. 1 for 65-plus, Gentry said.

"We're doing really good in the ratings so people like us," he said.

In spring 2023, Oregon-based Bustos Media, which already had four Tucson radio stations, acquired The Drive.

Gentry, who took over as program director when Rich retired not long after the sale, said the station broadened its demographic by expanding its playlist to attract listeners 35 and older. The station spins songs from the 1960s-1980s and includes B-sides, Gentry said.

In addition to the car, which the station bought from a listener, KDRI will give away 50 vinyl albums from its playlist as second prize and an original 1970s Atari 2600 gaming system with a TV from the same era as a third prize.

Gentry said the station is expecting more than 300 people to attend Saturday's giveaway.

Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at . On Bluesky

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