Car Artist Bruce Meyers Created the Dune Buggy

Fame is a funny thing. When Bruce Meyers went to art school he might have dreamed of being a famous artist one day. He did become famous for one of his artworks, but it wasn’t a charcoal sketch or a piece of sculpture. It was the Meyer’s Manx dune buggy, an open fiberglass body tub designed to fit a Volkswagen Beetle platform.

Bruce had his moment of fame when the Dune Buggy craze began and he thought he had patent protection on that type of car. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Imitators came on the scene and stole a big part of the market. Bruce’s patent didn’t hold up in court and he became a bitter fellow.

That was the case until he attended a show honoring the Dune Buggy at LeMans in France. Hundreds of dune buggies showed up for that event and one was the editor of a VW magazine. He told Bruce that he had to develop a more positive outlook. The editor told him something like, “Look at all those smiling faces enjoying a vehicle you created; they love the car, they love you and that should be your measure of success.”

During a seminar he was doing at the recent Air Colled Volkswagen Funfest, Meyers said that piece of advice changed his life. He started to get involved with dune buggy clubs and attend their events throughout the country. Today, at age 80 (he looks and acts younger), he is having the time of his life.