Michael Pampena of Murrysville still uses the Volkswagen “bug on a pole” on Route 66 in Salem to navigate and give directions.
Now, it marks the new entrance to his business.
Pampena and his wife, Tia, relocated Murrysville Auto Sales to the former Excel Auto Body on Route 66, and they plan to keep the local landmark in place.
“It’s an icon,” Michael Pampena said. “Everyone knows the bug.”
Tia Pampena said their former location on Route 22 in Murrysville became obsolete after the pandemic.
“We barely made it through, and by then we were starting to focus more on the auto body side of things,” she said.
That meant the new location suited the couple perfectly.
“We had to come in and get the bugs out, but it was already set up to do this kind of work,” Michael Pampena said.
Murrysville Auto Sales and 66 Custom & Collision now occupies the space. The business has four employees and has expanded to include a body shop as well as detailing services.
“Dylan, our detailer, is phenomenal, but his business didn’t survive the pandemic,” Tia Pampena said. “When he started looking for a place to work, he wanted a family-owned business rather than a big chain, so it was a great fit.”
And not only has Michael Pampena already incorporated the VW Beetle into his new business cards, he also is rounding up parts to keep it in good shape.
“We have new bumpers, and we’ll probably redo it in a year or so,” he said.
Created in 1970 by Ed Britz, the original owner of Excel Auto Body, the elevated car actually is fashioned from two front ends welded together. It was restored in 1980 shortly after Al Furney of Delmont bought the shop. In 1994, Furney and shop workers collected parts to build a replacement.
The only time the car has been off the pole in the past half-century was between 2010 and 2013, when what was supposed to be a quick round of maintenance turned into a nearly three-year hiatus.
The car is listed on the RoadsideAmerica.com website, which compiles odd and offbeat sights and places to see in the U.S.
For more on the shop, see MurrysvilleAutoSales.com.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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January 31, 2024 at 06:01PM
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