A Classic That Crossed Continents: The Story of Starr Long’s 1959 Volkswagen Beetle
- Richard Sykes
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
PALMDALE, CA—In the Antelope Valley, where desert winds carry stories across decades, few local treasures turn heads quite like Starr Long’s 1959 Volkswagen Beetle. Parked today in Palmdale, California, this Reseda Green time capsule isn’t just a car — it’s a documented survivor with a lineage as carefully preserved as its paint.
What makes this Beetle special isn’t only its age or its California Historical Vehicle designation. It’s the fact that its entire life story has been traced, verified, and displayed like a rolling museum exhibit. Every owner, every document, every mile of its journey from postwar Berlin to the Mojave Desert has been accounted for.
Born in Wolfsburg, Delivered to Berlin
According to the official documentation from the Stiftung AutoMuseum Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, this Beetle — chassis number 1 058 892 — rolled off the production line on August 14, 1958. Four days later, on August 18, it was delivered to its first destination: Berlin, Germany.
Today, the Beetle belongs to Starr Long, a local enthusiast who has embraced the role of historian as much as owner.
It left the factory as a Model 113 VW De Luxe Sedan, finished in L14 Reseda Green with cloth upholstery and optional M107 leatherette seat covers. Under the rear decklid sat a 1192cc engine producing 30 DIN horsepower — modest by today’s standards, but more than enough to move a lightweight Beetle through the streets of Cold War–era Berlin.
The First Owner: A Captain in Berlin
The Beetle’s first caretaker was Captain Otto K. Schaefer, who purchased the car on January 10, 1959, from the well‑known Berlin dealership Eduard Winter. The dealership itself is a piece of German automotive history, and a period photograph of the building accompanies the car’s documentation.
Captain Schaefer’s ownership marks the beginning of the Beetle’s meticulously recorded provenance — a rarity for a car of this era.
The Second Steward: Mike Kaleda
After Captain Schaefer, the Beetle passed to its second owner, Mike Kaleda. While many classic cars lose their paper trail after a change or two in ownership, this one didn’t. Kaleda’s stewardship is preserved in the car’s display materials, complete with photographs that show each owner as part of the Beetle’s living history.
The Third and Current Owner: Starr Long
Today, the Beetle belongs to Starr Long, a local enthusiast who has embraced the role of historian as much as owner. Long’s display board — featuring factory certificates, dealership history, and portraits of all three owners — transforms the car from a collectible into a narrative.
Registered in California as Historical Vehicle 586Y, the Beetle now resides in Palmdale, where it stands as a testament to preservation, passion, and the enduring charm of Volkswagen’s most iconic creation.
A Rolling Archive
What sets this Beetle apart isn’t just its originality or its condition — it’s the completeness of its story. Many vintage Volkswagens have been restored, modified, or passed through countless hands. Few can present a lineage this intact, this personal, and this geographically rich.
From Wolfsburg to Berlin, from Germany to California, from Captain Schaefer to Starr Long — this 1959 Beetle is more than a car. It’s a survivor with a passport, a biography, and a place in Antelope Valley’s living automotive history.
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