Source: Laura Barron-Lopez, ROLL CALL, 9/21/11

The muffler is broken and pedestrians can hear the rhythmic roar of the engine before they catch a glimpse of the Thing. But once they spy its primer-gray exterior, they don’t need to look past the cracked windshield to know who’s driving the 1974 Volkswagen.

“The car is as recognizable on the Hill as the statue on top of the Capitol,” Sen. Richard Burr said last week, when the weather was pleasant enough for him to take a midday cruise around Capitol Hill with the top down.

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