Area's last Amphicar sold: Businessman Fischer gives up treasured amphibious car

Sep. 17—All good times come to and end, and so it was last week when the well-known former business owner Steve Fischer said goodbye to one of his prized possessions — an Amphicar.

The vehicle is exactly what the name implies, one that could travel either by land or sea. A boat disguised as a car. A land craft that swims.

But from a production standpoint, as Fischer stated, "It was not successful. It's not a great boat. It's not a great car."

It takes a special person to want to own and maintain such a vehicle, and while Fischer has done so for decades, he decided the time was right to sell it to someone else.

Therefore, the vehicle was loaded up last week by its new owner and taken up to Lake Erie, where it will continue its road-bound and water-bound adventures.

Amphicars were produced in West Germany from 1961 to 1967, a product of Nazi Germany's World War II technology, according to Fischer.

As Fischer pointed out, it was designed by Hans Trippel, but the requirements for successfully building such a vehicle taxed the company's supplies.

"The company did not have enough money to make their own parts, so I call it a U.N. car, in that it used a British motor, and it used a German this or a French that."

And despite saying it wasn't a great vehicle on either the land or the water, Fischer called it a great combination and a good engineering feat for 1964 (the year his particular Amphicar was built).

For years, Fischer would bring the car/boat to Lee's Ford Marina, drive down the ramp and float it on over to his houseboat, where he would keep the Amphicar tied up.

The boat couldn't be said to go at a breakneck speed in the water. "The race boats will come by and be cute and say 'You want to race,' because they know I can't do 10 mph. and I say, 'Let's do it. I'm going to race you to the restaurant.' That solves that controversy," he laughed, meaning he knew he could just drive up out of the water whereas the other boats would have to go get their trailers and load the boat up.

Still, while in the water Fischer said he had to keep the Amphicar inside the wake zone of the dock.

"It is made of steel. It doesn't ride the wake, it cuts it. So if these ski boats come by 50 mph and throw a two-foot wake and you can't cut it, you're going to get swamped with water."

The vehicle has two transmissions — a standard four-speed transmission for the wheels and a water transmission with two props for the water.

"What makes it interesting is that, engineering-wise, in the water you steer with the water pressure against the front tires. So, I always tell people if you give me 40 acres, I can turn around. There's no small maneuvering with it, you have to build pressure to make big circles," he said.

It goes "normal speeds" on land, but Fischer noted that it's back-heavy because the engine is in the rear.

Along with all the other normal features one finds on a 1960's car, such as era-specific breaks and not having power steering, driving these cars compared to modern cars can be a bit of a chore.

Plus there are the parts that drivers don't find on most land vehicles — double locks on the doors, bilge pumps, double props on the back and axels that are encased in rubber seals where they connect to the wheels.

Although '60s cars are "simpler" and can be mended more easily, Fischer said that the uniqueness of the car makes it hard to find original parts for it.

"The only problem is that it becomes a nightmare to find parts," he said, although modern replacements can be made.

Only around 3,800 of the vehicles were made, with around 3,000 of those being brought over to the United States. Fischer guessed that there are around 200 to 300 of those left.

While he didn't know the exact figure, Fischer guessed that Amphicars sold brand new at around $3,000 to $4,000, which was the same price as a brand new Cadillac.

"What killed it was when all the car standards started upgrading to new American standards, and they [the company] couldn't meet those standards," Fischer said.

For example, seat belts. While belts are known to save lives on the road, no one wants to be buckled in when they are driving into the water, for obvious reasons, Fischer said.

His interest in the vehicle began around the time of its production. "Where I completely fell in love with these cars was in the 1964 World's Fair in New York. They had a showing there, and I said, 'That's fascinating. I'd love to have one,'" he said.

Fast forward several years, and Fischer owned one, but read an advertisement in the Amphicar magazine about another for sale up in Louisville.

During his next trip up there, he called the owner and asked to see it. Completely unknown to Fischer, the vehicle already had a history around Somerset. It once belonged to Oris Goins, the former owner of WTLO Radio, Fischer said.

He only found out about that after a year of considering whether or not to buy it. On his first visit with the Louisville owner, the owner asked if he wanted to see it in action. They went to a tributary on the Ohio River to test it.

"We put in, and lo and behold, five minutes later, I look down and my feet are getting wet. I thought, 'This is not good,'" he laughed.

They had to flag down a passing pickup truck driver, who threw a chain to the two and pulled them out. At that time, Fischer said, he wasn't as familiar with maintenance on such a vehicle and wasn't sure about taking on the responsibility.

Over the next year, Fischer said he did research on what caused leaks like that and how to fix them. A year after their first meeting, Fischer called the Louisville owner again, and upon finding out he still had the car and was still interested in selling, Fischer took it.

Ever since he's had it, he said he's not had a single problem with taking on water, he said.

However, more recently, the work needed to maintain it, such as having to crawl underneath it to change the spark plugs, was beginning to not be worth it for him.

"Everything has its time," he said. "It's just time to start getting rid of things at my age."

And, since he found a buyer that was willing to purchase it, he felt it was the right time to sell.

Fischer said it was a bittersweet decision, but he still has his memories of taking the car out onto Lake Cumberland.

"I call it a smiley car," he said. "When people see it out in the water, everyone smiles. They can't believe you're pulling from land to water and water to land."

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com