I am looking at buying a 1968 beetle for my daughters first car. Someone mentioned that it isn't safe because of no air bags, what do you think?

well that depends on your point of view, it is 40+ years old, and handles like one, You might want to think about the other cars on the road, (trucks, SUV's) how safe would your daughter be in this? No abs, no air bags, among others. Dont get me wrong the older bugs are awesome, but you might want to maybe get this for a "toy" not a daily driver. that is just my personal opinion.

As a guy whose first car was a 1968 Cadillac, I can honestly say, get her a newer Beetle. They can be had for under $3000 if you look around. The older ones require a lot of work, just like the Caddy did, and if you or she are not mechanically inclined, it's going to spend a lot of time in the shop when you take it from a weekend car to a daily driver. Plus there's always "Hitler's Revenge," the fuel line that runs to the carburetor but passes near the exhaust manifold. When it gets old it dries, cracks, and dumps gas on the hot manifold = fire. Watch out for that. If I were you I'd get her something from the 80s or 1990s. She may not want the '68 Beetle as much as you think it would be cool for her.

What's your heart telling you? Do you know the stats for young people who drive? Is she a chatter on the phone and busy texting all the time? Please don't think it couldn't happen to you. I'd advise on the side of caution, and if she was my daughter, my only one, she's getting a car with a proven safety record and one with airbags. The VW is a great extra novelty car, but not primary driver.