Dear tracyflores--  Information about fuel economy of cars as old as your 1970 Volkswagen Beetle is purely anecdotal.  It wasn't until the energy crisis in the mid-1970's that the government began monitoring and controlling fuel economy.  But, I can tell you that my very own 1970 Volkswagen Beetle never cost me more than $2 or so to fill up, back when the gas I sold at Ted Novak's Mobil station in Middlebury, Vt. was around 25 cents per gallon.   Good luck from Bovan.