Great story on the Performer and tie-in to another hobby!
For their "2nd car," my parents used to by the cheapest one they could find with A/C.
In 1973 that was a basic Gremlin. Levi's Jeans seats! That sucked! As did the rest of the car!
Prior to that it was '63 and then '67 Beetles. Yes, each had A/C. No one they found ever really could keep the Bugs running, however.
The '63 in particular was very much back in the day when Beetle owners would always wave to each other on the road, and most pump jockeys got confused on where the gas tank filler was.