Beetle: Volkswagen's iconic car comes to the end of the road

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

Beetle: Volkswagen's iconic car comes to the end of the road

14 September 2018

Volkswagen is ending production of its Beetle in 2019, closing the door on one of the world's most iconic car designs.

The German company said output would end at its plant in Mexico next July after production of celebration models.

The Beetle has its roots in Nazi Germany with the creation of a "people's car", but went on to star in a series of successful Disney films as a vehicle called Herbie.

But sales, particularly in the key US market, have fallen in recent years.

Consumers in the US have increasingly turned to larger cars such as crossovers and sports utility vehicles.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45516677

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

1. RIP, Herbie, we'll miss you.

Look for the brief cameo by Mr. Banks (David Tomlinson) from "Mary Poppins" toward the end of the clip.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. And almost every baby boomer has owned one.

For many of us it was our first car. In my case, my first two cars.

[dhol82]

3. That was my first car in 1964

Loved that sucker!
Cost $1700 new.
Dealer asked me if I knew how to drive a stick. I said no. He gave me the basics and I drove it home.

[flotsam]

4. Last real Beetle (Air-cooled) was built in Mexico in 2003

The current beetle has nothing much in common being both water-cooled and front engined.

[Turbineguy]

5. Air cooling

makes it difficult to control emissions.....

[flotsam]

6. I'm well aware

I just dislike that they suggest the current model is part of the original legacy. I loved those little bastards!

[donco]

7. I had a 1968 VW Bus.

It was this color but not with the slide top.

[stopbush]

8. I had a 71 Beetle back in my college days.

Moved to NYC in 1977and eventually sold it off.

Bought a New Beetle in 2000. Had it for 15 years, but, man, did I ever spend out the butt for repairs on that thing! Eventually traded it in when the transmission started to go.

[Rhiannon12866]

9. I was a late driver, but it seemed like everyone my age had one, back in the day

They were all over the road.

[question everything]

10. Was our first car. A 1956, I think, though we got it in 1966

I think, though, that it has its engine rebuilt.

Did not have a fuel gauge; we had a yard stick to measure how much fuel was there.

And, the battery was on the floor, in front of the back seats, eventually, of course, corroded the floor. But, hey, it moved.

RIP Beetle.

[jmowreader]

11. I've had both a classic Beetle and a New Beetle

Pros of the Classic Beetle:
Iconic
Fun to drive
Reasonably good on gas
Easy to work on

Cons of the Classic Beetle:
Nearly impossible to buy tires for the stupid thing...the tire size is 165R15. TireRack sells two models of tire for it. The cheap one costs $91 per tire and has a UTQG rating of 280. The other is a summer-only tire with a UTQG rating of 220, and it costs $128.20 per corner. (By way of comparison, you can buy a set of Continentals for a New Beetle with UTQG of 700 for $113 per tire.)
Parts are starting to get REAL expensive
The seats are horrid
"Crash protection" involves the car being so slow you can't get into much trouble
You're working on it all the time
Air conditioning is of the "245" variety, and if you want to be warm in the winter you need to wear a heavy coat

Pros of the New Beetle (with TDI engine and 5-speed manual transmission):
Slightly less iconic, but still fun
I hardly ever need to work on mine; YMMV.
Extremely good on fuel
Quicker than you'd think a diesel would be
The expensive bits are not all that expensive because they're shared with the Mk.IV Golf and Jetta

Cons of the New Beetle:
The design of the engine compartment is Germany's revenge on America for having lost two wars. There is just barely enough room in there to get components in and out, so work takes longer than it should because you're trying to thread things into place.