Curtain to Fall on (original) VW Beetle, Icon of Flower Power - production ends this summer

Reuters.com ^ | 6/6/03

[Libloather]

Curtain to Fall on VW Beetle, Icon of Flower Power
Fri June 6, 2003 09:09 PM ET

FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - The original Volkswagen Beetle, the ubiquitous German car born in the Nazi drive for a "people's car" and later an icon of the hippie revolution, will roll off a production line for the last time this summer.

Europe's largest auto maker Volkswagen said Friday the last of its factories still producing the bulky little car -- in Puebla, Mexico -- would close its assembly line after nearly 50 years.

In the model's 70-year history, 22 million air-cooled Beetles were produced at VW's factories around the world. They were cheap and reliable, with the marketing slogan for years claiming "it will run and run and run."

Created in 1938 on the orders of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler who wanted to give every German family a vehicle, Volkswagen, or people's car, entered mass production only after World War II.

It quickly became the symbol of the German industrial miracle and a car of choice for the first postwar generation that rebelled in the United States and Western Europe against the tight social corset of the time.

The Beetle has enjoyed cult status since then but its relatively old technology meant sales began to fall in late 1970s.

VW replaced it with another hit, the Golf, and it recently also released a modern version of the Beetle -- this time loaded with all the newest technology but priced well above what could be considered appropriate for everyman's car.

[Libloather]

Owned one in a long line of five consecutive VW's. Built like a tank...

[backhoe]

My first car was a VW, circa 1964... it had the European turn signal arms in the doorposts. Naturally, I called it "Fritz..."

[John Beresford Tipton]

After the War, the US Administrator for Germany, Gen. Lucius Clay, had a study commissioned that concluded that there was no market or future for the VW Beetle.

[Osage Orange]

I own a 1961 two-door truck....Used to be a daily driver. I've owned it for some 23 years or so....

FRegards,

[BSunday]

Curtain to Fall on VW Beetle, Icon of Flower Power Fri June 6, 2003 09:09 PM ET FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) - The original Volkswagen Beetle, the ubiquitous German car born in the Nazi drive for a "people's car" and later an icon of the hippie revolution, will roll off a production line for the last time this summer.

... In the model's 70-year history, 22 million air-cooled Beetles were produced at VW's factories around the world. They were cheap and reliable, with the marketing slogan for years claiming "it will run and run and run."

Created in 1938 on the orders of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler who wanted to give every German family a vehicle, Volkswagen, or people's car, entered mass production only after World War II.

... It quickly became the symbol of the German industrial miracle and a car of choice for the first postwar generation that rebelled in the United States and Western Europe against the tight social corset of the time.

... The Old beetle and new beetle were equally as ugly. Good riddance to that eyesore of a vehicle, symbol of Nazi Fascism. Long live THE Great American Car, the Ford Mustang.

[JoeSchem]

The Beetle, the Hitler-designed car of choice for the hippie generation and the Pacific Northwest's #1 Serial Killer, Ted Bundy.

. . . Just kidding. Well, actually, Bundy did own a yellow Beetle. But I'm obviously making outlandish, logic-stretching connections here. And you know what, it's fun to stretch logic. No wonder liberals seem so addicted to doing it!

[dts32041]

As we call then around here musdog's.

[upchuck]

Drove VW Beetles for years. First one was a 1958, last one was a 1971 Super Beetle. Damn fine cars. Not much of a heater, but they ran forever and were cheap to maintain. Also owned a VW Bus w/ sunroof.

Sorry to see them pass.

[Rudder]

I thought they stopped making the air-cooled, rear-engine, orginal Beetle many years ago. What has been on the market in recent years only appears outwardly to look like the orginal--correct?

[Shooter 2.5]

It was my understanding that they were too expensive to build in the U.S. and they couldn't pass the emissions tests.

As the article stated, the Bugs were still being produced in Mexico.

[BSunday]

All of it's competition has been retired. All else that's left is a rich man's sports car (Corvette) and a bunch or redundant-ground-effects-having, lawn-mower-sounding, meant-for-middle-class-workers-commute cars

[BSunday]

I mean, it's pretty sorry when the most valuable part of the car is the stereo system.

[Fiddlstix]

It was a good little car. Heck, the little thing would even float. lol

[Rudder]

Bugs were still being produced in Mexico.

Well, whatever was being sold in the USA was a far cry from the advantages (no coolant, easy to fix, durable, economical) of the orginal air-cooled bug. I looked at a new late model faux "beetle" recently--almost $30,000, and no one except a shop with a computer, could even attempt to diagnose any problems.

[nutmeg]

read later bump

[Shooter 2.5]

I always thought they should sell a frame, engine, transaxle and steering with pedals and that's it.

It would be the foundation for a lot of kit cars instead of trying to find a bug that was rolled or rusty.

I had a dune buggy back around the early '70's. It had a Corvair engine which was a mistake. It was too heavy in the rear and lost all steering when it hit a large bump.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

I have one for sale:

[eeman]

..., and no one except a shop with a computer, could even attempt to diagnose any problems.

I think your complaint is true about any car manufacturer. There was an article in the print edtion of WSJ about the squeeze on independent auto repair shops because of the costs in obtaining or subscribing to the autmobile manufactueres for the diagnostic codes.

Of course, the manufacturers have no interest in coming up with a set of universal codes that a generic diagnostic program could read

[Catspaw]

We had a series of beetles and campers. When we camped through Mexico in the mid-80's, we went in a VW camper with a 1600 engine because we knew we could easily find parts and mechanics--and we did.

But heaters? I once compared the heat produced as driving by someone lighting a match on a street corner. We carried an ice scraper in the bug so we could scrape the ice off the inside of the windshield.

[Newton]

Here's my '79 vert - Velma.....



This is what she looked like when we got her....
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[elmer fudd]

Long live THE Great American Car, the Ford Mustang.

The problem with Fords is they're not long lived. My Ford work van, (provided by my employer), is on it's third set of brakes, second MAF sensor and has already needed AC repairs with just under 50,000 miles on it. Total POS van.

My old Ford Bronco had just about everything on it break in the two years I owned it. It spent more time in the shop than it did on the road. Total POS SUV.

My parents Ford Taurus had it's brakes replaced twice, motor mounts once, transmission once, wiper motor twice, radiator once, fuel pump once and even more with only 75,000 miles on the car. Total POS car.

Somehow however our Toyotas, Nissans and Mitsubishis seem to keep running with only minor repairs and maintenance. My wife's Toyota RAV4 is going on 90,000 miles and has only needed new brake pads and a new water pump. My Mitsubishi pickup has 175,000 miles on it and has needed no repairs aside from a new clutch, a clutch cable, and new brake pads and shoes. My sisters Nissan Sentra went over 220,000 miles, and although it had some problems in that time, it was still running good and almost everything under the hood was still original when she sold it.

It'll be a cold day in hell before I buy another Ford. There's nothing worse than an unreliable vehicle.

[elmer fudd]

Yeah, the heaters stunk, and nowadays the cables in the vintage bugs are often so rusted you can't move them.

On my old bug I used bailing wire to wire the heater valves open every fall, and then every spring I would take a pair of dykes and cut the wire free to close them up again.

You ever notice how many old VW owners have a towel or a rag with them in the front seat to wipe all the condensation off the windshield? If you wait for the defroster to do it for you you'll be there all day.

[Henrietta]

Cool. My first car was a 1972 Superbeetle named Grenouille (it was green) and it taught me how to be a very good mechanic. I was a high school student and could not afford a mechanic, so I learned.

My second car was an Orange 1973 Superbeetle named Gretel.

I loved those cars! Not very safe, but easy to fix and pretty reliable.

[BSunday]

I have had exactly the opposite experiences. Every Ford I have owned has been great. I will never buy another car besides a Ford.

On a side note, brakes are one of those things that are "consummable", that is they aren't designed to last forever, and lots of times when they go before their expected life is up, the driver may be at fault.

[Newton]

There's just something about those cars!... I had an '87 Golf, '93 Passat still have a '95 Golf and a '99 New Beetle - green - his name is Newton...hence my screen name :-)
The '95 Golf's name is Eddie....
Velma is the first air-cooled we've owned and we just love her! We're taking her to a local car show next week......that's a lot of fun!
some more photos:

[JulieRNR21]

We got ourfirst 'Beetle' about the same time as you...then graduated to the 'Mini-Bus'when we had kids. They were great and affordable vechicles when we were younger.

Today...we prefer room & comfort so we drive this Cadillac DeVille:

[Old Professer]

Crash-worthiness was the downfall.

[RayChuang88]

Neat looking car!

Can I come over for a ride?

[Old Professer]

OBDII has standardized, generic codes for all critical emission parameters on every car built for sale in the U.S. since 1996.

[Catspaw]

On my old bug I used bailing wire to wire the heater valves open every fall, and then every spring I would take a pair of dykes and cut the wire free to close them up again.

LOL! So did we! It was like a rite of spring and fall. The heater was either all on or all off. There was nothing adjustable about it.

You ever notice how many old VW owners have a towel or a rag with them in the front seat to wipe all the condensation off the windshield? If you wait for the defroster to do it for you you'll be there all day.

Defrosters? They had defrosters?

VWs were not exactly a Wisconsin car. When it was cold, the Bug would start up every time. BUT I had to use the ice scraper on the inside of the windshield to clear it. When it was a little warmer, we had a small hand towel to wipe off the inside fogging and drips.

But ya know, I'd have another Bug for a running around town car. I could squeeze that baby into small parking spots, it was good on gas and as long as we adjusted the valves every 1000 miles or so and changed the oil periodically, it was good to go. And we could do the maintenance ourselves.

[EricT.]

Ford Tauruses bought my young friend a house before he turned 20. He is a mechanic.

[Shooter 2.5]

I have a 89 Taurus with 360,000 miles on it. The worse problem I had with it was the heater core went out and it cost me 700 to get it fixed.

It burns a little oil right now but I'm going to continue to drive it until it's completely gone.

The paint is faded althought there isn't any rust spots on it but that's Texas for you.

[goldstategop]

VW stopped German production in 1978, in Brazil in 1991 and now in Mexico. Its really the end of an era. The New Beetle, introduced in 1998, is the exact opposite of the original. Its a tad bigger, has a hatchback instead of a trunk in the front and has a front water-cooled engine instead of the air-cooled engine the rear had. Both were quirky, original cars and quite fun to drive. My 1999 New Beetle has proven very reliable and only had two problems when I took it in for regular maintenance. The funny thing about the Beetle is it stoppped being a Nazi, let alone a German car when it reached American shores. It became a part of American culture and people have lots of fond memories about it. The new version was designed in of all places in California and I don't think the Germans would have bothered making the car again except for its appeal to the American market. To consider how American the Beetle become, consider the Herbie movies made by Disney and every one knew in Woody Allen's Sleeper! exactly before he went into the cave what car he would find there. The only thing these days some people take issue with is the New Beetle made in Mexico by a German company but when you get right down to it, Herbie Still Lives and is an American car! No one thinks of it as a foreign import and that's why the Beetle will always find a place in the American heart.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Velma, meet Tweete:

[Newton]

meep meep!

[BSunday]

So every car he worked on was a Taurus? Where did he work, a Ford dealership? /sarcasm.

There are mechanics who could say the same thing for every car made, just insert the appropriate make and model in for whatever the mechanic thinks he sees most of.

[Bringbackthedraft]

If you miss the Beetle, just go to California. You can't drive 2 blocks without seeing one somewhere.

[Bringbackthedraft]

Owned 2 Bugs, 2 Buses and 1 Carmen Ghia. Only one problem with all of them, the heads always came loose. The engines went from tic,tic tic, to flap,flap flap.

[Newton]

coool!!!! Do you show Tweetie??

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Thanks, I understand Tweete was shown by the guy we bought it from (he needed money). It still needs work, maybe after I get it done, we might, but for now, it's a drive around toy.

You did a super job on Velma. How's the engine? Tweete's a 71, been upped to 1835 cc, cruises at 80, fun to drive.

[Osage Orange]

Nice...restore.

FRegards,

[Newton]

The car shows are so much fun....! You should take Tweetie once you go to one your hooked! :-)

Well, I can't take credit for Velma's "makeover"...we took her to a place in Ardmore, OK - Earl Mann's Bug Shop
They do incredible work...they can take an old VW that's been sitting in a field and make it a beautiful daily driver!...The engine is a brand new one from VW Mexico...the original engine was fuel injected but very problematic. She runs like a dream!

[bert]

Etched in my memory is a VW race that occurred on an 11 mile straight stretch of two lane road in Wyoming. There were 5 of us in a row. Pedal to the metal, flat out. Three had smaller engines and were passed. The #4 car and I ran side by side for miles. He gradually and I mean gradually passed and eventually swung in front. I had my wife and most of our world posessions and thus a weight disadvantage.

It was a great day to be driving a VW and a wonderful place to run flat out for miles and miles with no other traffic at all.

I bought the VW new, my first, for $1,800, drove it 5 years, sold it in Manila to a priest for $1,200 in cash, very small bills and a tremendous wad of cash.

It was a sad day, but the car was not worth bringing back to the States.Ah to be 25 and own a Red Beetle.

[EricT.]

No, however at least 20% were Ford Tauruses, the other 80% were all other makes and models. He used to get 3 or 4 a week. I am not putting down all Ford models, but the Taurus in particular seemed to have a lot of problems. BTW, I drive a 2002 Ford Ranger at work. I have had very little trouble with it so far. It has 40K miles.

[BSunday]

I think my extreme loyalty to Ford rests in two things - one, the incredibly crappy non Ford makes I have owned in my life (Fiat coupe, Chevy Vega) and two, my incredible luck in picking just the right Fords - I have heard many people complain about how crappy their Tempo's were, but my Tempo has been the most reliable car I ever owned.

[SGCOS]

...Volkswagen, or people's car,

Learn somethin' every day....