Posted on 06/07/2003 12:22:01 PM PDT by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
BERLIN (AP) -- Volkswagen said Friday it will stop making the original rear-engine Beetle later this year, bringing the curtain down on the nearly 70-year history of the classic "bug."
Production of the last old Beetles at the VW plant in Puebla, Mexico, will "end this summer," spokesman Fred Baerbock said, adding that an exact date was not set.
He said there had been sinking demand for the original model, manufactured only in Puebla since 1978.
The first version of what would become known as the Beetle was developed in 1934 under the guidance of Adolf Hitler, who wanted to build a "people's car" - or in German, a Volkswagen. It first entered mass production after World War II.
Over the decades, the VW became a favorite of both thrifty postwar Germans and 1960s American hippies before competition from Japanese compacts elbowed it aside.
Volkswagen sold more than 21 million of the cars over the decades, but says it produced less than 30,000 at Puebla last year.
Puebla will continue to produce the New Beetle sedan, a modernized successor to the cult car. The New Beetle hit the market in 1998 and has a chassis based on the VW Go
While there was certainly room for improvement of quality, continued nosalgia for American cars of the '60s is evidence that Detroit wasn't that far off mark. Yeah, the Pinto and Vega were crap. But one must consider that they were hurriedly rushed into production in response to the Arab Oil Embargo more so than simple market preference for Japanese quality. True, having time to work out the production kinks in their product, Japanese fuel-sippers were better positioned to take advantage of the market shift dictated by OPEC, and it took American manufacturers some time to regain lost ground.
I'm not trying to be an apologist for the Pinto or Vega, even though they do have a bizarre cult following among the frugal minded. Just trying to keep the market of the '70s in perspective.
Uh, Willy, you need to brush up on your car chronology.
The Ford Pinto came out in '71, and if memory serves the Vega first hit the market the same year.
The Arab oil embargo and gas shortages didn't happen until late '73 after the Yom Kippur War.
I had a Pinto, a '73 wagon, which served me well at the time even though it was underpowered to the point of having to join the 18-wheelers when going uphill with a passenger or two.
Earlier, I'd test-driven a VW Bug but it had serious legroom problems. The dealer offered to move the seat back a few inches but then the steering wheel was on my kneecap. And then any backseat passengers would need to be small children or midgets.
Fuel economy is nice. Getting to where you're going without need of a chiropractic adjustment when you arrive is better.
Well your memory is certainly better than mine.
A quick search showed Pinto introduced in '70 and the Vega in '71.
Oh well, how can I be expected to remember that?
Heck, I was trying desperately to nurse the odometer of a '63 Falcon past 175K at the time. Pintos and Vegas cost waaaaaaay more than my budget would permit.
:-(
Not to mention the Chevy Nova!
;^)
,,, it should read VW Golf. The Golf was the VW Rabbit outside the US market. The Golf/Jetta/Rabbit run the same platform.
Now,...let be nice to the all around,famous and study looking...Ladies and Gentlemen..."The Gremlin"!
If you ask me the "Vega", was actually a pretty good looking car, kinda looking like a little Camaro, IMHO, except the engine choice and relability was somewhat questionable.
Just take the body, do some reinforcements, drop a tweaked 350/TH350, get a decent rear end, and you've got yourself a good looking rocket. Never the less, do not forget about modifing the brakes. You need to stop that little monster, mind you.!
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