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Beetle
With the 2019 Volkswagen Beetle Final Edition, we say #ByeByeBeetle
It’s official: The 2019 Volkswagen Beetle will be the last production year of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, exactly seven decades after it first came to the United States in 1949. But the Beetle will be getting a year-long sendoff, beginning with special Beetle Final Edition models for 2019 and continuing over the next several months. “The loss of the Beetle after three generations, over nearly seven decades, will evoke a host of emotions from the Beetle’s many devoted fans,” said Hinrich
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Iconic Finale: Why You’ll Love the Beetle Final Edition
It was 1949 and the U.S. was puzzled. What, exactly, was this car that Volkswagen had shipped here? That car, of course, was the Beetle, which cut a distinctive silhouette on the automotive scene. Its various iterations over the last 70 years have been no exception. And now, with the release of the Beetle Final Editions, Volkswagen is poised to bring one chapter of this storied history to a close. Saying Goodbye Throughout its history, the Beetle has been an innovative design, a counterc
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For #ByeByeBeetle, a 700-hp tribute at SEMA
A skeleton-head shifter, seven-speed DSG transmission and a matte Army green finish are hardly the features you’d associate with a beloved Volkswagen Beetle. But for Marcel Horn, the founder and president of a Canadian custom auto shop HPA Motorsports, it’s the perfect sinister flavor for his custom Beetle build. “The Beetle can be a little cheeky, devilish critter,” said Horn, who debuted a custom Beetle at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in 1999. “That Dr. Jekyll-
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#TBT: The history of the Beetle’s bud vase
To understand how a small German sedan came to represent the “flower power” generation, maybe it’s because no vehicle was as known for floral displays quite like the Beetle and its dashboard bud vase. The porcelain “blumenvasen” first appeared in the U.S. as an optional dealer accessory in the 1950s. Many of the bud vases were produced by high-end German porcelain manufacturers and could be clipped to the car’s dashboard, speaker grille or windshield. This provided owners with the opportu
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A Beetle owner reunites with her first car after 22 years
If you’ve ever wondered what happened to your first car, or considered trying to track down the one that got away, Amanda Dorset can tell you what it feels like to chase down a memory. Two decades ago as a teenager, Dorset bought, restored and sold her first car, a 1975 Volkswagen La Grande Bug. A few months ago, Dorset was able to reunite with her Beetle thanks to a little help from the Internet. “It’s the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me,” Dorset says. Raised in Vic
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Soaking up the fun at the Beetle Sunshine Tour
The Beetle Sunshine Tour began in 2004 as one fan’s desire to gather like-minded owners of the revived Volkswagen classic for a little weekend drive, and maybe some currywurst. This year, it proved again why it has become the world’s largest gathering of Beetle owners and fans. More than 650 Beetles of every vintage filled the show field on Aug. 20 near the Baltic Sea beach of Travemunde, Germany, following several driving tours snaking through the German countryside. Nearly every Beetle on t
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70 years after first landing in America, Volkswagen holds a family reunion
The first time a Volkswagen Beetle came to America was nearly the last. A private importer, Ben Pon, thought the small, odd-looking cars that were popular in Europe in 1949 could find the same audience here. Early that year, Pon shipped two Beetles to the United States and tried to recruit dealers. By all accounts, the reception was a cold one; Pon sold both with no fanfare, and lore has it one had to cover his hotel bill. But Pon had the right idea. The Beetle did catch on, as did the Bu
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