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Bug bites the dust - Mex factory makes last VW classic
New York Daily News ^
| July 31
| Dave Goldiner
Posted on 07/31/2003 9:08:19 AM PDT by jjbrouwer
Say goodbye to the love bug. The last original Volkswagen Beetle, the tiny car that became an icon of the flower-power generation, rolled off a Mexican assembly line yesterday.
A mariachi band strummed as workers put the finishing touches on a baby-blue model marked No. 21,529,464 - the last of seven decades' worth of the beloved vehicles.
"You didn't just participate in the construction of a car, but in the creation of a legend," Volkswagen executive Reinhard Jung told a crowd of workers.
The last original bug will be shipped to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany, home of Volkswagen's world headquarters.
An updated version of the Beetle is still being produced and sold worldwide, but the plant in Puebla, 65 miles southeast of Mexico City, was the last one producing the classic model, which was discontinued in the U.S. after it failed safety and emission standards in 1977.
Australian bug lover Gary Collis flew all the way to Mexico to experience the final call for a car he called "the heart and soul of Volkswagen."
Collis bought a new bug - the 21st of his collection - in Guadalajara and will have it shipped Down Under, at a total cost of $20,000.
"Since they first announced the final edition, I thought to myself: 'This is really the end,'" he said.
The Beetle was designed by Adolf Hitler's Nazi government as a two-door mass-production car for the German people.
It improbably morphed into an icon of 1960s counterculture and gained cult status in the U.S. with its starring role as Herbie in the popular "Love Bug" films.
Ironically, Volkswagen yesterday recalled 269,000 of its new Beetles from the 1998 through 2001 model years to fix faulty brake-light switches.
The Classic VW Beetle
Milestones:
1938: Adolf Hitler lays cornerstone for first Beetle factory.
1949: First bug sold in U.S.
1969: First "The Love Bug" movie starring Herbie, a VW Beetle.
1972: Beetle No. 15,007,034 built, overtaking Ford Model T as most-produced car.
1996: Brazil factory closes; Mexico has last plant.
Did you know?
- The Nazis' original name for the Beetle was the Kraft durch Freude-wagen - the "Joy through Strength" car.
- A blue whale's heart is the size of a VW Beetle.
- Amazon.com has 81 books about the bug on sale.
- The most popular colors are powder blue and beige.
- Two of every three taxis in Mexico City are lime-green Beetles.
TOPICS: Announcements; Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Germany; Mexico; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: adolfhitler; autos; beatle; bug; germany; manufacturing; mexico; nazi; theend; volkswagen; vwbeetle
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To: mewzilla
I paid the equivalent of $1,000 in 1959 dollars for my baby. It has A/C, heating, heated leather seats, Monsoon sound system, leather wrapped steering wheel with power steering, cruise control, ABS brakes, daytime running lights, 16 inch wheels with alloy rims, remote access, and of course a moonroof! And it has a front drive water cooled front engine and a hatchback with fold down seats in the rear in contrast to the Classic's rear drive air cooled rear engine and front baggage compartment. That's my New Beetle deluxe package and it doesn't get any better than that! And with a 2.0L engine that gets 32 miles to the gallons its been super reliable and there's a 10,000 mile interval between scheduled service calls. No we won't miss the Classic Beetle. The new one definitely stands heads and shoulders in technology AND sex appeal over its parent.
21
posted on
07/31/2003 10:13:07 AM PDT
by
goldstategop
(In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
To: goldstategop
Does sound like a honey. I will say that I especially like the moonroof. Especially since you can't get anything with a rumble seat :)
22
posted on
07/31/2003 10:17:47 AM PDT
by
mewzilla
To: doodad
I solved the heat problem in my 67 van by using a Coleman catlytic heater in the back. Unfortunately on a hard turn one day the heater turned over and caught the shag carpet that was covering up the rust holes on fire. Do you know what a fire extinguisher does to shag carpet? It was a mess. Didn't matter though, a couple of months later the engine caught fire (the old number three cylinder problem) and burned the crap out of the engine compartment. Luckily the police who followed me into the parking lot to give me a ticket for pollution put out the fire with THEIR fire extinguishers. Love those VW's.
23
posted on
07/31/2003 10:20:56 AM PDT
by
dljordan
To: mewzilla
One thing I do remember about the old Beatles/Bugs is that when you tried to start them up, they were often very temperamental on rainy days. And in England there are a lot of rainy days.
24
posted on
07/31/2003 10:23:57 AM PDT
by
jjbrouwer
(Sometimes THE GREATS come back...)
The next generation of kids will miss out on the "punch buggy" game while driving with their parents. *lol*
To: dljordan
I solved the heat problem in my 67 van by using a Coleman catlytic heater in the back. kAcknor Sez:
I had a camper version, a '64 that had a gas fire heater in the engine compartment. Smelly, smoky, but it put out heat!! ;)
My first car was a '59 Box Van. Over the years I've owned '64, 74, and a 65 Bus, and 64, 67, and '84 Beatles. Most were owned while in Germany, and the '84 was a Mexican manufactured bug I got brand new. ;) Also owned '82 and '87 Jettas.
Loved the air-cooled engines. They were easy to work on and could be modified to actually produce a bit of horsepower. Take a 1500 CC mother and advandce the timing to about 15 deg BTDC. Ran great! Enough to do 150 Km on the autobahn. However, the heads would last about 6 months, then you just take an hour or so and swap them out.
Cold driving, manually operated handheld cloth defrosters, cracked web casing, convert from 6 to 12 volt, cold 6 month start life changing in the snow, 1/2 hour engine changes, haul the growing family around Volkswagen blues.
Good memories. :)
"bISovbejbe'DI' tImer" (When in doubt, surprise them.)
Have you checked the *bang_list today?
26
posted on
07/31/2003 10:45:52 AM PDT
by
kAcknor
To: jjbrouwer
My first car! I had a 65. Saw it advertised by a banker who liked to work on his cars - sports cars. LOL He asked $600 but for some reason - kindness I believe - sold it to me for $400. :) It drove back and forth across the Washington state for years and was easy to fix. About the only time I had a problem was when I hadn't completely switched over from emergency gas tank to regular tank, ( a cool feature) and it wouldn't start. After I figured it out & turned the switch completely over, off my little car went again. The nice thing about a bug is that if they won't run, you can pick them up and carry them ;) After I finiseded usin the car, I gave it to my brother who painted it red, added aperiscope looking gadget. He gave it rather more of a rough drive, rolling it over numerous times. LOL
To: jjbrouwer
My dad fought the Germans in WWII, but he wouldn't drive anything but a Volkswagen. It's what I learned to drive in. Brother-in-law wrecked the red one, so Dad got a blue one, and the brother wrecked that one. Of course, they each lasted about 15 years beforehand...
To: Ed Straker; Libertina
They are very forgiving cars and aren't complete without battered fenders.
However, my brother totalled two of ours into a tree, which they didn't forgive. Walked out without a scratch on both occasions.
29
posted on
07/31/2003 11:06:04 AM PDT
by
jjbrouwer
(Sometimes THE GREATS come back...)
To: dljordan
Every one of them I ever saw had scorch marks on the back from the engine catching on fire. I never had one, but my best friend's girlfriend (now wife) in college had one. God, how he hated that thing, because he was always having to fix one thing or another on it. He said she wouldn't get rid of it because it was "cute." He wanted to push it off a cliff, which was probably the only way it could've gotten to the top of a cliff.
30
posted on
07/31/2003 11:10:26 AM PDT
by
HHFi
Comment #31 Removed by Moderator
To: jjbrouwer
My first car was a green 71 super beetle. My most vivid memory of it was how cold it was to ride in the winter because the damn heater never worked. I also almost floated away once trying to drive it over a flooded road. I did learn to drive stick with that car though.
32
posted on
07/31/2003 12:55:34 PM PDT
by
rockprof
To: jjbrouwer
However, my brother totalled two of ours into a tree
Same tree?
To: jjbrouwer
I can see why that would be a drawback :) My little bro ended up parting with his because it was just too much of a squeeze (he's really tall). But he still has fond memories of it.
34
posted on
07/31/2003 2:57:08 PM PDT
by
mewzilla
To: rockprof
So true. As someone said earlier Beatles never had the creature comforts.
A kettle full of boiling water to remove the ice and a cloth to wipe the window down inside were essential tools!
35
posted on
07/31/2003 2:57:54 PM PDT
by
jjbrouwer
(Sometimes THE GREATS come back...)
To: Libertina
That would have been too perfect. Different trees. He may well have been out of his own tree...
36
posted on
07/31/2003 2:58:46 PM PDT
by
jjbrouwer
(Sometimes THE GREATS come back...)
Comment #37 Removed by Moderator
To: All
Heap scorn on me if you like or be envious...
I still have my last bug - a red 1971 Karmann bodied ragtop with 35k miles from new. My only gripe is that it's that dreaded "Autostick" tranny. Auto clutch. It won't do over 70 on a flat road and it's slow going up hills. After owning a '59, a '63 rollback and a '74 "Sunbug" with a non-leaking sunroof (all of which gave MANY miles of trustworthy service - even floated the '74 across a pond on a bet), the '71 is a pampered family treasure that will see nothing but sunny days and moonlit nights plus the occasional drive-in for the rest of its life.
I get offers every time it's out - some so generous that I wonder if I'm not crazy for keeping it but some things you just can't replace when they've gone.
I don't see where all the heat problems came from. The design was brutally simple - flow air over the exhaust pipe. Sure, the heater boxes rusted if you were up north but they were so easy to fix. All of mine had enough heat to melt a pair of PF Flyers if left in the rear footwell.
The biggest problem with the classic bugs was the floorboards....rust city. Can't tell how many times I heard the "I was just bopping along and suddenly the drivers seat was scraping the pavement" story. With the rest of the car that solid, going totally weak on the floorboard construction made no sense apart from planned obsolesence.
I lost the throttle cable once - snapped just aft of the pedal. Drove it two miles just artfully rowing the stickshift with the motor idling. Some guy in a powder blue bug pulled alongside and yelled "Broken Cable"? We had it rigged with a bent coat hanger in 5 minutes. Drove it that way for a year.
A saying used by Harley fans applied to bugs as well - "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand".
38
posted on
07/31/2003 3:56:35 PM PDT
by
Range Rover
(Karma is a boomerang...)
To: goldstategop
Look, you can now buy that very same car for $15,500!
1959 Beetle
Clean low-mile car with 101,615 original miles. All original interior Gray Blue/Gray. Rare accessory 3 way Moto Meter gauge and rare Cornett Sun visor and right side outside mirror. Wolfsburg Radio. Factory tool bag. Bud vase. Beautiful inside trunk area is all original. Perfect German bumpers. This car is located in New York City in a private collection
Asking $15,500.00
http://www.vwrestoration.com/sales.htm This one is really nice as well...
1955 Ragtop Beetle
Freshly restored by Humberto Lapa. Awesome paint. WCCR interior. Optional gas guage. Blaupunkt radio works. Euro headlight glass. All correct fenders and hoods. Factory sunroof. Body-off restoration. The engine was built with a NOS engine case, NOS heads, pistons and cylinders, cam and crankshaft.. .
Asking $35,000.00
The prices for the 21 window microbuses are going through the roof in the collectors market as well.
39
posted on
07/31/2003 4:43:17 PM PDT
by
Weimdog
To: dljordan
My first Beetle was a 67. I owned a 69 also. Had two squarebackes (powder blue and an orange one). If the Beetle is now extinct from production, when did the Squareback go out? ... And how difficult would it be to go to Mexico and buy a Beetle, then drive it back to Tennessee? (Like, what would it cost in Dollars and what import duty would be stacked on it if I was driving it or it was purchased used?
40
posted on
07/31/2003 4:52:35 PM PDT
by
MHGinTN
(If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote life support for others.)
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