2017 VW Beetle (#ByeByeBeetle)

Farewell, Bug! Volkswagen Beetle production officially ends

Production of the Volkswagen Beetle has officially ended, with the final example rolling off the line at the German brand Puebla plant in Mexico.

In September 2018, VW confirmed the then-impending death of the Beetle, saying there were “no immediate plans” to replace the model after production ended in July 2019.

The last Beetle was finished in Denim Blue paint and is set to be displayed at VW’s museum in Puebla as a “lasting tribute to the automobile’s rich and storied heritage”.

“It’s impossible to imagine where Volkswagen would be without the Beetle,” said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America.

https://www.carmag.co.za/news/indus...volkswagen-beetle-production-officially-ends/

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Last VW Beetle (possibly ever) leaves the production line

The Volkswagen Beetle is now officially extinct, with the last third-generation unit having rolled off the assembly line in Mexico this week.

However, some might argue that the Beetle actually died when the original generation ceased production in that same country in 2003 after an extended production run, with most of the world having seen the last of the venerable ‘love bug’ in the 1970s already.

We say this because the two newer front-engined generations, based on the Golf 4 and 6 respectively, never really shared much other than a name and some retro styling cues with the original Beetle.

Expensive, in relative terms, the successors were never as popular as the original 'People's Car', which notched up sales of over 12.5 million, albeit over a much longer lifespan. The second generation of 1998, by comparison, only managed 1.2 million units, while the current model saw just 500 000 sales.

Will there ever be another Beetle?

At this stage it’s not looking likely that Volkswagen will ever produce another vehicle called the Beetle, although there were rumours circulating a few years back, of a possible electric successor. While there has been no official word on that front, a battery Beetle could easily form part of the upcoming ID family, which is also expected to spawn a retro successor to the Type 1 bus.

https://www.iol.co.za/motoring/indu...ibly-ever-leaves-the-production-line-29031703
 
Bug not squashed after all? Volkswagen applies to trademark 'e-Beetle'

Volkswagen has applied to trademark the “e-Beetle” badge in Europe, leading to speculation the Bug has not been (permanently) squashed after all.

Production of the Beetle officially ended in July 2019, with the final example rolling off the line at VW’s Puebla plant in Mexico. In September 2018, VW confirmed the death of the Beetle, saying there were “no immediate plans” to replace the model after production ended.

However, as discovered by an eagle-eyed user over at vwidtalk.com (and subsequently reported by the folks over at Jalopnik), the Wolfsburg-based firm has filed an application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to trademark the e-Beetle name.

www.carmag.co.za

Bug not squashed after all? Volkswagen applies to trademark 'e-Beetle'... - CAR Magazine

Volkswagen has applied to trademark the “e-Beetle” badge in Europe, leading to speculation the Bug has not been (permanently) squashed after all. Production of the […]
www.carmag.co.za www.carmag.co.za
 
Top Gear's guilty pleasures: the new new VW Beetle

A car so bad, Volkswagen killed off its most famous nameplate. And yet, Ollie's a fan...

The only film to make me cry so far this century was Toy Story 4, the back catalogue of British pop group The Saturdays is criminally underrated for catchiness, and I like the most recent VW Beetle. Ahh, that’s better. It’s good to talk.

Maybe let’s open the floor, and use the internet’s evil superpower (commenting on articles under an anonymous pseudonym) for the greater good. Since your musical taste is almost certainly more refined than mine, we’ll stick to cars.

‘Liking cars’ gets awfully tiring at times. It’s so serious. So tribal. M vs RS vs AMG. Porsche uber Ferrari. Is it okay to think Teslas are actually quite incredible in some ways and also quite crap in others? Ah, thought not.

Then there’s the vanishingly inconsequential minutiae. Turbos or nat-asp? What if you secretly prefer a paddleshift when all your mates have matching #savethemanuals tattoos? Only the bravest among us will freely admit to – dare I say it – liking convertibles…

So, here’s mine. Y’know the Volkswagen Beetle? No, not the original, multi-million-selling, dubiously Third Reich-y, Herbie-Fully-Loaded, love bug hippie-chariot one. And not the vase-on-the-dashboard New Beetle from 1997 either.

I’m talking about the last version. The third-gen Beetle that quietly slipped out of the factory back door in 2019, and nobody noticed. Except me. I liked the last Beetle.

Oh, it was complete rubbish. I drove several and marvelled at how VW took its usual parts-bin box of bits – the same engineering offal and tripe it successfully force-feeds to Seat and Skoda – and forged it into such curvaceous garbage.

www.topgear.com

Top Gear's guilty pleasures: the new new VW Beetle

A car so bad, Volkswagen killed off its most famous nameplate. And yet, Ollie's a fan...
www.topgear.com www.topgear.com
 
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