If you're mourning the Beetle, you're too late - it's been gone for decades

Monday, 17 September 2018

Hey, at least VW had some fun. Check out this cute New Beetle ad from 2011 (featuring no actual cars).

OPINION: Volkswagen announced last week that production of the Beetle would finally finish for good next year.

Feeling sad or nostalgic? You really shouldn't. The time for that was 1978. Or maybe 2003 at a stretch.

Next year's final Beetle is an occasion of sorts I guess, because a 'Beetle' of some kind has indeed been in continuous production since 1938.

There was much more to the Type 1 - or 'Beetle' - than curvy styling. It was a landmark design and engineering job.

But there are Beetles and there are Beetles. The story of the original and its evolution from German People's Car to counter-culture symbol to iconic taxi is well-known.

**READ MORE:

Original Beetle lasted until 2003 in Mexico. This is the farewell Ultima Edicion.

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* Beats go on in VW Polo, even when you're old

VW added some circles to the Golf IV to create the new Beetle. But that was about it.

* The best city car is a big white VW van**

The original Beetle was a clever design and impressively robust. Most importantly, it was an original; the kind of car you get when throw away the rulebook and take a fresh approach.

No car was ever more suited to special editions. This is the New Beetle Fender model. Did you guess?

The Golf was supposed to replace the Beetle in 1974 but it didn't. Nor did the Polo in 1975. The Beetle lasted until 1978, then production got a second life as it shifted to Brazil and Mexico - where it carried on until 2003.

The mistake being made all over the world in media at the moment is equating the current New Beetle with the old, as if the passing of this latest version somehow marks the end of an era that started in 1938.

It doesn't of course. The 'new Beetle' launched in 1997 (also made in Mexico) was part of a weird fascination with retro cars at the time (see also BMW's new Mini and the Fiat 500) but it was just about the look and nothing else. It was based on the then-current Golf IV platform so it was front-engined and front-drive and there was nothing at all innovative about the car. It was simply a styling job.

And that was fine. But let's not pretend it had anything to do with the original. It was a cartoon homage, nothing more. It certainly had its moments: some people liked the built-in flower vase, others the turbo model launched in 1999.

By the time the second New Beetle (yes, the capitals are going up and down - for reasons which will be explained) came along, VW had decided to make it more of an enthusiasts' car. It looked more aggressive (touch of classic Porsche even) and was better to drive thanks to the Golf VI platform.

Again, it had nothing to do with the original Beetle.

In the years since, VW has done very little to develop the New Beetle, while the Golf has rocketed ahead in design and technology.

The 'new Beetle' and New Beetle have been niche right from the start: only half a million have been sold globally since 1997.

And because it's so niche, VW has not been able to invest in keeping it truly up to date.

The first new Beetle lasted so long it was eventually two generations behind the equivalent Golf in terms of platform technology. The same thing has happened with the updated New Beetle - it's now a long way behind the latest Golf.

That, as much as any shift in buyer taste towards SUVs, is responsible for the New Beetle's demise. Cute styling only gets you so far.

So farewell Beetle, but let's move on.

To finish, a fun Beetle fact: the very latest version is the only one in history to be badged 'Beetle'. The original was of course the Type 1 and over time was nicknamed the Beetle or Bug - a name which stuck.

The 1997 reboot was official called Beetle, informally known as 'new Beetle' - but never badged as either.

The current car is correctly called New Beetle and does indeed wear a Beetle badge.

That's all folks.