A variety of colorful trucks, cars and vans grace the nation’s parking lots and highways.
One car model has the biggest factory, the longest life, the brightest colors, the most variety, the best advertising, the most unusual designer, the most nicknames and the most unique owners — the Volkswagen Beetle.
This is no ordinary vehicle.
Several students sport the New VW Beetle in its vast array of bright colors, such as blue lagoon and sunflower yellow. Although it shares the Beetle name with the original model, it has come a long way.
These cars have a style unlike any other. Dealers recognize Beetle drivers as the flower children type, wanting to return to their youthful past or enjoy their current vitality, said Bob Grace, Southside Volkswagen manager.
Chloè Wiley, a mass communication sophomore, has a cyber green New Volkswagen Beetle, which she aptly named “Booger.”
“[The Beetle has] always been my dream car,” she said. “I could not picture myself driving anything else. I thought it was really cute, and it was the best car that fit my personality.”
Many Beetle drivers are in a class by themselves. Wiley said she definitely notices Beetle drivers share common traits, especially bubbly personalities.
Volkswagen offers unique and cute accessories for the car, including a standard flower vase. Many Beetle drivers tend to decorate their cars with retro flowers, cartoon characters, stuffed animals and personalized license plates among other things, Grace said. He said buyers tell him they want to relive their wild past in the New Beetle, which for them symbolizes a return to their youth.
      Wiley keeps purple and gold daisies in her vase and a smiley face air freshener on her rear-view mirror. She said she would like more decorations if she could afford them, although her car’s bright color is decorative itself.
History
In 1934, Adolf Hitler wanted to democratize cars by making them smaller and more affordable, so he hired Ferdinand Porshe to design the “people’s car,” known as the Volkswagen in German. He wanted a cheap, fuel-efficient car resembling a beetle, which led to the development of the world’s most famous car, according to Volkswagenbeetle.org.
By 1938 Hitler had built the world’s largest automotive factory in history. The first Beetle was called KDF Wagen, meaning “car of the force my means of joy,” which parallels Volkswagen’s current slogan, “Spread the joy.”
World War II shifted Beetle production for consumers to increase production for the military. Several Beetle models were produced, including the Schwimmwagen, which traveled at six kilometers per hour through water.
Volkswagen expanded globally by exporting in the 1950s and bringing factories to America and Brazil in 1953. Mexico opened a factory in 1964, followed by in Africa in 1965.
The Beetle got a makeover in 1967, making the top rounder, the bumper squarer and improving electrical systems. Volkswagen produced the SuperBeetle in 1973, which was replaced by the cabriolet convertible version from 1976 to 1980, according to the Web site.
However, Beetle sales declined from 1974, so Volkswagen stopped production in all factories except in Mexico. After the decline in sales, Volkswagen produced a series of limited edition specialty models, including the Jeans, the City, the Big, the Special Bug, the Fioriserie and the Silver Bug. All European factories closed by 1978, leaving only a factory in Mexico.
The sporty Beetle of the Jubilee ended the series, built in 1987 on the Beetle’s 50th anniversary.
New Beetle versus the original
Undoubtedly the New Beetle’s appearance, performance, price and safety records are in a different league than the original’s.
“The new Beetles are so much more stylish and comfortable,” Wiley said.
She likes the car’s surprisingly spacious interior compared to the original and the
New Beetle’s outer appearance.
The original Beetle was built as an affordable car with minor mechanical problems that could be fixed with a few tools from a toolbox.
Car reviewer Bob Storck recalled his memories sitting in a slow, cramped, freezing Beetle in an article on www.womanmotorist.com. He liked the original because it was a cheap car to buy and maintain, had great gas mileage and parts were easily accessible.
The New Beetle was designed as a cute car for people who want a car with a “personality” using the same Beetle principle but with more flare and options.
However, buyers often complain they bought their original Beetle for what they paid in tax for their New Beetle, Grace said.
Advertising
The Beetle has a different advertising approach than most vehicles, using slogans such as “Think small” and using plain backgrounds with small pictures. The “Drivers wanted” campaign won Volkswagen of America’s New Beetle advertising agency, Arnold Communications, a $100,000 award for creativity.
The campaign strongly appealed to people in their 20s and those who felt like they were, according to Phil Patton’s book, “The Strange Mutations of the World’s Most Famous Automobile.” His book elaborates on the Beetle’s advertising, engineering and design history.
Patton discusses Beetle owners’ trend to personalize and attach to their cars, despite a universal design. He calls the customization phenomenon a form of modern folk culture.
Beetle owners have a tendency to sell space on their vehicles for mobile advertising, called Beetleboards, according to the book Advertising and Public Relations, an Integrated Approach.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Commission gave the New Beetle the top rating for crash testing, leading to the advertising slogan “Can’t crush a bug.”
Volkswagen dealers are known for friendly customer relations. Grace said many customers told him stories about their wild pastimes in their Beetles.
“The Volkswagen dealership is extremely nice and helpful,” Wiley said. “They really take care of you and check up on you.”
Only a Beetle
Hollywood loves the Beetle, using it in Disney’s “Herbie the Lovebug” series, “The Hot Chick,” “The Whole Nine Yards,” “The Place of The Strawberries,” “Clockwork Orange” and “The Sleeper,” among others.
Volkswagen of America gave small cash sums called “Bonds for Babies Born in Beetles,” during the ’70s to recognize the odd births, according to “The Car of The Century” by Filippo Massa.
The Beetle long has been known as the punch bug, otherwise an excuse to hit someone during long car rides by yelling “punch bug yellow” or some other color. Smilebug.com/pb has an electronic form of the punch bug hit, which can be e-mailed to friends.
“Kids are fun to watch around Volkswagens,” said Traci Johnston in an article from The Daily Beacon. “I think since birth they are taught to play the punch bug game.” Several Internet sites, such as www.xiola.net/punchbug/, include complete game rules.
The government and insurance industry crash tests gave the New Beetle the only five star rating for a small car, making the New Beetle the best small car for 2001, according to money.cnn.com.
The Car of Highest Endurance award in the Guiness book is for a Volkswagen Beetle owned by Albert Klein from Pasadena, Calif.
Men and the Beetle
While men and women alike drove the original Beetle, the New Beetle’s cute appearance, flower vase and splashy colors tend to attract more female buyers.
Dick Peterson, Northwest Herald editorial editor wrote a column titled “Looking for a few good (Beetle driving) men,” where he discusses his observation that only women drive the New Beetle. While every other car is gender neutral, including the original Beetle, men tend to avoid driving the new car.
However, some men love the New Beetle as much as the old. Paul Klebahn, author of “Bug-tales,” described his enthusiasm for the New Beetle on his Web site at Bug-tales.com. He included quotes from Volkswagen spokesperson Dr. Jens Neumann, who called the New Bug “optimism on wheels.”
The car appeals emotionally to both men and women who remember their first Beetle, Klebahn said.
The Cabriolet Convertible
Grace said Southdown Volkswagen just received a shipment of the new convertibles.
Despite the Beetle’s “cute” appearance, both men and women like the New Beetle Convertible, said Beth Stein, freelance automotive critic on beststuff.com.
“One man’s chick car is another man’s reasonably priced, reasonably well-executed droptop cruiser,” said Daniel Pund in his car review on caranddriver.com. He said Volkswagen anticipates selling the New Beetle Convertible to 21,500 women and 8,500 men this year.