So, farewell to the Volkswagen Beetle. Twice this year, I’ve been asked to give on the radio what is in effect an oral obituary for the long-serving model. The Beetle’s backstory is a fascinating one and it bears retelling, although not here. It isn’t a practical buy, but a style one. Its unaerodynamic blunt front eats into the mpg and the boot isn’t the biggest – but at least it isn’t another boring hatch. Shall we take a peek at what the classic market is up to? Well, £4450 buys a fully operational 1971 1200 Beetle that’s apparently unrestored and used as a daily, which surprised me a bit. There are some Californian imports for similar money and projects at the £1500 mark, so if you fancy some work and rust, knock yourself out. When it comes to the reborn Beetle, these are proper bangers now and presumably the £300 examples are worth more in bits. I found a 2002 1.6 petrol local to me with a couple of months’ MOT for that money and only a cracked windscreen and 175,000 miles on the debit sheet. Then a few miles more in the other direction was a 2001 2.0, which was blue with black wheels and a full year’s MOT for £500. Then there was a 2009 1.6 Luna with 90,000 miles and a full MOT at £1800. Not bad for a decade-old cared-for example. The Beetle is all about showing off and, for £1500 upwards, there are a ton of cabriolets around that are perfect cruising buys. For example, there was a 2004 1.6 with reasonable miles and a private plate chucked in for £1500. Personally, I would respond more warmly to the subtle rumble of a 2.3 V5. No one else wants those, so there are tidy one-owner 2001 examples at £750. Dealer prices can be £2995, but they should be pretty mint and warranted. Then there is the last-of-the-breed Beetle 2, which isn’t quite so lovable. The petrol 1.2 TSI starts at £5500, so a contemporary model at a reasonable price. I have a lot of time for a 1.6 Bluemotion, which does address the older cars’ fuel economy issues and deliver 65mpg, officially anyway. A 2013 one with over 90,000 miles is £5995. A bunch of special editions increases the choice and I like the idea of a Fender I can actually drive. I saw a 2013 2.0 TDI with 50,000 miles, a DSG gearbox and Fender logos. The sound system should be decent, it had a DAB radio and it was a two-owner car for £9999. Certainly, the Beetle isn’t for everyone, but they are good value, and in the world of the me-too hatch, it is the curvy exception. Otherwise, buy a Golf or Polo. What we almost bought this week It was going so well – pretty little French hatchback in the right colour, full main dealer service history, a reasonable 75,000 miles on the clock and a recent new cambelt and water pump, all for just £890. And then the admission that the electric hood is playing up. Sadly, roof problems are the Pluriel’s Achilles heel. Moving on… Tales from Ruppert’s garage Volkswagen Golf, mileage – 55,725: It’s always good to know that aftermarket gadgets are actually working and have a real-world purpose. You might remember I have a Michelin Fit2Go tyre pressure checker. The posh one on the Baby Shark is resting at the garage at the moment – more on that next time. The Golf, though, uses a simpler version, but it rapidly zeroed in on the fact that the nearside rear tyre had a large tack in it. I’ve already sold a few of these to mates with lower-tech 1990s cars who reckon this could be a lifesaver and it is. So let’s get that tyre fixed as there’s no spacesaver these days. Reader’s ride Nick has a great tale involving two cars, so we have split it into two exciting instalments: “Having got tired of depreciation and only needing to go to the railway station for much of the past few years, I spent £700 on a 12-year-old 206 1.4 Verve in early 2018. It had 58,000 miles and three owners to its credit. Not much service history but the belts and clutch had been done. “After 20,000 trouble-free miles, I landed a position that requires a daily 65-mile round trip, so I was toying with the idea of getting a diesel.” Part two next week… Readers’ questions Question: What’s the best way to wash my car without scratching the paint? Dean Whittam, Boston Answer: We asked Richard Tipper, top vehicle detailer and founder of Perfection Detailing, who said: “It’s best to do it on an overcast day so the water doesn’t dry off. Hose down the car, then apply a snowfoam to soften the dirt and leave for a few minutes to do its work. Now hose off the foam. If there are still stubborn bits like tar spots on the paintwork, use a clay bar to gently rub them away. Then, using a bucket with a grit guard, shampoo the car using a hand mitt. Hose off and dry with a chamois.” John Evans Question: I have up to £40,000 to spend on a new convertible but it must have space in the back for two teenage sons, who insist the car must have street cred, too. What do you recommend? Jason Clarke, via email Answer: A convertible with street cred?
Origin: James Ruppert: how to pick up a bargain Beetle
Beetle
From Nazis to hippies: End of the road for Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagens last Beetle produced is seen during a ceremony to announce the cease of the production of the VW Beetle after 21 years in the market, at Volkswagen Plant on July 10, 2019 in Cuautlancingo, Mexico.Hector Vivas / Getty Volkswagen is halting production of the last version of its Beetle model this week at its plant in Puebla, Mexico. Its the end of the road for a vehicle that has symbolized many things over a history spanning eight decades since 1938.It has been: a part of Germanys darkest hours as a never-realized Nazi prestige project; a symbol of Germanys postwar economic renaissance and rising middle-class prosperity; an example of globalization, sold and recognized all over the world; an emblem of the 1960s counterculture in the United States. Above all, the car remains a landmark in design, as recognizable as the Coca-Cola bottle.The cars original design a rounded silhouette with seating for four or five, nearly vertical windshield and the air-cooled engine in the rear can be traced back to Austrian engineer Ferdinand Porsche, who was hired to fulfill Adolf Hitlers project for a peoples car that would spread auto ownership the way the Ford Model T had in the U.S.Aspects of the car bore similarities to the Tatra T97, made in Czechoslovakia in 1937, and to sketches by Hungarian engineer Bela Barenyi published in 1934. Mass production of what was called the KdF-Wagen, based on the acronym of the Nazi labor organization under whose auspices it was to be sold, was cancelled due to the Second World War.Instead, the massive new plant in what was then countryside east of Hanover turned out military vehicles, using forced laborers from all over Europe under miserable conditions. Volkswagen employees pose with a “Beetle”, the final edition of the iconic car, at a factory in Puebla, Puebla State, Mexico, on July 10, 2019. Juan Carlos Sanchez / Getty Re-launched as a civilian carmaker under supervision of the British occupation authorities, the Volkswagen factory was transferred in 1949 to the Germany government and the state of Lower Saxony, which still owns part of the company. By 1955, the millionth Beetle officially called the Type 1 had rolled off the assembly line in what was now the town of Wolfsburg.The United States became Volkswagens most important foreign market, peaking at 563,522 cars in 1968, or 40 per cent of production. Unconventional, sometimes humorous advertising from agency Doyle Dane Bernbach urged car buyers to Think small. Unlike in West Germany, where its low price, quality and durability stood for a new postwar normality, in the United States the Beetles characteristics lent it a profoundly unconventional air in a car culture dominated by size and showmanship, wrote Bernhard Rieger in his 2013 history The People’s Car.Production at Wolfsburg ended in 1978 as newer front-drive models like the Golf took over. But the Beetle wasnt dead yet. Production went on in Mexico from 1967 until 2003 longer than the car had been made in Germany. Nicknamed the vochito, the car made itself at home as a rugged, Mexican-made carro del pueblo.The New Beetle a completely retro version build on a modified Golf platform resurrected some of the old Beetles cute, unconventional aura in 1998 under CEO Ferdinand Piech, Ferdinand Porsches grandson. In 2012, the Beetles design was made a bit sleeker. Volkswagen’s last Beetle produced is seen during a ceremony to announce the cease of the production of the VW Beetle after 21 years in the market, at Volkswagen Plant on July 10, 2019 in Cuautlancingo, Mexico. Hector Vivas / Getty The end of the Beetle comes at a turning point for Volkswagen as it rebounds from a scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests. The company is gearing up for mass production of the battery-driven compact ID.3, a car that the company predicts will have an impact like that of the Beetle and the Golf by bringing electric mobility to a mass market.The last of 5,961 Final Edition versions of the Beetle is headed for a museum after ceremonies in Puebla on July 10 to mark the end of
Origin: From Nazis to hippies: End of the road for Volkswagen Beetle
VW wins copyright claim against daughter of Beetle stylist
1978 VW Beetle Volkswagen has won a legal battle against one of the descendants of its head of design in the 1930s, who claimed he was the true designer of the Beetle.According to Automotive News, the daughter of late car designer Erwin Komenda claims the VW Beetle was entirely her fathers design, and therefore her family should be entitled to money on the sales of the Beetle.She limited her claim to Beetles built after 2014, as sales of earlier Beetles fell under a statute of limitations.The plaintiff claimed the newer Beetle still incorporated elements from her fathers design, one that was used for more than three generations, and sales of which have surpassed 22 million since production started after the Second World War. She sought 5 million euros in compensation.The court in Brunswick, Germany found that Komendas drawings resembled other vehicles of the era, and were not significantly unique enough to support the claim that he was the sole designer of the Beetle.The court also found that modern Beetle models are significantly different in design from the original Beetle, and thus they were deemed unaffected by any copyright claims.Komendas daughter was also not able to prove her father was involved in the design of the Kdf-Wagen, which VW largely based the design of the Beetle upon. The Kdf-Wagen was produced in 1938 and was designed by Ferdinand Porsche.Komendas daughter was not named in
Origin: VW wins copyright claim against daughter of Beetle stylist
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