Oprah Winfrey and Volkswagen have unveiled marketing genius by not unveiling the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle, but making a collective promise to give the soon-to-retire talk show host’s 275 audience members a free new edition of the iconic car.
The redesigned 2012 Volkswagen Beetle was selected as part of Winfrey’s wont for giving away some of her favorite things to audience members.
Winfrey owns and drives a 2011 Volkswagen Beetle. She asked Volkswagen for the assistance and the carmaker said it would donate the vehicles.
“Oprah Winfrey and the Volkswagen Beetle are two American icons, so when the “Oprah” show approached us with this incredible opportunity to share her Beetle experience with deserving viewers, we instantly wanted to be a part of it,” said Jonathan Browning, President and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America.
“Our all-new 2012 Beetle exemplifies power, styling and sophistication, and is an automotive icon reinvented to create the new shape of performance.”
The 2012 Volkswagen Beetle was only shown on the television program as a silhouette. The new edition be revealed in the spring in of 2011 and be available to the public until nearly another year.
Pricing for the new Beetle has not been announced. The vehicle will offer dual exhaust, 19-inch wheels, sport seats and new, sleeker styling. New technologies, like Bluetooth, touch screen radio, branded audio speaker systems, navigation and unique ambient lighting will also be available.
Article Last Updated: November 22, 2010.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
