Volkswagen Beetle

#62, LA Auto Show, Day 2: Cadillac SUV, Baja 1000, Prestone

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:59 — 39.8MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreWelcome to Day 2 of The Weekly Driver Podcast’s special coverage of AutoMobility LA and the LA Auto Show. Today (Nov. 28) was the opening day for media previews of new car debuts, and it didn’t disappoint. While co-host Bruce Aldrich produced Episode No. 62 remotely, James Raia (your other co-host) was reporting from the showroom halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center. We have three guests. Phil Zak is the exterior designer for Cadillac. He explains the enduring brand’s continuing transition into the SUV segment, particularly the new XT4. We also discuss Cadillac‘s continuing pursuit to appeal to younger buyers. And we also

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So long, farewell to the Volkswagen Beetle

Say goodbye to the most iconic car ever made, the Volkswagen Beetle. A representative from the German automaker told a reporter from the publication Autocar during the Geneva Motor Show that it plans to stop production of the vehicle at the end of its current generation. Frank Welsch, the carmaker’s research and development leader, said, “two or three generations is enough now.” The Volkswagen Beetle is the fourth best-selling vehicle in history, trailing the Toyota Corolla, Ford F series pickup trucks and Volkswagen Golf. But the Beetle’s sales have waned in recent years, with reports the carmaker’s engineers have lost enthusiasm for the vehicle. It was originally known as the “people car’s” when it was first commissioned in Germany by

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2017 Volkswagen Beetle: Spry, sporty, vital at age 72

Picking the most recognizable vehicle on the road is endlessly fun. The engine growl of a Maserati heard from another zip code? The near-silent elegance and design of a Tesla? The off-the-hook, testosterone-loaded design of a Hummer? They’re all unique, worthy selections. But like it or not, the Volkswagen Type I, predominately known as the Beetle or Bug, gets the honor. With its high, severely rounded roofline, protruding fenders, distinct lights and overall bulbousness, the 72-year-old Beetle is alone in the auto industry. The VW’s weird pedigree — commissioned by Adolph Hitler in the 1930s to adopted by the Hippie movement in the 1960s and 50 more years — further defines the car’s improbable legacy. It’s the second best-selling car

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NEW CAR REVIEW: 2014 Volkswagen Beetle shines

The Volkswagen Bug has endured many name and design changes since it debuted in the Unites States in 1949. With the 2014 Volkswagen Beetle R-Line, another chapter in the carmaker’s legacy as one of the top-10 best-selling cars in history has begun. The new limited edition is the most upscale and most powerful Beetle to date. The Beetle as a sports car isn’t quite accurate. But for 2014, the upscale trim features a larger turbo-charged engine, new front fascia, a metal dash plate and a host of R-Line, sporty badging throughout the car. The styling is not only more sporting, it’s more masculine than the 2013 Beetle Turbo. The squared-off steering wheel is leather wrapped and there are easy-to use

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Volkswagen: Bugs, Beetles, Bliss

Like several friends, my first car was a Volkswagen. It was a family friend’s car and the 1962 VW Bug was pristine. I bought it for $500 in 1972 when I was age 17. The memories of learning about its simple engine and driving it everywhere are still vivid 40 years later. All these years later, I just drove a 2014 Volkswagen Beetle R-Line for a week. It’s still unmistakably a Volkswagen, but it’s also a completely different car. The new VW Beetle has five times the horsepower of my Bug from yesteryear. And the driving difference, from what I can remember from 40 years ago, is remarkable. Vintage and new Bugs and Beetles still share a wondrous trait: Both

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Best Used Cars: Volkswagen Beetle, 2003 GLS Convertbile

No one forgets their first car. For me, it was a 1962 Volkswagen Bug. With my own savings, I bought it from family friends in 1972 for $500. It was beige, in near-pristine condition, had a four-speed stick shift, the original Blaupunkt AM/FM stereo radio and chrome front and back bumpers. The VW insignia shield, a rare decal near the front trunk handle, was intact. I drove the car everywhere and washed and waxed when it didn’t need cleaning. I learned how to change the oil and adjust the valves, which to this day is the full extent of my mechanical knowledge. (Editor’s note: We’re visiting our archives to review cars once new and now well-suited for best buy status

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Volkswagen Beetle, 2013: New Turbo diesel has sports car tendencies

The slogan for the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle is “Still turns heads. Just Faster.” Automaker slogans often don’t mean much. But in the instance of the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle TDI, which debuted this year, the words work. The Beetle TDI’s 2.0-liter turbodiesel delivers 140 horsepower, 236 lb-ft of torque and is offered with either a six-speed manual or Tiptronic automatic transmission. Those are foreign numbers when compared to the specs of the original introduced in 1938, and they should be. And yet, after 75 years, the VW Beetle in many ways is still a Bug. The Weekly Driver Test Drive As arguably the most easily recognized car in the world, and particularly in my week with a bright yellow turbo diesel

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Volkswagen lineup, 2012: sports cars, station wagons and a Bug

By David Colman I have never experienced a press roll out like this in more than 20 years of attending Volkswagen events in the United Sates and Germany, Usually, the occasions focus on one or two new models with long, complex drive routes scheduled to foster a maximum driving experience. This year, there were multiple models available, but in a three-hour window. Here are my brief impressions from either a 15-mile or 25-mile Northern California loop that encompassed flat and hilly driving conditions in the Half Moon Bay and San Mateo areas: 2012 VW GOLF R This baby is a “little bomb.” The Golf R replaces the Golf R32, which has come and gone in several iterations during the past

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Volkswagen Beetle Turbo, 2012: The fat bug has a new image

Like the fat kid from Math Club who came to the high school reunion with something to prove, the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo wants everyone to do a double take and notice that it’s no longer the archetypal chick car. The new VW wants it to be OK for a guy to purchase it and visit the Starbucks drive thru. It wants it known the latest version of the Beetle has a turbo in it, and it means business. Doesn’t the now-flattened roofline says "I drink more beers than wine coolers" to you? After almost a decade of the New Beetle, VW has decided enough is enough. Cuteness overload has worn thin. The latest Beetle has visual cues that distinguish

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Volkswagen Beetle, 2012: High fives and hand claps

Volkswagen isn't the first manufacturer to make clever television commercials. But the new spot for the 2012 Beetle is among the best. It's simultaneously hip and ideally deals a recent prevailing trend that Beetle are only purchased by women. The video features a male driver driving in various situations around town. No matter where he drives, people want to "high five" or do "knuckles." The commercial is shot to the ""The Clapping Song." It was originally recorded by Shirley Ellis in 1965, shortly after she hit it big with a similar song, "The Name Game". The Clapping Song song made it to the top ten on the charts. Here a synopsis of the lyrics: "Three, six, nine The goose drank

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Volkswagen Beetle, 2012 car review

Volkswagen has been selling its iconic Beetle model seemingly forever, but the 2012 version tops them all. The new third-generation Beetle won’t be mistaken for any other car because it retains the familiar shape of all Beetles ever built. But it’s larger and sleeker — or “longer, lower and wider” as Detroit’s automakers used to say. The new model also is more powerful and faster than the last model, which caused quite a stir when it arrived in 1998 as the second-generation “New Beetle.” The original, first-generation Beetle arrived in America around 1950 and underwent numerous small changes over the years. It was the country’s most popular foreign car during the 1950s and 1960s despite its basic 1930s design. It

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Volkswagen Beetle is back with big, bad 2012 model

Sixty-three years after its iconic legacy began, the Volkswagen Beetle is back. The 2012 edition, the third generation of one of the best-selling cars in history, is debuting simultaneously this week in media days at the New York Auto Show, Shanghai Auto Show and Berlin Auto Show. Launched in the U.S. in 1949, the car has had two distinct tenures. It in first 30 years, more than five million were sold in the United Sates until it was discontinued in 1979. The second generation Beetle sold just under 500,000 units in the U.S. from 1998-2010, increasing to what Volkswagen reports is more than 22.5 million Beetles made globally. According to Volkswagen, the third generation Beetle is “substantially wider, the front

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Volkswagen goes buggy with Super Bowl Beetle commercial

The new 2011 Beetle is never seen, but Volkswagen likely had the most compelling 30-second car commercial in Super Bowl XLV replete with speeding insects and a cover version of the Ram Jam classic rock anthem “Black Betty.” The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion covers the famed Black Betty tune while Volkswagen simultaneously markets its new Beetle. In the high-paced commercial an insect (beetle) races through the forest, on the highway and then in a power slide like Volkswagen is hoping the new Beetle will do. The ad’s final frame provides a tease to what the new Beetle may look like. Volkswagen‘s more extensive advertising campaign for the new Beetle is expected soon. James RaiaA sports, travel and business journalist for

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Volkswagen recalls 380,000 Jetta, Golf, Rabbit, Beetle models with fuel leak potential

Volkswagen has announced the recall of nearly 380,000 vehicles, including Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Golf and Rabbit models from the 2007 to 2009 because potential fuel leaks which could lead to a fire. A total of 266,936 of the above-mentioned models are affected as well as an 110,350 hardtop and convertible New Beetles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) official bulletin read: “The Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Golf and Rabbit vehicles may have a small plastic tab located on the windshield washer fluid reservoir that may chafe against an underhood fuel supply line. “The New Beetle and the New Beetle Convertible vehicles may have a fastening clamp on a hydraulic hose of the power steering system that may be located in

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Oprah reveals free 2012 Volkswagen Beetle to 275 audience members in 'favorite things' giveaway

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

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Volkswagen Beetle, Kaiser Darrin Shine At Carmel Concours On The Avenue

While soft jazz perfectly set the mood, mellow, daylong crowds gathered along the main artery, Ocean Ave., and its accompanying side streets. It was an ideal outdoor showroom for the second-year event. Porsche and Ferrari were featured Monday and Tuesday multi-marques were presented. I didn’t attend Monday’s festivities, but there were immediate favorites on Tuesday. Tony and Pat Olmo of Monterey, California, presented two Volkswagen Beetles — a 1962 convertible and 1956 deluxe. The 1956, a beautifully hued diamond green, is restored with only German VW parts as is the Pacific Blue convertible. Both cars attracted large crowds with a lot visitors commenting in general terms: “I used to have one of those.” Despite the popularity of the two VWs,

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