“‘It sure is nice out this Sunday morning. Never mind that this silver thing behind me looks like it wants to devour me. Is that what a ‘compact car’ looks like these days?
Look at this one that just parked across the street. Kids these days, with all the tattoos…”
“Hey, Grandpa! Looking good. Nice shoes!”
Wrigleyville, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, July 10, 2016.
Why do the “new look” hub caps on that black Beetle look so good?
Why do most steel wheels today not have the ability to take small hub caps?
Have I overdosed on “mag” wheels to the point of nausea?
I have, so few cars have come with steelies in recent years “mags” have become the boring wheel. I think a lot of people feel that way, which you can see reflected on enthusiast cars – you almost never see performance cars with silvery colored wheels anymore, from the Miata to the Challenger Hellcat and everything in between the wheels are being finished in dark metallic colors, sometimes full on black or even flat finished.
I absolutely despise the vast majority of those “murdered out” dark-finished alloys – they look like cheap Pep Boys crap to me.
At least the Beetle’s wheels can pull off the look thanks to their retro styling and contrast with the chrome.
I think it depends heavily on the wheel design itself, lacy spoke designs always looked better dark, going as far back as the Buick GNX or Lincoln Mark VII LSC, while a blocky 5 spoke looks rather toyish (newer Jeeps are especially guilty).
That was one of the things I liked most about the “new New” Beetle when it came out–actual hubcaps, almost dog dish style.
+1. They look great – really improve the retro look.
Put me down for air-cooled, please!
I’ll take air bags, meself.
You guys could probably get the best of both worlds, if you a 2000-2004 Beetle from Mexico.
Uh, they did have airbags, right?
The blue Beetle probably will still be on the streets long after the black 2nd generation New Beetle is done. The black Beetle appears to have swapped wheels with the blue one.
It does appear to have been hit by a shrinking ray compared to the over inflated bodies of today.
+1
Early this summer, a dark blue early ’70s Beetle drove past my mom and dad’s house, and for the first time in forever I kind of wanted one. This baby blue one here looks just right with the mags.
I also, however, like the new caps on the black Beetle. I like the newest Beetle infinitely more than the one that preceded it.
Nope!
That’s what a subcompact car looks like these days. 😛 The Type 1 is actually slightly longer than the Sonic.
The wheels on the ’68 make it. Those wheels visually work wonders on any aircooled VW as well as the Porsche 914. But the new-old look wheels on the New Beetle look fantastic as well, perfect design.
Owned a 69 Beetle with an engine that had been somewhat modified. The car itself looked like a ratty old sneaker. Fun to drive, for an old car.
The New Beetle? and in it’s latest iteration? Not really a fan. Since its basically just a Golf with different bodywork I’d rather have “the real thing”. The only way I could own 1 is as a convertible.
BTW, just this week I saw a “special edition” Dune Beetle. The factory “dresses” the sedans up to look like a faux dune buggy for the 21st century. Sort of VW’S answer to a Subaru Outback.
I liked that new beetle restyle when it came out and REALLY liked it the first time I saw those wheels on it. The 68 I like too, for whatever reason my favorite real Beetles tend to be either the earliest oval/split window models or the late ones that got more “modern” updates like fuel injection and alloy wheels.
Sonic? Uhh no thanks.
Sonic, the epitome of the word, appliance.
Isn’t that thing really a Daewoo? No thanks.
Well, it’s Korean, anyway.
Other than a Genesis Turbo Coupe… I have no desire to own a Korean car.
To me, they seem like “also rans” or runner ups”, instead of being class-leaders.
I’ve owned all three generations:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/curbside-comparison-1964-beetle-2000-new-beetle-2013-beetle-convertible/
I still love driving an old air-cooled Beetle, but have no desire to do so in rush hour traffic ever again (which I did for six years with my ’64 in Atlanta, GA).
I still miss my New Beetle, and occasionally see it in town with its current owner, which brings a smile to my face (it’s 16 years old now, wow!).
Long-term CC’ers will remember I sold the ’13 ‘vert after only 18 months due to quality issues that VW *should* have gotten right by then. Loved the looks of the car, but wasn’t willing to live with frozen windows in the winter, etc.
I’d say the current iteration captures the *looks* of the original better than the NB, but the NB captured the *spirit* of the original better.
If I had to choose a Beetle, I prefer the pre-67 with the glass covers over the headlights. After that, the cars started losing quality. Cheaper bumpers & interiors. Then complicated by smog controls. Never cared for working on any of them as many repairs required the engine out. Then my Mom acquired a new ’70 VW Squareback that turned into such a lemon, It turned me off of VWs permanently.
By the way, those ‘NEW Beetle’ wheels are black-painted alloy. The caps are chromed plastic, held on by a weak steel wire-ring that lets the caps loosen and rattle.
I’ve developed a simple fix though, using a vice-grips to bend/re-tension the wire-ring at the squared-off part.
Happy Motoring, Mark
Almost laughed reading the part about how the caps are held on by a weak steel ring that lets the caps loosen.
I owned a 74 Audi Fox, arguably the grandfather (or grandmother?) of water-cooled VWs, and that car had caps held onto it’s steel wheels with 4 thin, roughly S-shaped “disposable” tabs…..very vaguely like the pull-tabs on soft drink cans. The owner’s manual told you to throw away these 4 “tabs” EVERY time you removed the cap and replace them with new ones. If you didn’t, the hubcaps would fall off within a few blocks. Tabs cost $0.80 each 40 years ago, and you had to get 4 per wheel.
I sold tons of those little flat spring steel clips back in the day. I would reuse them on my car, carefully bending them slightly so they still had good tension on the cap. Mine only had the small center chrome cap. If you had the separate trim rings that the cap snapped over then the new clips were a must. Some times the little hook that went into the drilled hole would snap off and then a new clip would be needed, so I kept a couple of spares in the car. They were a PIA.
Every time an old Beetle chuffles past I begin to think’ maybe one more before I die….’.
.
-Nate
Love the light blue Beetle against the red brick backdrop. Nice photo.
I owned a 1974 Super Beetle (Orange), awesome car easy on gas,plus I could cut donuts in the high school parking lot (weeeeee). Seriously, I sold the car to a lady who I delivered papers for, and ol and behold one week later it caught fire and burned up in her driveway. I have since (many, many moons later) learned that early beetles had a short rubber gas line that would deteriorate over time, thus allowing gas to leak onto the engine causing a devistating fire.
I remember when I was little seeing a beetle (or super beetle) on fire in the parking lot of the local supermarket. Seemed to be just one of those things that happened to what was a well-used old car, not yet a classic, at the time.
These “Old cars were small!” photos always surprise me.
My first car was a Beetle (in 1999) and friends’ cars were circa 1989 Peugeot 205, Vauxhall Nova etc. The Beetle seemed big compared to them, if not exactly spacious.
“Sonic? You’re Corvair’s grandkid aren’t you? You sure are *taller* than ‘Vair ever was heh heh heh”.
I would be the polar opposite of that. I’m 30 years old (though most say i look at least 5 years younger) and if anyone remembers my articles, totally Volkswagen obsessed.
Last weekend I was at a show in my ’63 Microbus and parked beside my friend’s ’92 GTI. As I was sitting between the two vehicles someone asked me a general question about the GTI. Then asked more specific details. I replied that it wasn’t my car. The look of confusion on the older man’s face when I told him that the old Bus was mine was priceless.
My daily is now a 2002 GTI but as I said on social media a few days ago, there’s nothing like sweating my ass off behind the wheel of an aircooled Volkswagen.
Which ever Beetle you choose… Stylewise, you’re sure to come out a winner. 🙂
Wouldn’t own either if they were free. I would happily take a Sonic over any new VW.
I would take a pink Yugo with orange polka dots over any air-cooled VW.