On a whim, after four uneventful years of ownership, I traded my appliance white 2012 Jetta for a red 2014 Beetle. I was on the downward glide of a 40 year career, working towards retirement in just a couple of years and I was looking to make a tiny statement before heading out the door. A couple of months earlier I had gotten a tattoo and I had taken to wearing skinny jeans to work, pretty wild stuff, I know. I bought the Jetta instead of a VW CC because we already owned a 4 seater Volvo C30. So what was I doing with this little 2+2?
My second ever car was a red 1969 Beetle. As I moved toward retirement, I started to think about a new ride to take me into the sunset. I was feeling fairly nostalgic about Beetles since my ’69 was the car I was driving when I started my first real job.
I had briefly considered getting one of the new Beetles when they came out around 1999 or so, but I thought they were trying too hard to be cute. That new Beetle, based on the PQ34 (or A4 if you prefer) platform, really had nothing in common with the original Beetle unless you count the shape. The windshield was especially problematic for me considering the original Beetle had a flat windshield.
My girlfriend at the time, now my wife, took advantage of the media blitz that coincided with that car’s release and bought me this book.
Later, when our oldest daughter was getting married, she gave me this model as a gift. My family was really pulling for another red Beetle.
A little more than a decade after the new Beetle’s release, VW designers sort of smushed the old new Beetle to create the new-new Beetle and I kind of liked the result. It was much less cute, almost sullen now. Upsized to the PQ35 (A5) platform, just like my Jetta, interior accommodations were slightly improved and they fixed that GM dustbuster minivan style windshield issue. This design seemed to better capture the original Beetle look, without actually trying to copy it and I think they did a good job of it. The dash was a nice piece of work, hinting at the original while providing a functional layout for all of the modern controls and whatnot. The leather wrapped, flat bottom wheel provided nice driver feedback and looked way cool with the red trim. Over on the right was one small concession to silliness, the upper glove box lid with the recessed handle. Supposedly this mimicked the old Beetle glove box, but I remember mine as having just a simple round knob.
Here’s that rear seat issue, 2 chairs were all you got. But I had a hatchback again and my wife approved. She really didn’t like cars with trunks. As you can see here though, with that steeply sloped rear window, narrow opening, and seats that didn’t fold flat; this wasn’t a great cargo hauler.
Outside, they used a funky two part wheel cover consisting of an outer turbine thing with a small diameter chrome hub cap. You could remove that outer turbine thingy and retain just the hub cap, giving you a kind of old Beetle look. You could also order up chrome trim rings if you wanted to dress it up just a bit.
Underneath the wheel covers, the wheels were slotted, just like those old Beetle wheels. Other than the wheels and the chrome strip meant to mimic the line of the running boards on the original, VW didn’t do much with the exterior aside from those rounded fenders.
They didn’t even try with the taillights. In trying less hard to look like the old Beetle, I think VW actually did a better job of evoking it than they did with the new Beetle. In the US, the base engine was the 1.8 L turbo making 170 HP, replacing the previously offered 2.5 L. The base transmission was a 5 speed manual or you could get the 6 speed Tiptronic auto. Upgrading to the 2.0 L turbo or the TDI would get you a 6 speed manual or you could upgrade that to the DSG 6 speed auto. While making the same power as the previous 2.5 L, power peaked a bit sooner with the 1.8 and efficiency was somewhat improved. The Beetle did feel just a little more responsive than my Jetta, but it might just have been the red paint.
I ended up buying a 2014 lease return in 2016 with about 20,000 miles on it. Interior was black vinyl of decent quality. Mine had the stubby little outward opening sun roof they fitted to these things along with the blacked out roof, giving the impression that it was one of those panoramic jobs. I got the 1.8 L turbo with 5 speed manual, well suited for my kind of driving. The car was okay fun to drive, not unlike my Jetta which is no surprise, they shared a lot in common. Like my Jetta, I had no issues at all with this car.
But as I’m getting close to finishing this COAL series, I find myself stumped about what to say about these newer cars. There just isn’t much to write about. Nothing seems to break and if it does, I’m not likely to be able to repair it. And I find fewer people interested in cars, so they aren’t much of a conversation starter anymore, at least among my crowd. Mostly my new-new red Beetle puttered around town, no real road trips of any significance. We ended up trading this AND our Volvo C30 for a new Ford C-Max in 2018. It was a hard decision to let it go, but we decided if we were going to have just one car it should have more than two doors.
For me, retro worked better when it imitated a style, a feel rather than one specific old car (VW Beetle, Ford Thunderbird, Mini, the two Chevrolets).
In the late 60’s, some friends with a Type 3 (fastback) gave my parents, who drove big cars, the 1965 book of VW beetle cartoons called “Think Small.” We kids enjoyed it, but they continued to buy big cars.
I had an identical Beetle as a rental about 5 years ago (though I think mine had a bit more of an orange tint to it). It was the first time I’d ever driven a Beetle (new or old) and it was a fun little car for a weekend. I can’t imagine having more than two people aboard, though. For my wife and I it would be fine, but that’s about it. As far as buying one, I would choose a car with more trunk space and room for the occasional extra passengers. If we ever bought a VW it would be either a Jetta or a Tiguan.
Nostalgia doesn’t bring back the past. I too have received the gift of a model
VW 1300 in forest green to match my first car. I also think about our family’s firs car (Renault 4 TL). It is impossible to recreate the feeling because the historical context has changed so much. That is the reason why I am not interested in retro styling. The cuteness of some of these does not get lost on me. The FIAT 500 ranks on top on the cuteness chart.
I enjoyed reading this COAL and it confirms my attitude to retro styling.
I’m looking forward to reading your COAL on your Ford C-Max. I came very very close to buying one when they first came out.
I agree that the refreshed version of this car got quite a few touches right that the original missed on. I am not much of a red car guy, but this one looks very good in that color.
This has been a fun series.
As of five years ago I’m down to one car too. I always had a pickup around in addition to a car. The pickup’s main duty was occasional landlord stuff but it also provided backup in case the car went down. Now I’m down to a minivan which can do 75% of the pickup’s job and if it breaks down Uber and Lyft and four local bus lines within a few blocks of my house provide backup. It was a paradigm shift and took some getting used to.
drove the dune convertible version of this for a couple of weeks and it was so much fun especially with the top down. problem was there are so many electronic gadgets an doodads with chimes going off unexpectedly and trying to figure out how to get them to stop was a futile effort.
I agree with your comment that people don’t talk about cars very much. They’re just too much alike. Since the designs have morphed into a common truck, big SUV, crossover styling concept (just look down the parking lot at the store and see if you can count how many of each different brand there are), the focus seems to have shifted to how much you can tow or how far you can jump them off road. In many cases, like the Dodge Journey, the styling didn’t change one bit over its lifetime. Where’s the descendants of Harley Earl when you need them?
Your CMax review should be interesting. I have a 2015 Energi and still have mixed emotions about it.
At 74 years old, I restored a 1971 Super Beetle. Took about a year and several thousand dollars in shitty Chinese knock off parts (try finding an OEM ignition switch for one of these) and paint work. The body was solid and no pan replacement was necessary, or other rust work.
When done, the Beetle was very nice and drove like the several I had over 60 years of driving. But after a few runs out in heavy and fast moving Texas Big Truck traffic, I decided my 75 years on this planet was safer in a newer car, so I sold it for what I had in it (lucky).
Yep, the old days are just that….old.
Good luck with the newer red Beetle. They are safer and a good solid daily driver choice.
I’ll be the dissenter here and say that I preferred the original New Beetle. It was a show car brought to life, whereas the revamp was a market-researched thing meant to assuage insecure males (no offense meant to you, Rich!). It was less special than the original, and more akin to the two-door Golf that it was under the skin.
My NB, which I miss, was a little more butch than most due to a diesel engine and my quirky modifications. It was also entirely reliable, unusually.
I later got an NA Miata and I now drive a powder blue colored Fiat 500 1957 Edition, so I guess projecting masculinity isn’t high on my list of concerns.
Maybe this has been pointed out in prior CC articles, but the “chick car” thing never overwhelmingly effected sales of the first NB but VW’s redesign did at least initially bring buyer gender balance closer to 50/50 according to the numbers in this 2014 Globe and Mail article:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/commuting/volkswagen-beetle-finally-ditches-its-chick-car-label/article17379729/
Perhaps they should have called it the SuperDuper Beetle or something like that. I too quite liked this version, although the roofline is a little more squashed than it needs to be. The wheels are simply brilliant though, a perfect update once the little turbine ring things are removed.
All Beetles are fun to see out and about, especially in bright colors, no matter the age, generation, or version. Like early Miatas, Beetles are “happy cars” and look like it.
I have entertained the idea of purchasing a Bug of this generation for some time.
Got as far as test driving two off-lease 2016 Denim package Bugs in 2019. Disappointed, as the noise and buffeting with the top down at anything like 40-45 was horrendous, like someone in the back seat beating me in the head with a pillow. I had looked in the trunks of both cars to see if they had the optional wind deflector, but neither had it.
Not willing to take a dive on the car, in the hopes that purchasing the deflector (iirc about $450) would resolve the buffeting, I decided to settle for a moonroof, as small as it is in the Bug.
Last spring the VW dealer in Ann Arbor had a 2013 Fender package Bug, with the moonroof, on offer. I took a look see when I had my wagon in for an oil change. Noticed the headliner was coming loose near both back corners of the moonroof. I don’t know if it was age, or a leaking moonroof, and didn’t feel like paying to find out, so that inquiry came to an end.
How small is that moonroof? A local dealer brings some cars to the Ypsilanti VW show each year. A few years ago, I snapped this pic of how little of that roof actually opens up,
Well, I don’t know about that. Isn’t that why most of us are here?
I do get your point though. I think that nowadays there are fewer people interested in talking about the same things, but fortunately there are more places where fewer people can talk about more things. Which I guess is at best progress, at worst 6 of one half-dozen of another.
Rich, I agree with you and Jeff, there are fewer people willing to discuss cars, not like the days gone by, where you would debate the relative merits of an Olds vs. a Buick or a Dodge vs. a Ford. You have to look hard see see the name of many cars you see, and they mostly have the same appearance, common to all SUVs, CUVs, or sedans. Pickup trucks too. Brand loyalty is gone, one day your Ford man buddy goes out and gets a Kia, the next day your Chev pal gets a Hondoyota. The only time topics get interesting is if someone talks about ever winning the lottery, and getting a 1969 Charger/Camaro/Firebird/Mustang. Then you can reminisce about engines, transmissions, great memories of going to the drive-in, going out for burgers, and road trips. Try talking car talk with my millennial sons? The conversation won’t go beyond what it cost and what the warranty was.
That’s what makes CC such a great forum to share common interests.
And I find fewer people interested in cars, so they aren’t much of a conversation starter anymore, at least among my crowd.
I work in a hospital with doctors. They love to talk about their expensive vehicles. Currently the Tesla is the ‘it’ vehicle for many of them.
I have always been a g.m.c.pickuptruck man ,owning several model years consecutively . In 2005 my teenage son came home from a car show, and told there is only one car for you, a New Beatle so I ought a 03 as new in 05 4cyl. 5 speed se trimline,it became damaged in a storm. I traded it another new truck.But in 2018 I found a 2008 S convertible with 73,000 miles on itfor $4000.00 I-5 2.5 5-speed seafoam green. I will tell you that I will take this car to my grave I absolutely love it.
I never owned an aircooled VW but my Father had a ’59 which ended up being totalled in front of our home by a teenager who lived at the end of our street…I liked it but it was already a rustbucket by 1968, the battery had rusted under the rear seat and dropped onto the ground, suspended by battery cables. My Father drove VWs when he was in the Army in Germany (also REO trucks, but no Jeeps) after WWII, but after he started regularly going on business trips to Corbeil Essonnes about that time he became a bit of a francophile, and replaced the Beetle with a new ’68 Renault 10.
If I was going for nostalgia, for me I’d like another Scirocco (1st generation please) but as I’m 40 years older than when I bought my ’78, I realize I’m no longer a scrambler, and a Golf is a better idea especially when I carry my Mother (who stopped driving earlier this year). However, I’m in denial in that I really like having a manual transmission as in my current ’00 Golf, but since nobody in my family drives manual my next car should be an automatic, which I don’t want, so I keep procrastinating buying it, 21 years is my record so far…I’m a hatchback fan so a Golf would be good, but they’re discontinuing them, I guess I could get a GTi, but I had an ’86, and again, it was good for me 35 years ago, but I’m no longer looking for tight suspension, rather I’m into comfort instead…and cloth seats, not into the vinyl they have on the non-base versions.