The next Volkswagen New Beetle will have more “mature” styling, reports Automotive News [sub], in news that will come as a sad shock to the MILF, openly homosexual and high-school-gum-snapping communities. “The future New Beetle should look less toyish and become a much more mature product,” glowers Walter de’ Silva, VW’s chief of design to AN. Expect VW to eliminate the vast tundra between A-pillar and steering wheel when the new model drops in 2012. The current long-running New Beetle was much criticized for offering less interior room at a higher price than its Golf platform donor. But Vee-Dub has to be careful here. Though the outgoing model could easily be more practical, the New Beetle has always been bought for “cute value,” and if the Germans sober it up too much it could lose its appeal vis-a-vis the Golf. After all, wasn’t reviving the Rabbit name and plaid GTI seats a way to infuse the Golf with boomer retro appeal (apparently the cornerstone of VW’s brand appeal)? Against that backdrop, shouldn’t the Beetle become even more “toy-like” to stand out? Then again, maybe I’m just bitter that there almost certainly won’t be a rear-engined, VW up!-based baby Beetle. And while we’re speculating on retro variants, could VW please build a seven-passenger, retro-styled, Microbus on the Golf Plus platform? That new Tennessee plant would be a great place to build it…
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Mature looks a lot like a Simpson’s character with lemon rind in their mouth. Odd, at best.
They weren’t looking for me as a buyer, anyway.
It looks like its sticking its tounge out at me, the opposite of ‘mature’ i think.
This face-lift is mature in the same way the US auto market is “mature.” As in going downhill fast.
That front bumper is just bad. They tried to make it look like their “up!” concepts, but, man, did it fail.
Yuck Yuck Yuck.
I think that this is one of those cars that VW should let die.
There’s a name for a VW Beetle that has had its “cute” suctioned off. It’s “Golf.” So why would VW offer two competing non-cute vehicles in the same class? VW should either up the cute quotient or ditch the entire thing.
I think VW should stop building the Beetle. It had a good run, but it’s been around for 10 years now as it is without any major changes. VW now only offers it with the crappy 2.5 litre engine, so there’s no 1.8T or 2.0T or even TDI to choose from. The Beetle has outlived its cuteness, and with only one mediocre engine choice there’s no good reason to buy one now. Instead they should focus on the Golf VI.
I lost interest in the NB when they stopped putting the 20v 1.8T engine in the U.S. variant. That was the only reason I every got one in the first place. A perfect little sleeper of a hotrod.
If VW is going to take away the unique aspect of the cars styling, continue to have high priced repairs and poor reliability then I seem them going the way of the Detroit 2.8. At least on this side of the pond.
Unless the new Scirocco makes it state side with its… “The 1.4-litre TSI 160 PS engine accelerates the Scirocco from 0 to 62 mph in just 8.0 seconds while returning 42.8 mpg (combined)” I’m done with V-Dubs.
Source:
http://www.motorcities.com/contents/08/2009-Volkswagen-Scirocco-New-Engines-and-Trim-now-Available_08J2C061412261.html
I don’t think the yellow bug in the picture is the upcoming model.
+1 for more cuteness, otherwise what’s the point? I don’t want a macho Beetle.
The major contributor to “cute” in the existing New Beetle is the short-hood/forward A-pillar design. Take that away and it’s all over. I didn’t really realize that until I saw the photo above.
If produced with the pictured front bumper, how long before we see them running around with jack-o-lantern teeth painted in?
The irony of the impractical new beetle is that the raison d’etre of the Real (old) Beetle was practicality.
I agree with Edward that VeeDub should build the New Microbus. That would make up for the horrific Routan with its exceptionally irritating ads.
The irony of the impractical new beetle is that the raison d’etre of the Real (old) Beetle was practicality.
Nah, the Beetle’s raison d’etra was cheapness. The Mini was the practical one.
Signed,
-An avowed Mini snob.
One of my friends is a rather tall fellow, and has difficulty fitting in most vehicles. He actually finds that he fits better in a New Beetle than in a Hummer H2, which is impressive. And he’s loving his TDI’s fuel economy too.
Who decided the beetle needed a matching brush guard?
The front bumper thing is retarded. It’s like a pimply-faced bracey teenager from gradeschool.
Seriously, the Beetle design is one of the few cars that should not change. They successfuly modernized the design with the the New Beetle. I owned one for a short time and loved it for what it was. A Beetle. You can’t do much to the design or it isn’t a Beetle anymore.
The interior, however, needs to get completely overhauled.
I agree with turbobeetle, they really need to bring the damn Scirocco over to the states.
How can you make a Beetle that doesn’t look like a Beetle?
The answer is you can’t.
It’s the same as making a Jeep that looks nothing like a Jeep.
If the new New Beetle gets 28 mpg overall (24 city/33 hwy) I’d consider it. I’ve always liked the Beetle, and even this one looks kinda cute. I would take off the “lemon wedge” fender thing though.
BTW, they say there’ll be a pickup variant of this thing too:
http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/news/vw/will-the-us-get-a-beetle-based-pickup.html
Why don’t they just build the pickup version off the Rabbit like they did back in the eighties? Do they want a gay pickup or what?
Changing the Beetle is change for change’s sake. It’s like the new MINI. ’02 to ’06 MINI looked perfect. Then they went ahead and made some changes to the face and other minor things, and I just have no love for this generation. The new new MINI looks like a Chinese copy of the old new MINI. ;)
I think that stupid front bumper/grill thing might be VW’s new corporate look. Check out the front of the Up on another TTAC post.
It looks mildly stupid on the Up, and completely stupid on the NB. I hate that last big chrome yawn VW and Audi have used for the last 5 years, so much so I passed on buying an Audi last spring. Looks like I wont be a VW customer anytime soon if this is the way they are going.
BTW, this is really going to be ugly on the Passat!!
MILFmoblie?
God, is this car still around? Totally irrelevant.
This isn’t really a bad car, at least not in the traditional sense. It’s not terribly practical, which is where it falls down next to, say, the PT Cruiser. You have to compromise a lot for that roofline, and it makes the car a hard sell beyond the fickle image buyers it currently attracts.
It helps if you think of the Beetle as a brand and not a car, and as such Trishield has it right: It’s the same as making a Jeep that looks nothing like a Jeep. But you can stretch the Jeep form to several bodytypes; the Cherokee and and Wrangler are both “Jeeps”, despite being very different in form. In the same way, you could chop and drop the roof (the Ragster concept), stretch the wheelbase and pull the D-pillar rearwards for a wagon-form, add suicide doors and/or squish it and make a sportier coupe.
I draw the line at a lifted Beetle crossover, but VW might not.
Some powerplant variations might help, too. The Beetle demographics would suit a hybrid and might allow a diesel, but VW has steadily pulled money out of this car.
Well, the folks at Volks lost their understanding of the Beetle long time ago.They are happy to be taken seriously now by building real cars.They can’t revert back to the original idea of a simple but practical automobile-that would be a contradiction within their huge engineering departement.Imagine a simple,humble and honest car would emerge out of the VW garage, what would all those Diplom Engineers and Doctors do all day?
Spend the next 25 years playing with the size of the tail-lamps and rear window?
Image someone would take the 911 and throw the engine in the front-anyone thinks that would be a seeling point?
De Silva playing with the shape of the Bug equals laughable results.Give it back to Porsche and you will see what they will make out of it.
Chances of a rear-engined UP-based Beetle became zero when the UP developement program changed to FWD some months ago.
If you think it’s a good idea to get away from cute, then just do a limited Baja edition. The NB is supposed to be cute. Have they looked at who they are selling to. Everytime I think I might give VW another chance they go ahead and confirm that they have their heads so far up their asses. Fail.
I think that the Beetle can still be an important brand for VW, at least here in the U.S. The question is how to update it. For example, the Beetle could plausibly be stretched a bit into a Prius competitor of sorts — a source of quirky, vaguely nostalgic (but not necessarily fully retro), practical and “green” vehicles.
That would, of course, result in a more “mature” product line than what is currently offered. The New Beetle is essentially a happy-faced styling exercise. Or, to be more specific, it’s a personal coupe. The design reminds me more of an AMC Pacer (a fancied up Gremlin) than the original Beetle. Indeed, even the Pacer had more substantive engineering flourishes than the New Beetle. No wonder sales declined after the styling stopped being fresh — there is no other reason to buy the car. That’s quite the opposite from the original.
The essential greatness of the original Beetle wasn’t just its price, size and simplicity, but also that VW defied the standard way that Detroit and the imports did business. Perhaps the most obvious example was that VW had the audacity to proudly sell a 30-year-old design without annual styling changes. All of the emphasis was on practical improvements. In addition, during an era when Detroit products were put together rather sloppily, VW’s quality of manufacture was a refreshing change of pace.
VW also separated itself from most of its import competition (at least until the late 60s) by building a dealer network that offered easily available parts and service. This proved to be a huge advantage in the late 50s and early 60s, when many imports had embarrassingly flimsy dealer networks.
A contemporary Beetle could reclaim some of VW’s innovative spirit by translating the bug shape into highly aerodynamic forms that maintain good packaging and versatility. Add in a light-weight aluminum body? Emphasize diesel and hybrid powerplants? Offer unusual features such as less toxic interior materials and greater recycleability of the entire vehicle? No-dicker sticker a la Scion?
Not that VW will go this route. The company’s management seems more fixated on conquering premium-priced markets.
I think that the Beetle can still be an important brand for VW, at least here in the U.S. The question is how to update it. For example, the Beetle could plausibly be stretched a bit into a Prius competitor of sorts — a source of quirky, vaguely nostalgic (but not necessarily fully retro), practical and “green” vehicles.
If they built a New Beetle hybrid and kept the price around $22K it would sell fantastically. It would fit the Beetle’s image perfectly, and it would give wannabe Prius buyers the choice of a vehicle that wasn’t ugly.
Why do companies have to continually go upmarket? I guess they’re preparing for days when there’s no middle class to sell to?