I'm not saying a straight man can't drive a non-retro Volkswagen Beetle, I'm just saying I don't know any who do. The Associated Press headline writers, inadvertently, do seem to be saying this.

In a little over a decade Volkswagen saw its Beetle transform from Adolf Hitler's dream of the "people's car" to the foulest of all marketing slurs — a "chick car." Does the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle finally provide a more manly solution? We drove it today to find out.

The 2012 Volkswagen Beetle debuted earlier today, but Ze Germans, with their typical Teutonic efficiency, have already set their configurator live on their German site. Can you top Toffeebraun Metallic mit Zoll 'Circle' wheels? Didn't think so.

After more than a decade of production, the New Beetle's grown mighty stale and, more importantly — effeminate. The all-new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle ditches the flowers for more power, bringing design and engineering back into this century with a masculine look decidedly planted in the last one.

These are the very first spy photos of the upcoming designed-for-America 2012 Volkswagen Beetle. It's a little less bubbly, a little less feminine and a lot more like the classic Beetles of old than we ever expected. Very interesting. [Edmunds]