Jalopnik: Beetle

2010 VW Beetle More "Manly" In Speculative Rendering

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:40:00 EDT

It seems that people at Volkswagen are planning to bring back the Beetle, again, and not just for commercials. AutoExpress has learned that the new new Beetle is planned for 2010 and, unlike the previous generation, this one isn't going to be quite so feminine. Volkswagen is going to do things slightly differently in order to compete with the likes of the new Mini and the new Fiat 500.

The new Beetle, as proposed, should get a stronger look with cleaner lines and a lower, tougher roofline. Built on the new Golf platform, the refined Beetle should also offer more space for passengers and their macho gear. VW hopes it can go from frau to wow with this new design and not have it be relegated to the ride of choice for University of Tennessee sorority girls. [Source/Rendering: AutoExpress]

VW Beetle Nailed For 115 MPH Ticket, Year Not Given

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:40:00 EDT

How can the news outlets trumpeting this as a story not include the year of this VW Beetle ticketed for 115 MPH on Colorado's I-25 freeway? This is central to the story here because a '49 split window has a much lower chance hitting triple digits than a 2006 sporting a fake daisy in the vase and an 'I heart Puppies' bumper sticker. If a vintage Bug is hitting 115 MPH on even a downhill stretch of highway, that's HUGE news, ticket be damned. If it's a new one though, who cares? Is it too much to ask for precision from the mainstream media? [Channel 7 News]

The Tri-Magnum Looks Strange, Gets 50 MPG

Ben Wojdyla — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:20:00 EDT

This Tri-Magnum built around a Kawasaki KZ900 engine and rear suspension (go big green!), a VW Beetle front suspension, and more fiberglass than you can shake a stick at. Strange looking, yes, but 50 MPG ain't bad on a car with a fold-forward canopy top. This baby's one of the real gems you'll find at the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise. Sure, there's tens of thousands of muscle cars and classics but it's the plain ol' bizarre and fascinating crap that makes this event the greatest automotive spectacle in the world.

Follow the fun at our Woodward Dream Cruise tag for all of our coverage of the 2008 Woodward Dream Cruise, the largest one-day automotive event in the world!

The Ten Crappiest Cars Of The 2008 Monterey Auctions

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

The Pebble Beach Concours is always a spectacle of the well-heeled celebrating the well-known in the fancy-pants car show circuit. To go along with the car show wine is the cheese, also known as the Monterey Auctions, put on every year by the house of RM Auctions. There are always hit lists of the most desirable and historical cars crossing the blocks for huge sums of money; to wit, Edmunds Inside Line just did their "10 Best Cars at the 2008 Monterey Auctions" piece today. But we tire of such endeavors. That's why we dug around and found out what's at the bottom of the list. Below the fold: The ten crappiest cars at the 2008 Monterey Auctions.

1) 1909 Peerless Model 19 Touring Car

Expected haul - $350,000-$450,000 Cough, cough, sputter! WHAT! You want how much for a clapped-out Clampit-mobile? Sure, Peerless cars have their place in history, but anything that two-boxes harder than a Volvo 240 just ain't worth that kind of scratch in our opinion. Let's say you buy it, dump a bunch of cash in it, and now its gorgeous. Congrats, you now have a tall golf cart.

2) 1941 Willys Coupe Street Rod

Expected haul - $100,000-$140,000 We hate to say it, but we're so over the whole Willys hot rod thing. They've been done to death and no amount of flame paint job, big rear wing and monster engine is going to get us to part with that kind of cash.

3) 1951 Nash Rambler Custom Landau "Roll-Top" Convertible

Expected haul - $40,000-$80,000 Take the original quality, reliability, and road manners of a Nash Rambler, chop the top off and create a Custom Landau "Roll-Top" Convertible, three synonymous terms for 'hole in the roof', and you've got a rattly mess we'd rather pass on. Sure, Ramblers are sort of the forgotten great American classics, but we're prefer one with a nice rust patina, Indian blanket upholstery and a stinky dog in the passenger seat.

4) 1967 Porsche 912 Soft Window Targa

Expected haul - $50,000-$70,000 All the quality of a Porsche, none of the looks. That was probably one of the lines shot down in the marketing meetings for this car. The 912 was always sort of a bridge car, neither 356 nor 911, and parts for the beast are as easy to find as a cold beer in Stuttgart. We'll take a look at the cars on either side of the 912 thank you.

5) 1957 Volkswagen Beetle

Expected haul - $8,000-$12,000 It's a Beetle, rubbing shoulders with LaSalle and Talbot Lago. It's about as out of place in this auction as a teal donk at the Gumball 3000. Oh, don't get us wrong here, it's a very nice Beetle, but considering its peers, the sale of this puppy would have been better planned elsewhere.

6) 1974 Chevrolet Camaro IROC Race Car

Expected haul - $100,000-$135,000 Forget the name on the side of this IROC Camaro, and think about owning a 1974 IROC Camaro. Can you feel the little hairs on the back of your neck growing at an incredible rate? So can we. Yeah, Bobby Unser drove it. That's nice, but you'd have to be a hardcore racing wacko to want to pony up this kind of dough for a 1974 Camaro.

7) 1974 De Tomaso Pantera L

Expected haul - $125,000-$150,000 We've always liked the faux-exoticness of the Pantera. It's a car with essentially as much refinement as a ten pound sledge hammer, and yet it's often compared in performance with Ferraris of the day. It's the shade-tree mechanic's supercar, with a 351 Cleveland Ford in the middle. It's an easy car to modify, but still, if that's what you're after, they can be had for a whole lot less than the asking price here.

8) 1958 GMC Series 101 Pickup

Expected haul - $75,000-$125,000 $75,000-plus for a pickup truck? Um, no. Go to your local Auto Trader, flip to the "Collectibles and Classics" section, buy a GMC Series 101, paint it teal, save $60,000 or more and be just as happy with the truck.

9) 1966 Amphicar 770

Expected haul - $40,000-$60,000 Both car and boat, and a master of neither discipline, the Amphicar is one of those much-loved but useless cars of yore. We're betting it heard the phrase "An answer to the question nobody asked" well before it was ever leveled against the likes of the Chevy Avalanche

10) 1959 Fiat Jolly 600

Expected haul - $50,000-$60,000 What has wicker seats, no roof, 21.5 horsepower and costs $50,000? Why, a Fiat Jolly of course. This micro machine is perhaps the only car more useless than a Peel Trident — hey, that's at least got a roof and the ability to fry eggs on your head at high noon.

So there you have it, our picks for the crappiest cars up for sale at this year's 2008 Monterey Auctions. We know some of you will think we're heretics for picking a few of these, but by and large these rides just don't cut the mustard when masterpieces like the 1938 Bugatti 57SC Atalante are on the same block. So what do you think? What's the crappiest car of this years auctions? Feel free to fight it out in the space below.

Post publish commentary: Since some of you seem to have checked your sense of humor at the door and consider everything a serious offense to the senses now, I'll go out of my way to make it clear the term "Crappy" is being used in the jocular sense. Perhaps I didn't lay it on thick enough, but the main beef is with the culture of auctioneering driving the prices up on relatively normal cars. I don't think these are crappy, but the multi-million-dollar classic car gold rush is forcing the prices up and the prestige down on otherwise neat, but normal cars.

South Africa: Land Of Beetles

Murilee Martin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT

The South African car-buying public apparently demands very high production values for its ads for German vehicles, judging from this lengthy Volkswagen ad and a similarly elaborate Opel ad. From its sale to a wholesome suburban couple in 1959 to a redemptive Sawzall convertible-izing in the post-apartheid era, we follow the heartwarming saga of a South African VW Type 1.

New Lego Beetle Is Not Lego New Beetle

Ray Wert — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:20:00 EDT

(Hat tip to Jeffrey!) [Lego]

1969 Volkswagen Beetle

Murilee Martin — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EDT

The old air-cooled Beetles have rusted to nothingness in much of the world, but they're still quite common in Alameda. So common, in fact, that I tend to think of them as normal "background cars" and have to remind myself to shoot one for this series when too many Beetle-free weeks go by. Since it's been almost three months since the last Beetle down on the Alameda street, we're due.

Like so many daily-driven beater Beetles, this one got hit and had some replacement body parts installed... then never painted. Why bother when it will just get hit again? That's thinking long-term.

You used to see a lot more Beetles with spacers on the engine lid, to improve cooling. There's no factory temperature gauge or idiot light in these cars, so generally your first warning that terrible overheating is taking place involves frying a valve or piston in the #3 cylinder (the one with airflow blocked by the oil cooler). Remember those big RVEECO external oil coolers?

With 53 rampaging horsepower, the '69 was one of the more powerful Type 1s. You could buy a new '69 Beetle for $1,799. No automobile made in Detroit (or Kenosha) could even come close to that price; a 1969 AMC Rambler listed at $1,998, and the '69 Ford Maverick sold for three bucks less. A new '69 Datsun 510 was a little closer, at $1,896. The King of Cheap in 1969, however, was the Fiat 850 sedan, with a $1,466 price tag. Hey, it's Friday- let's have a DOTS Of The Week poll! Vote for the street-parked Alameda vehicle you liked the best; I'm predicting a Monte Carlo-M6 battle here, but perhaps the Mitsubishi van will get enough weirdness points to take the win.

DOTS 1-200 • DOTS 201-250

PCH, Power-To-Weight Edition: V8 Peugeot 403 or Blown Beetle?

Murilee Martin — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:20:00 EDT

The Dirtbag XJ-S pounded the Sepia 1940 Mopars like a Canadian carny pounding a case of Moosehead in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity poll, which was about what we expected. After all, a V12 Jaguar can beat most any PCH contender, up to (and perhaps including) a Citröen. We'll test that hypothesis later, but today we're going to try our hand at Hell Projects featuring lightweight vehicles with hoon-centric engine power. You see, you need to consider the possibility- however remote- that you might one day crawl out of the crater of boiling sulfur in your garage and actually finish a project. At that point, the hell must continue, as you careen out onto the public roads in a barely controllable deathtrap pawing and snorting at the ravaged pavement with ten times the horsepower its designers intended.

Any Peugeot 403 stands on its own as a Hell Project, but what do you get when you restore one? You get 65 horsepower, that's what! Clearly, some added motivation is needed here, and what better choice than the good ol' small-block Chevy? Can you fit one in a 403? Yes, indeed- just ask the guy who's already done most of the work on this 1961 Peugeot 403, which is already set up for Chevy power. Hell, The General himself will sell you a brand-new crate motor today! Then all you'll need to do... hey, hold on- did we say the seller has already done most of the work? Perhaps we were a bit hasty there, but lots of stuff has been done. You get front and rear suspension, a narrowed Ford 9-inch rear, and "tons of parts in the car, more than I can list." In a break from PCH tradition, we've got a seller who appears to know what he's doing in the garage, which means you'll be in for dozens instead of hundreds of sanity-puncturing surprises as you attempt to finish the job.

Small-block Peugeots are fine and all, but all the weight is on the front of the car instead of over the drive wheels. Not good! That's why the real Project Hell Hoon goes for an air-cooled VW, for a virtually weightless car that provides tons of exciting oversteering fun. Like, say, what you'd get with this 1974 Volkswagen Beetle with supercharged 2110cc engine, on sale now with an asking price of $3,500. I've owned a few ~~stupidly overpowered~~ performance-upgraded Beetles, and by some miracle I'm still here to tell you that the handling and braking characteristics of such a vehicle are, uh, interesting. Yes, that's the word I was looking for! So, you've got a car that weighed 1,831 pounds new, hack 400 pounds of unnecessary crap out of it, and then you replace the 46-horsepower 1600 with a howling supercharged unit belting out four or five times as much power (when it's not burning valves or blowing cylinder heads completely off the vehicle, that is). Was the engine built right? What kind of fuel-delivery system (if any) do you get? Is your life insurance paid up?

Berwyn Car Spindle Up For Sale!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT

We were all quite sad when we learned that the Cermak Plaza Shopping Center overlords had decided to remove the legendary Berwyn Car Spindle from their property. But now the Berwyn Spindle may be relocated... to your front yard! Yes, it's up for sale on eBay, with a starting bid of $50,000 (and a shipping cost of double that, so you'll probably elect to go pick it up yourself. Make the jump for some video of the Spindle. [eBay]

1969 Volkswagen Beetle, Before And After Mishap

Murilee Martin — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Sometimes months can go by between my photographing of a DOTS car and posting those photographs. Today's car is a good example; I shot the original photos last August, but the island is overflowing with air-cooled Beetles and I have a glut of photos of such cars (yes, Beetle fans, I know I should be posting more of them... and I will, promise). But this particular exposed-engine Beetle, which I'm arbitrarily calling a '69 (though it could be from any year during the 68-72 span), got in some sort of messy collision in the meantime and then moved across town. At first, I thought I was looking at a different car, but checking plate numbers told the whole story.

So what we have here is your standard mildly hot-rodded late-60s/early-70s Beetle, with exposed engine but retaining the factory wheels and hubcaps.

This could easily be the original engine, or the 15th, and the displacement could be anything from 1200cc all the way up to a stroked "How much money you got?" mill. My guess is that it's a 1500 or 1600 with a few mild performance upgrades.

Ouch! Looks like a mishap involving the right front corner, maybe a Bug-versus-tree or Bug-versus-parked-car episode. But hey, it's still driving!

First 200 DOTS

Angry Bob Knight Yells At Volkswagen

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:15:00 EDT

Last night a Big XII team won the NCAA National Championship, but it wasn't Bobby Knight's former Texas Tech Red Raiders, who failed to get an invite to either the NCAA Tourney or the NIT. But Bobby Knight did get an invite to reprise his role as an angry, sad man in this VW commercial, which is part of the Das Auto series wherein famous people are interviewed by Max, a 1964 black Beetle that sounds suspiciously like our favorite doctor. Enjoy. [YouTube]

The Ten Strangest Special Edition Cars

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:00:00 EDT

What do Frank Sinatra, Levi's Jeans and Don Knotts have in common? Special edition cars. When a trend gets too popular and a car company gets too desperate, they find ways to merge the two into a steaming pile of car crap — otherwise known as a trendy special edition. We thought we knew them all, but when we asked you about your favorite trendy special edition car we got quite the mix. Below are the ten weirdest responses we received, complete with a poll so you can help us select the strangest special car of them all.

1982 Frank Sinatra Edition Chrysler Imperial
Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca had a friend in Frank Sinatra, and it was hoped that Old Blue Eyes could sing the company's way into the hearts of consumers. Not so much. But Iacocca did thank his friend by releasing the Frank Sinatra Edition Imperial Coupe, which featured a briefcase full of Sinatra tapes and a special silver-blue paint job. Despite the blessing of the former Rat Packer, people weren't biting and the FS edition was dropped, much to the dismay of MechiMike.

1996 Volkswagen Harlequin Golf
We have Maymar to thank for reminding us of about the Harlequin Golfs, which are certainly the most colorful special edition on the list. It was 1996 and it would be another four years before VW released a new Golf. To keep interest in the brand, Volkswagen swapped out the body panels on 264 red, green, blue and yellow Golfs. The result is one of the rarest VW editions ever and, without a doubt, one of the most noticeable. [Photo: Wiki]

1979 Bill Blass Edition Lincoln Mark V
Take clothing designer Bill Blass' wearable designs and combine them with the Lincoln land yachts of the 1970's and you get the Bill Blass Edition Lincoln Mark V. A classic example of the clothing design/car crossover product tie-in, this Lincoln features the classic two-tone Bill Blass paint scheme as well as a Cartier Quartz electronic clock and luxo-reclining seats. Classy. The price of all that class? An average of 7.0 mpg, making it one of the biggest guzzlers of all time. Still, Isetta would take one in a heartbeat. [Source: Significant Cars]

2000 Snoopy Edition Mitsubishi Pajero Mini
The Japanese are often in the lead when it comes to automobile trends, so don't be surprised to see a Peppermint Patty Dodge Durango as a follow up to the Mitsubishi Pajero Snoopy Edition that Tonyola located for us. The vehicle is festooned in and out with drawings of snoopy as the flying ace, including on the wheel hub covers, spare tire compartment, speedometer, tachometer, pillars and door trim. There's also an autograph by Charles Schultz on the outside of the little SUV. We're not sure how much Schultz made for this, but it's not enough.

1972 Levi's Edition AMC Gremlin
As if the AMC Gremlin wasn't already one of the coolest cars ever, the company offered a special Levi's edition in the early 1970's to take advantage of those "jeans things" everyone seemed to be wearing. The interior featured denim-covered seats front and back with copper rivets instead or buttons. Though the look was unique, we have to imagine those copper rivets probably left burn marks on unsuspecting passengers on hot days. The company tried to follow the success of this model with an acid-washed AMC Eagle in the 1970's with disastrous results. [Hemmings]

1995-1997 Orvis Edition Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee had a rough time trying to keep up with the more luxurious Ford Explorer and it's ubiquitous Eddie Bauer editions. To compete, Jeep tapped rugged outfitter and rod-maker Orvis. Though JSmith53 may argue that this Grand Cherokee offered better performance than the Explorer with similar luxury touches, the Orvis edition's color scheme was probably a deal-breaker for a lot of people. Though produced for three years, the gold, green and red of the Jeeps lost out to the easier-on-the-eye beige and green Fords. [Source: Jeep Orvis]

1979 Cadillac Seville by Gucci
Oh daddy, what Elhigh wouldn't do for a Gucci Caddy. Taking the automaker/designer to its ultimate extreme, Cadillac dealers teamed with Gucci to create the most luxurious 1979 Seville ever. The custom "double G" gold Gucci hood ornament makes this car easily recognizable as something special. And what's hinted at on the outside, is beaten to within an inch of its life on the inside. Gucci logos, Gucci cloth and a matching set of five Gucci bags let other Seville owners know that you are too chic to be trifled with. [Source: Boompa]

1970's Champagne Edition Beetles
When you think of the VW Beetle you don't necessarily think of bubbly, but Volkswagen clearly realized there was a group of affluent would-be owners waiting for a luxury edition Beetle. These "Champagne" editions came with a special metallic paint, Blaupunkt AM/FM speakers, a Quartz Clock (a must for the 1970's) and burled elm dash. Now the best StairCar can do is a little dinky plastic flowerpot. [Source: SeBeetles.com]

Oleg Cassini AMC Matador
If you're good enough to design over 300 outfits for Jackie O, you're good enough to design your own AMC Matador. Drawing from the same geometric shapes and rich fabrics that made up the first lady's ball gowns, Cassini models included thick carpeting everywhere as well as a number of Cassini medallions. The best touch is the ultraplush seating with copper buttons that would look more at home in Indi's 1970's-era living room than an AMC. With only a few thousand of these versions made, they're among some of the most collectible Matadors. [Concord.edu]

"The Dude" Edition Dodge Truck
As opposed to the relative opulence of the Cassini Matador or Champagne Beetle, the randomly named "The Dude" edition dodge sport trim package is basically a 1970's sweptline Dodge truck with a "paint and tape" package that utilizes mostly striking colors and a "The Dude" logo to move inventory. What makes this specific truck special is the inclusion of Don Knotts in the truck's advertising, for reasons that defy human comprehension. The Dude abides. Credit to both Squablow and Slantstick. [Source: Sweptline.com]

Beware The Bug-Erceptor: Johnny Law's Cutest Cruiser

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:15:00 EDT

While some departments are abandoning the Ford Interceptor in exchange for at least a couple of Dodge Chargers, officials in Blount County, Tennessee have gone a different route. Seized in a DUI case (LiLo?), this 1973 Volkswagen Beetle seemed to be the perfect cruiser. It's got a low operating cost, decent fuel economy and darn if it ain't cute. Wouldn't you want to get tasered by someone driving this?

Most of the parts for the car were taken off of defunct cruisers or are old broken units (the radar guns don't work) so that the the cost of the vehicle was only about $400 to the Sheriff's department. Though the vehicle has been used on a few emergency calls, its primary use is for parades and other public relations events. We'd like to see more of these, if only for the novelty of being able to outrun a cop car in a Chevy Aveo. [Source: LineOfDuty, Photo: Robert Wilson, Knoxville News]

Looking For a 1947 U.S. Army Beetle?

Murilee Martin — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST

Murph sent this in as a possible PCH car, but we think it deserves its own post. You think your '52 split-window Volkswagen Beetle is rare? Ha! How about this super-original 1947 Beetle in Allied Occupation Forces colors, which we first saw when the Loverman photographed it at a swap meet last summer? Yes, nineteen-freakin' forty-seven, when shivering Wolfburgers were still hammering together Beetles in RAF-customized roofless factories. Cable brakes, 25 horsepower, the works. It doesn't run, but what do you want for $28,900? [TheSamba.com]

Volkswagen PC Mod Makes PC More Respectable

Travis Hudson — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 12:00:00 EST

If may not be quite as Hasselhoff-cool as the KITT PC casemod, but If anything can be said about this VW Beetle PC mod, it's that the craftsmanship is absolutely beautiful. Someone took a scale Beetle model and crammed a fully functioning PC inside of it. The front bumper has a slotted laptop-style CD drive, and the rear bumper flips up to unveil the necessary ports for PC operation.

The craftsmanship may be primo, but I would recommend a window tint to at least conceal the PC components. [Newlaunches]

And now, for todays moment of Zen... ...

Travis Hudson — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:00:00 EST

And now, for todays moment of Zen...

...The driver drove 32 miles at 50 mph like that. (Thanks, Brian)

The Cheap Shall Inherit The Earth: Volkswagen Beetle

Murilee Martin — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:20:00 EST

Thanks to a basic design that didn't change much for decade after decade, VW was able to slap ridiculously cheap price tags on their clattery little air-cooled machines. Sure, the heaters never worked and the valves wouldn't stay adjusted, but who cared? Cheap is smart!

Performance Art and the Automobile: Chris Burden Crucifed on Beetle, 1974

Matthew DeBord — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:30:00 EST

Chris Burden has achieved an elder-statesman status in the art world—his latest installation, "Urban Light," graces the plaza of the new Broad Contemporary Museum at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. But back in the day, he was a wildman, a freak, fucking dangerous—nothing less than an art hoon. A performance art pioneer who in 1974 had himself crucified to the back of VW Beetle.

It was late April. The setting was a garage in Venice, CA, at a time when Venice was a funky sunsplashed beachside shithole full of losers and freaks and drunks and stoners and artists. A shirtless Burden—only three years removed from being shot in the arm with an actual bullet ("Shoot"), and less than a year after a self-imposed near-electrocution ("Doorway to Heaven")—lays across the back of the Bug and has his palms nailed to the sheet metal. Ouchie! The car is pushed out of the garage and the engine is run full-out for precisely two minutes. Photos are snapped. Urban legend says Burden is driven around like this, but the story is disputed and besides, there's no way the nails would have held.

The Beetle is lost to time. Burden, on the other hand, is world famous. The performance is labeled "Trans Fixed."

Tomorrow, check back when we tell the tale of Burden's 100mpg auto-bike, created in 1977. This boy had a thing for cars!

Take That, Prius! Here Are Some Extreme Green Cars

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:45:00 EST

These cars are so green they're covered in grass. Well, fake grass, anyhow. Some kind of Astroturf. We're not sure why these people are covering their cars in grass, but it is amusing. Our main questions is, How do they make the turf adhere to the car? It's not like automobiles are the greatest planters in the world. Some of the rides are easy to identify: VW Beetles (surprise, surpirse!), a Citroen 2CV, and a Honda Element. But what about the others? Here's an idea: How about the opposite of Winter Guessing Game for this one? How about Grass Car Guessing Game?

Volkswagen Baja Bug

Murilee Martin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:15:00 EST

Anyone want to take a guess on the year of this thing? The taillights, 4-lug front wheels (rears are using adapters) and what appears to be a swingaxle rear suspension would seem to indicate 1968... but we all know how parts tend to get swapped around on Type 1s, particularly when it's a Baja. Anyway, it's been a while since we've seen an air-cooled VW (unless you count this 914 as a VW), so today will be Beetle Friday.

Alameda was a serious Baja Bug city back in the 70s and 80s; several of my high-school classmates drove them, and I had a Type 3-powered '58 that had been horribly butchered into a cruel parody of a Baja by a previous owner. But now it seems that we're down to just a single example on the whole island (unless there are a few hidden away in garages).

Ah, the old crankshaft degree wheel! And that's the de rigueur Bosch 009 distributor- you can just barely make out the number in the photo.

These things actually do amazingly well off-road... but so do dead-stock Beetles. This one has sacrificed the heater for those dual tailpipes, but the Type 1 heater never worked, anyway.

First 150 DOTS Cars

1972 Beetle: Don't Worry About Corrosion!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:30:00 EST

Yes, we know the joke: if Ted Kennedy had had a Beetle instead of an Olds 88 , Mary Jo Kopechne would be alive today and he'd have been elected president in 1972. Actually, the Beetle would have sunk just as fast as the Olds, because all the rust holes in the floorpan caused by New England weather would have let the water in plenty fast (13 pounds of paint or no). Now, if Ted's Chappaquiddick drive had involved an Amphicar...

VW Unveils Olympics Edition Beetles for Beijing Games

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:15:00 EST

The people's car will be playing an automotive role during the people's games of this summers Beijing Olympics. Volkswagen is the exclusive automotive sponsor of the upcoming smoggy games and New Beetles will be the official shuttle for all manner of Olympic official and Government overseer. What you have here are the winning submissions from Volkswagens Vmagination online Olympic art car design campaign, held in China. Adding these snazzy paint jobs to the long-in-the-tooth bug will make them a bit more visible to the spectators and cameras alike. We think this is a pretty savvy move for VW, since this will probably be the most watched Olympics in quite a while.

1972 Volkswagen Beetle

Murilee Martin — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST

We've seen four of Alameda's air-cooled Beetles so far in this series (a '59, a '64, a '66, and a '69). With the 50s and 60s covered, I figured I should shoot a 70s model. With so many old Beetles still roaming the island, that's no problem at all- the only choice was between a standard Beetle and its Super Beetle sibling; I opted for the former.

The old air-cooled Type 1 engine was nearing the end of its long run in North America by the time this car was built; the smog belching from the clattery opposed-four wasn't going to be easy to reduce.

The '72 Beetles got a 60-horse 1600 engine, which did a fairly decent job of moving the car's light weight. This example is a bit battered, but mostly solid and rust-free, which isn't always the case in California; Beetles like to rust so much that they can even find a way to do so in this dry, road-salt-free climate.

The main difference between the regular Beetle and its Super sibling was the front suspension; the Super got coilover struts, while the regular Beetle had the torsion-bar setup of its ancestors.

First 150 DOTS Cars

Buy an $88,000 VW Beetle, Get the Gold for Free

Travis Hudson — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:00:00 EST

Or maybe it should be buy $88,000 worth of gold and get a 1968 Volkwagen Beetle for free? Regardless, you will be getting the gold with the Beetle or the Beetle with the gold because an 18-karat blend of gold and glass is what this beautiful Beetle is coated in. The monstrosity was shown off at the annual Luxury Show in Bucharest and can actually be purchased &mdash if you are a complete moron with a knack for overpaying for an unnecessary vehicle. [BornRich]

The Haunted Beetle

Wes Siler — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:45:00 EST

Houston based artist William Burge created this spooky VW for the Essen Motor Show. More closely associated with flower power, it's rare to see a '68 Beetle decorated with something as morbid as a gargoyle. [Via BBC News]

Public Transit? Nein! Get a Beetle!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:30:00 EST

You could be getting soaked at a bus stop that's colder than a Stalingrad winter, musing film-noirishly about your crimes and the lack of inner moral compass that led to your current state (not understanding German allows us to put noir interpretations on the protagonist's monologue)... or you could be crammed behind the wheel of a 36-horsepower machine equipped with a flower vase and rust-enhancing floorpans. What's it gonna be?

1969 Volkswagen Beetle

Murilee Martin — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:00:00 EST

Since 78% of you voted pro-Beetle a while back, it's time for us to look at a few of the numerous late-60s/early-70s examples I've photographed on the island. This one doesn't look so different from the '59 Beetle we saw a week ago, but plenty of changes took place under that 30s-style skin during the decade. Most important, the old rollover-friendly swingaxle rear suspension was replaced with a proper IRS unit for '69.

The '69 Beetle came with a 53-horsepower 1500, close to double the power of the engine in the '59, and a 12-volt electrical system had been standard for a few years by that point.

This Bug is pretty rough, but it reminds us of an era in which beater VWs filled the niche in the Cheap-Ass Old Car ecosystem now occupied by the 80s Toyota Corolla. You can still get these things pretty cheap, but the days of $100 daily-driver-ready Bugs have sputtered off into the sunset.

I've owned a few of these cars, and I really liked them (in spite of the sense I had that they were more like lawnmowers than cars). Any engine you can lift unassisted, with cylinders that come right off, makes engine-upgrade hoonage a walk in the park. Which brings up the question: did any air-cooled VW owners actually adjust their valves when they were supposed to? Or was every single one running badly and cranking out more hydrocarbons than 500 Chrysler Newports? These cars were incredibly good at still functioning while running badly.

Jesus is just all right with me. Jesus, he's my friend. He holds up the speaker wires in this Beetle!

First 100 DOTS Cars

1959 Volkswagen Beetle

Murilee Martin — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:00:00 EDT

Because the Germans didn't like to make styling changes for their own sake, we now have another Teutonic machine for which I cannot provide an exact year of manufacture. The door handles indicate that it's pre-1960 (unless, of course, someone has swapped early doors on a later Beetle), and the size of the rear window means it's post-1957. Any VW expert who can tell the difference between a '58 and '59 from these photos, please enlighten us; until that point I'm going to take a 50/50 shot at accuracy and say it's a 1959.

VW didn't put a lot of decoration on these cars, but the Wolfsburg emblem below the trunk release is a real beauty.

You got a 36-horse 1200 in your Beetle for '58 or '59, which was power enough for highway cruising. That doesn't necessarily mean that's what this Beetle has in the back; even if the owner hasn't swapped in some kind of Weber-ized Type 4, after nearly 50 years it's likely that at least a 1600 has found its way into this car.

I've always liked this style of antenna mounting; sure, it looks funny, but busted-off antennas are easy to replace.

The blue tarp in the back indicates that this Beetle isn't exactly watertight during the rainy California winters. Let's hope the floorpan isn't rusty!

First 100 DOTS Cars

VW To Bring Back Beetle?

Wes Siler — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:15:00 EDT

In a leaked document, Volkswagen's plans for a rear-engined, RWD city car based on the up! concept have been unveiled. Measuring 3.5 meters in length, the 3-door version should retail for €8,950 and, in true VW style, will serve as the platform for a number of additional models. Manufacture is expected to take place in Skoda's Vrchlabi factory in the Czech Republic, with sales expected in Europe, India and Russia starting in 2010. A plug-in hybrid power train is expected to accompany the usual range of diesel and gasoline engines. Bizarrely, a source within the company describes the project as "new territory." But, an affordable, rear-engined car for the people sounds like a welcome return to form for the creators of the original people's car. [Automotive News Europe via Motor Authority]

1964 Volkswagen Type 1

Murilee Martin — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 09:30:00 EDT

According to the poll we included in the VW Thing post last week, Jalopnik readers give a definite thumbs-up to the inclusion of VW Beetles in the Down on the Street series. Looks like DOTS Beetle Week lost by a whisker... but don't worry, Beetle fans- I'll make sure our little air-cooled friends appear here on a regular basis. Today we're going to look at a solid '64 Type 1 I found parked on the west side of the island. We're going back to the old format for today, in accordance with the poll results from yesterday, but I might experiment with some ways to get some higher-res images here and there.

Sometimes I get to talk to the owner when I shoot a DOTS car, and this is one such car. The owner was in the garage, wrenching on his '69 Chevelle, when I broke out the camera.

I really prefer the '66 and older headlight style. Yeah, the newer type has fewer things to go wrong, but so what?

This Beetle isn't show quality, but it's solid and rust-free, it's been lowered just enough to look good, and the engine has been treated to a recent rebuild.

The owner tells me he plans to give this car the Volksrod treatment in the near future.

It's great to see the old yellow-on-black California plates still on the street.

This is the oldest Beetle I see parked on Alameda's streets, though only by a couple years. Stay tuned for more!

Though I've talked to a fair number of friendly DOTS car owners while doing this series, this is the first one who would let me put his photo up on the site (that's him on the left). Check out that garage- not only the Chevelle, but a bunch of old British bikes and vintage bicycles to boot! Alameda has tons of these narrow-opening, semi-basement garages, dating from the 1910s and 1920s; they were great for tall, skinny cars but not so good for anything built after about 1930. Still, you can get a Chevelle into one if you're very, very careful.

The Only Thing Better Than One Modded Volkswagen Beetle Is...

Ray Wert — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 12:15:00 EDT

...two modded Volkswagen Beetles. Although we still think nothing quite beats the VDub we saw just an hour or so ago — doubling the Ontario-based Beetles up like Sir Mix-A-Lot ain't too shabby either!

The Most Awesome Volkswagen Beetle Ever!

Ray Wert — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 11:00:00 EDT

It doesn't look like much until you flip it around to see it from behind. And when we did, our first thought was "Oh, my!" We don't know much about this here modded-out Volkswagen Beetle, but as we said before, you've got to really show your stuff for the Woodward Dream Cruise. So the owners of this here up-powered cute little bug? They've definitely shown said stuff. Anyone care to take a stab at what's going on in there?

Project Car Hell: Bugamino or 510 Limo?

Murilee Martin — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:30:51 EDT

I thought about going a bit more upscale with today's Choose Your Eternity entries, perhaps looking at project cars in the $2500-$5000 price range. But then I ran across these two fine cars and I knew I had no choice but to go with them. As we know, the German machine decisively beat the Japanese one in yesterday's All-Axis Project Car Hell Challenge, so we're going to give the vehicular products of our erstwhile enemies another shot today and see if perhaps the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere can come out on top this time...

How about a good ol'-fashioned 1970 Beetle-with-truck-bed? You used to see flatbed Type 1s roaring around now and then, but these days a Bugamino sighting is rare indeed. This one looks reasonably complete (including the requisite rust on the floor pan) and the owner says it "runs good" (i.e., it gets louder when you stand on the gas pedal). Nice custom paint stripes, too! Does the body flex like Jell-O? Does the engine overheat? Hey, that's Project Car Hell! The seller would really like to get $1300 for this fine mo-chine, but we're pretty sure he'd perk up at the sight of a much shorter stack of Franklins.

Fine, you say, the Bugamino is nice and all... but the voices that whisper to you from the power lines are telling you something different. They're saying you deserve to roll in a purple Datsun 510 limo! Nitpickers might point out that the seller is vague about both the car's condition and its price ("this is just a to see what this might be worth to anyone out there"), but: a purple goddamn Datsun 510 limo! The running gear should be pretty easy to deal with, but there's just no telling what sort of scary hacks were involved during the stretching process. Imagine this car with the full Duke of New York chandeliers-on-fenders treatment, with red rotating disco balls instead of taillights and purple velour interior!

Bruce's Baja Bug!

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:45:00 EDT

A man had or has a cousin named Bruce. In the 1970s, Bruce built a Baja Bug, apparently before the style became somewhat codified as a classic icon of Californian backyard engineering. It features a wacky cue or six, but after growing up surrounded by custom Beetles, the fact that we see fewer and fewer on the road these days makes us nostalgic for the days when any nutball with a wrench would cut up a Bug and make it his own. Here's to you, Bruce.

The Beetle, She Is Just Like A Woman, Nein?

Murilee Martin — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:45:00 EDT

So, when your car goes bad, you send it to the mechanic, ja? Thus, it stands to reason (according to 1950s German logic) that when your woman goes bad, you send her to the mechanic! This cringeworthy ad is dated on an amazing number of levels. We're not sure about the parallel between the cable-operated brakes on early Beetles and a woman, but there must be one. Enjoy. – Murilee Martin

Related:
Adventures In Marketing: The Dodge La Femme [internal]

Bukowski and the Beetle

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 20:30:00 EDT

It's funny to us that one of the more enduring things associated with Charles Bukowski is his old Volkswagen Beetle, given the man's extra-manly reputation. This is not a photograph of his dash, but rather a 200mph speedo that a Herbie replica aficionado installed in his own '64. Then again, if we had Buk's Beetle, we'd likely splurge on a 200mph speed-gauge ourselves, while leaving everything else intact. Somehow, we think the erstwhile Hank Chinaski would appreciate the irony. Also, Minuteman, fIREHOSEr, newest Stooge and San Pedro's ambassador to the world, Mike Watt, just interviewed Linda, Bukowski's widow. Totally worth a read. – Davey G. Johnson

mike watt talks w/linda bukowski for mean magazine [Mike Watt's Hoot Page]

El Hombre Secreto: ¿De Lorean o Volkswagen?

Murilee Martin — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:00:58 EDT

When you're the James Bond of Mexico City and it's time to go do your spy thing, what happens when the De Lorean spymobile isn't working right? Why, you summon an air-cooled Beetle on your ten-pound wristwatch, of course! (Hat tip for Mike Sliczniak for hepping us to this fine advertisement) – Murilee Martin

The Back of Beyond: Volkswagen's New Rear-Engined Ride

Jonny Lieberman — Wed, 09 May 2007 14:00:00 EDT

Seeing as how the ultralux Phaeton didn't work out so hot, the People's Car Company is going to release a new car for – get this – the people. And this new car will have its motivator right where Dr. Porsche intended — in the bum. The versatile wordsmiths at Automobile are claiming a mole buried "deep inside" VeeDub HQ has confirmed that a new ass-engined little car is imminent. For those of us that live in America and other first world countries, two body styles will be offered. One will ape the Beetle (why not?) and the other will look like a puny Jetta. Our cars will also come with a direct-injected turbo 3-banger.

If you live on the wrong side of the tracks you'll get a two-cylinder dealio and the same two body styles, but more choice when it comes to wheelbase. And if you live in a really bad neighborhood (developing third-world), the engineers that build a quad-turbo W16 will sell you a 1-cylinder neo-Bug. To keep the price low (an estimated $10,000 to $14,000) no power-steering will be offered. Should you need ABS or a moon roof, those are available extras. And to keep the new hiney-heavy little guy on the road, VW will make stability control standard.

Also of note is that apparently this car hails from the mind of none other than the archduke himself, Dr. Ferdinand Piech. We would just like to point out to the good doctor that VAG is totally missing a 7, a 9, an 11 and the all important 13 through 15-cylinder engines. For shame. Oh, and a modern rear-engined microcar? We can't hardly wait. And you just know an entire regiment of hoons is already out there, licking their chops in anticipation of racing the dang things. – Jonny Lieberman

Return of the Rear-engine Volkswagen [automobilemag.com]

We'll See Your Levis AMC and Raise You a Jeans Beetle!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 03 May 2007 17:00:22 EDT

As we all know, Volkswagen just loooves "special editions" of their vehicles; no doubt there's a Blutwurst Edition Thing sputtering along somewhere at this very moment. But who knew they'd done so many variations on the jeans theme? We were talking to a guy who was reminiscing about the '74 Jeans Beetle he bought new in Tel Aviv back in the day, and a little digging revealed that VW Germany and, later, VW Mexico did at least five different Jeans Beetle versions during a period spanning four decades, all using the good old smoggy Type One air-cooled car. About all they seem to have in common is the word "Jeans" and the presence of at least some denim upholstery. No word yet on an Oleg Cassini Beetle. – Murilee Martin

1974 Jeans Beetle, 1975 Jeans Beetle III, 1982 Jeans Bug, 1995 Jeans Beetle, 2000 Jeans Beetle [SE Beetles]

VW to Recall 790,000 Cars. Oof.

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:15:00 EST

The Car Company of the People will be sending out recall notices in April to 790,000 American purchasers of their product. The reason? A brake-light switch that may either leave the lights on or never illuminate them in the first place upon depression of the wide pedal. Affected? Glad you asked. Follow along and see if you won the lottery: 1999-2005 Golf and GTI; 1999-2005 Jettas and '02-05 Jetta wagons on the Mark IV platform; 1998-2007 New Beetles and '03-07 New Beetle convertibles, plus the '04 R32. Dang ol' dang, that sure is a mess o' switches. – Davey G. Johnson

Volkswagen recalls 790,000 U.S. cars [Monsters and Critics]

Related:
Recall Party! VW Brake Lights, Corvette Roofs [Internal]