Jalopnik: Bug

Nice Price Or Crack Pipe: Herbie The Love Bug Replica For $20,000?

Murilee Martin — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:00:00 EST

79% of our readers thought that $25,000 was a hubba-fied price for 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z, but maybe that's because 80s nostalgia hasn't taken a firm enough hold of our culture yet. That's why we're going with a car everyone appreciates: Herbie The Love Bug! Unlike what you'd experience with your $21,750 General Lee Replicas, you won't keep running across other Herbies out there, because the world Herbie-to-General-Lee ratio is about 1:150 these days. This '63 Beetle has had an obsessively thorough restoration, and the price shows it: $20,000. Cool car, but 20 grand worth of cool? You decide!

[Craigslist Los Angeles, go here if the ad disappears]

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

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)

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...

Volkswagen Bug Camper, Episode II: Judgment Day

Ray Wert — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:00:00 EDT

We don't know if "Gary" ended up selling the 1970 VW Bug camper last year on CraigsList, but it sounds as though he was unsuccessful at the $20,000 and $16,000 asking price given last time. Because yes folks, the camper's back and this time it's on sale on eBay. The asking price appears to have dropped to a mere $1,275. Maybe that's because it no longer has an engine. Again, we ask you to please not blame either the drugs or "Gary's" inability to clean the sink of his back hair. [via eBay]

Farfegnugen For Sale: VW Swap

Jonny Lieberman — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 11:15:00 EDT

The annual VW Classic is the largest Volkswagen event in the world. Next year a bigger event in Germany might usurp Irvine, California's throne, but for now the Southern California show is king. Hundreds if not thousands of classic, air-cooled VeeDubs of all kinds ('member the Matador?) gather to be gawked at and appreciated. But how many Bugs can you look at? Luckily for those of us from the ADD set, there's a giant swap meet loaded with all sorts of cool stuff to check out. And check we did. Peruse the gallery and make the jump for more.

Thank you for jumping.

Yep, they put Volkswagen manuals on vinyl. Which is so groovy our bong just make love to our lava lamp. This particular seller had a whole box full of these killer recordings. Sorry for my reflection.

Predictably, a VW event in Orange County will feature fools selling bullshit like this. Sure, you can argue it has historical significance, but then you'd be the guy with the Hitler poster in your garage. Remember, the only thing chicks hate as much as Nazism is back hair.

Luckily, the VW Classic had one of these to offset the hateful nonsense. Yep, that's a US Army Bug of 1947 vintage. That's what American troops tooled around Germany in when it was too wet to take the Jeep. The Jeep that helped kick Hitler's ass back to his bunker, I'd like to add.

This was just too cute for school. Who doesn't love a little Type II Single Cab hauling Bosch parts? Visit the gallery for the bigger version.

While I suppose my age and interests should have dictated that I spent my time looking at clutch return springs and Type III dashboards, I found myself much more interested in the toys. I mean, how do you beat six 21 window buses! Exactly, you don't.

For Herr Johnson.

And you just knew they were going to have some Hazet radness. And they did. – Jonny Lieberman

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]

VW < VW 1500

Jonny Lieberman — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:35:49 EST

While close acquaintance Scott contemplates seppuku, we watch with joy as the headless Type III dusts a hopped up Bug in the quarter-mile. Or the 4/10ths of a kilometer as it were. Make the jump for even more pics of the orange-striped hotness! [All our tips are belong to Vega] – Jonny Lieberman

If Slant 6 Were 9: A Mopar-Powered Bug Rod

Mike Spinelli — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 19:41:34 EDT

Just about everyone whose ever heard of Chrysler Corp.'s "Slant Six" engines of the 1960s and 1970s — gearhead and casual DC-Punk fans alike — know they're responsible for millions of miles of trouble-free motoring. Those who covet the erstwhile sixbangers know they can be tricked out in a manner Chrysler flat-top'd engine builders needn't have imagined. Jim Fisher did imagine, however, and, well, the results speak their own language — Bug. [Thanks to Simon for the tip.]

Jim Fisher's Homemade Car [Slantsix.org]

Related:
Custom Bug for Sale on eBay [internal]