Saying goodbye to a childhood friend — the VW Beetle

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Volkswagen Ceases The Production of The Popular ‘Beetle’ After 21 Years

CUAUTLANCINGO, MEXICO – JULY 10: Volkswagen’s last Beetle produced is seen during a ceremony to announce the cease of the production of the VW Beetle after 21 years in the market, at Volkswagen Plant on July 10, 2019 in Cuautlancingo, Mexico. Considered as the successor of the Volkswagen Type 1, the Beetle was produced during 21 years in the Cuautlancingo plant, it is estimated that over 17 millions of units were produced. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Volkswagen Ceases The Production of The Popular ‘Beetle’ After 21 Years

CUAUTLANCINGO, MEXICO – JULY 10: Workers and managers of Volkswagen pose with the last Beetle produced during a ceremony to announce the cease of the production of the VW Beetle after 21 years in the market, at Volkswagen Plant on July 10, 2019 in Cuautlancingo, Mexico. Considered as the successor of the Volkswagen Type 1, the Beetle was produced during 21 years in the Cuautlancingo plant, it is estimated that over 17 millions of units were produced. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

MEXICO-BEETLE

Volkswagen employees pose with a “Beetle”, the final edition of the iconic car, at a factory in Puebla, Puebla State, Mexico, on July 10, 2019. – The bug-shaped metallic blue sedan rolled off the production line in central Mexico to rapturous applause, the last of a model first manufactured in the late 1930s. (Photo by JUAN CARLOS SANCHEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read JUAN CARLOS SANCHEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Volkswagen Ceases The Production of The Popular ‘Beetle’ After 21 Years

CUAUTLANCINGO, MEXICO – JULY 10: Mariachi musicians play songs with workers and managers of Volkswagen during a ceremony to announce the cease of the production of the VW Beetle after 21 years in the market, at Volkswagen Plant on July 10, 2019 in Cuautlancingo, Mexico. Considered as the successor of the Volkswagen Type 1, the Beetle was produced during 21 years in the Cuautlancingo plant, it is estimated that over 17 millions of units were produced. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

MEXICO-BEETLE

Volkswagen Ceases The Production of The Popular ‘Beetle’ After 21 Years

Mexico The Last Beetle

An employee takes a selfie backdropped by the last of the Final Edition version of the Volkswagen Beetle, this one painted “stonewash blue,” according to the company, after it was rolled out under a confetti shower at a production plant in Puebla, Mexico, Wednesday, July 10, 2019. The last Beetle is not for sale, but destined instead for a museum. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Volkswagen Ceases The Production of The Popular ‘Beetle’ After 21 Years

CUAUTLANCINGO, MEXICO – JULY 10: Volkswagen’s last Beetle produced is displayed while people take photos of it during a ceremony to announce the cease of the production of the VW Beetle after 21 years in the market, at Volkswagen Plant on July 10, 2019 in Cuautlancingo, Mexico. Considered as the successor of the Volkswagen Type 1, the Beetle was produced during 21 years in the Cuautlancingo plant, it is estimated that over 17 millions of units were produced. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Mexico The Last Beetle

Employees take photos of the Final Edition version of the Volkswagen Beetle, painted “stonewash blue,” according to the company, as it rolls out at the production plant in Puebla, Mexico, Wednesday, July 10, 2019. The last Beetle is not for sale, but destined instead for a museum. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mexico The Last Beetle

Employees stand watching as the Final Edition version of the Volkswagen Beetle, painted “stonewash blue,” according to the company, rolls out at the production plant in Puebla, Mexico, Wednesday, July 10, 2019. The last Beetle is not for sale, but destined instead for a museum. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Volkswagen Ceases The Production of The Popular ‘Beetle’ After 21 Years

MEXICO-BEETLE

A Volkswagen “Beetle”, the final edition of the iconic car, is pictured inside the factory in Puebla, Puebla State, Mexico, on July 10, 2019. – The bug-shaped metallic blue sedan rolled off the production line in central Mexico to rapturous applause, the last of a model first manufactured in the late 1930s. (Photo by JUAN CARLOS SANCHEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read JUAN CARLOS SANCHEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Volkswagen Ceases The Production of The Popular ‘Beetle’ After 21 Years

CUAUTLANCINGO, MEXICO – JULY 10: A mariachi musician plays during a ceremony to announce the cease of the production of the VW Beetle after 21 years in the market, at Volkswagen Plant on July 10, 2019 in Cuautlancingo, Mexico. Considered as the successor of the Volkswagen Type 1, the Beetle was produced during 21 years in the Cuautlancingo plant, it is estimated that over 17 millions of units were produced. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Here we are folks, once again in a post-VW Beetle world. But things are different from when Volkswagen previously announced the end of the New Beetle, introduced for 1998 and discontinued for 2010. Back then, there were reports that a successor was coming, and indeed it arrived in 2011. Even when the original Beetle left the American market in the latter half of the last century, VW continued to churn out the little cars for other markets until 2003. Now the Beetle is dead, and there aren’t even scraps of rumors about a new one. And that makes me quite sad, because the Beetle played a pretty huge role in my life.

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Loving The Bug

It might seem like a lot to pay for a 1963 VW Beetle, but one particular example sold for at auction this week for the impressive sum of $86,250. That’s because this is no ordinary Volkswagen.

As you can probably tell from the image above, the VW that just set a new auction record for classic Bugs was a movie star. The auction that hosted the Bug was put on by Bonhams and Turner Classic Movies. Click above for more.

Christian Petersen via Getty Images

Herbie The Love Bug

Introduced in The Love Bug (1968), Herbie is a white 1963 Volkswagen Beetle who follows race car driver Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) home from the showroom. That film was such a success that Disney subsequently made five more movies and two television shows about the anthropomorphic car. In all, the Herbie films grossed more than $200 million at the box office in their initial domestic release, or $725 million in today’s currency.

Bonhams

Star car sets auction record

The Herbie for sale at Bonhams New York on Nov. 23, was discovered in a warehouse in Florida several years ago and remains in largely unrestored condition. Originally built for Herbie Rides Again (1974) and also used in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, it is one of the ingenious “Invisible Driver” Herbies. Modified with an elaborate system of sprockets and pulleys connected to a second steering column under the front seat, the driver sits in the backseat to give the impression that the car is driving itself. This car also has the distinction of being the only vehicle ever to leave its tire print in the cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, during promotion for Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.

Bonhams

Steve McQueen’s racing suit from Le Mans

In addition to Herbie, another important piece of Hollywood memorabilia with an automotive flair also sold for huge money at the Bonham’s auction. This is the original racing suit worn by Steve McQueen during filming of the classic racing filmLe Mans.

When the gavel dropped, bidding had reached $425,000 for the racing suit, which was much higher than pre-auction estimates of $200,000 to 300,000.

One piece of movie memorabilia sold for much higher, though. Click above to find out what it was.

Star Max/IPx

Judy Garland’s dress from The Wizard of Oz

This dress was worn by Judy Garland when she played ‘Dorothy’ in The Wizard of Oz. It’s instantly recognizable, which makes it a stunning showpiece for whoever owns it.

The dress sold at the Bonham’s auction for $1.56 million (including premium). The dress was the single most expensive item sold at the auction.

TIMOTHY A. CLARY via Getty Images

The Beetle mostly influenced me as a kid. Being a fledgling car enthusiast, my favorite movie was far and away Disney’s “The Love Bug.” And it’s not hard to tell why. Even among automotive-related movies, few are as focused on the cars themselves. Besides beautiful ‘60s machinery, such as the obscure but gorgeous Apollo GT starring as the Thorndyke Special, you had the titular Bug himself, Herbie. And watching this adorable little car not only win race after race, but also look out for his owner and friends, had a serious effect. For a long time, the Beetle was my favorite car in the world. And that manifested itself in getting just about every toy Beetle I could, from tiny plastic Micro Machines to big 1/18 scale models that I didn’t fully realize weren’t to be played with on the floor on a regular basis.

As a child of the ‘90s, I was also in the perfect position to see my Beetle fandom enhanced by the Beetlemania that ensued when Volkswagen confirmed it would bring the Concept 1 to life as the 1998 New Beetle. Everyone knew about it and was eagerly anticipating the release. And there was no shortage of merchandise related to the Bug from toys to books and everything in between. You know how people had the Countach on posters in the ‘80s? Well, the New Beetle got the same kind of poster treatment in the late ‘90s. I know, because my family got one of a Bug on a psychedelic background for my dad’s office. It even got a video game called Beetle Adventure Racing for the Nintendo 64. I played that game a bunch. Fortunately it turned out to actually be a good game.

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Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle in yellow

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle in yellow

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle in silver

Volkswagen New Beetle and New Beetle Cabriolet

Volkswagen New Beetle and New Beetle Cabriolet on the beach

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle hatchback latch

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle interior

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle interior

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle gauge cluster

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle flower vase

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle refresh in red

Volkswagen New Beetle

Volkswagen New Beetle refresh in red

As I learned more about cars, and my tastes as an enthusiast inevitably shifted to cars that were affordable, reliable and fun, I quickly saw the fundamental flaws in the Bug, more specifically the New Beetle. It was really just a base Golf that was more expensive and less practical. And from a historical perspective, it was just a car that looked like a Beetle, since the Golf underpinnings meant it was water-cooled and front-wheel-drive. And neither the Bug nor its donor car were really interesting to drive. I confirmed this when I recently test-drove a used New Beetle Turbo S (yes, I have been considering eventually getting a Bug of some sort). Even with a 180-horsepower turbo four, it didn’t wind me up like other sporty contemporaries. VW made some major improvements with the next-generation car, especially equipped with the GTI’s 2.0-liter engine, but in a world of WRXs, Mini Cooper Ss and VW’s own GTI, it still didn’t stand out.

And now as a working auto journalist, I can even see that the Beetle as it is doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s old and not competitive in its segment. And that segment is one of the least popular in our crossover-crazed world.