Volkswagen Beetle 2013 News

Earlier this month, Audi unveiled a retro-inspired small electric vehicle that is a homage to a car that failed a quarter of a century ago. Spectacularly. Chances are the timely and handsome new A2 will succeed where the overpriced and oddly styled original from 2001 could not, but referencing a flop seems risky. It’s like Ford reviving the AU Falcon (though to be fair it is having a moment), or General Motors exhuming Holden with an ode to the ZB Commodore. Or Epica. Which has us thinking: this isn’t the first time that nostalgia, perhaps served with a side plate of delusion, has led to some confounding decisions. Whether they sold or were received poorly, we outline five resurrections that flopped. And if you disagree, let us know why in the comments below. How the millennial Monaro came about requires context. Holden enjoyed two golden eras: the early years, and for half a decade from 1997, after the then-new VT Commodore became a runaway smash hit. And the next year’s Australian International Motor Show in Sydney was pivotal. Codenamed Monica, the 1998 Holden Coupe Concept – essentially a VT with two doors, a slightly more-rakish windscreen and four (lower) seats – stole the show like no other car ever had before or since. At the time, Holden wasn’t even planning to build it. After all, coupe shelf lives are notoriously short. The original HK Monaro of 1968 proved popular initially, but its HQ-HX successors from 1971 struggled. The Coupe Concept utterly overshadowed Ford’s debuting AU Falcon at the Sydney show, made national news and created a buzz that helped bolster the brand. It was nothing short of sensational. Journalists immediately dubbed it Monaro, something Holden was understandably wary of. Despite what some articles today state, the resulting V2 Monaro failed to meet internal sales expectations when it arrived far later than scheduled, in November, 2001. Priced beyond most buyers’ reach from nearly $95,000 adjusted for inflation today, it went on to account for only a fraction of Commodore volume, at 4274 versus 88,478 units, putting it at 47 spot. From there, sales never improved, and the US-market Pontiac GTO export version of 2004 also failed to find a large-enough audience. By then, GM was floundering as the world moved away from sedans and coupes, in favour of SUVs, with the planned next-generation VE Monaro promptly canned, save for the 2008 Coupe 60 Concept to celebrate Holden’s 60 Anniversary. The Datsun 1600 is regarded as one of Japan’s earliest greats. Launched in 1967, it combined elegant styling with European-style chassis sophistication, to create a brilliant little sedan that dominated world rallying as effortlessly as it won over owners’ hearts. However, the larger and heavier 180B and 200B replacements of 1972 and 1976 respectively completely lacked the 1600’s sporty charm. Stung by widespread criticism, Datsun attempted to recreate the magic with the Stanza in 1978. But, built down to a price, it sorely lacked the fun and finesse that endeared so many owners to the old 1600. Critics were ruthless in their reviews. And though relatively popular and successful in motorsport, the Stanza couldn’t replicate the old 1600’s greatness and lasted only a single generation in Australia. By all objective means, any NSX is a masterpiece. Be it the exquisite 1990 NA1 original that became the first mid-engined supercar in history to love you back, or the NC1 tri-electric motor petrol/hybrid AWD successor of 2016 that was a breathtaking technological showcase, the name signifies engineering mastery. However, while neither generation achieved the sales volumes Honda required, the original has enjoyed a glorious afterlife as one of the all-time sports car greats. But the latter? Sadly, the second – or American – NSX remains misunderstood as being too advanced, and not “analogue” enough for drivers to truly connect with. That Honda cancelled it early (except in Japan) has not helped. Maybe the NC1 was just a decade before its time. Still an amazing achievement. One of Japan’s earliest Volkswagen Golf clones, the Pulsar became a beloved small-car staple in Australia over 25 years and six generations from 1980. That was until Nissan was forced to switch to a smaller replacement with awkward styling, ambitious pricing and a silly name. Inevitably, the 2006 Tiida tanked, even as Australians were clamouring towards smaller cars in the wake of soaring fuel prices. This was the era where the Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla were king, but Nissan missed the party completely. The reason why the Pulsar ended was that it never properly challenged the Golf, so instead Nissan devised the Qashqai crossover, which immediately became a sales phenomenon. Somehow, Nissan Australia convinced a reluctant Japan to allow the redesigned Tiida hatch of 2012 to be rebadged Pulsar, along with the Thai market Sylphy sedan. Hopes were high of a sales revival but neither interloper possessed the required sophistication or appeal to lure local consumers back. Both Pulsar iterations never saw out their model cycle. The rear-engined air-cooled Beetle, which changed comparatively little between 1937 and 2003, remains the world’s best-selling vehicle of all time, at 21.5 million units. In contrast, the Toyota Corolla regenerated 12 times to date for it to find 50 million buyers. The re-imagined New Beetle, released globally in 1997 and 2000 in Australia, based on the versatile Golf IV architecture and built inexpensively in Mexico, sold strongly at first. But demand tapered off markedly as per most fashion statements, especially when BMW’s Mini reset the bar for retro remakes from 2001. However, after nearly 1.2 million units, VW’s third attempt, officially known as the “The Beetle”, struggled from the outset in 2012, despite featuring significantly more sophisticated drivetrains. Gone by 2019, barely 550,000 units were produced worldwide.

But things are changing quickly, and China’s capital city will probably have nine million cars soon as well. This is why the centre of gravity in the motor industry has moved East and all major car companies — including Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin and Ferrari — made a beeline to exhibit their wares at the Auto China 2012 motor show this week. China is the world’s largest car market. It passed the US in 2009 in total sales numbers — shifting 18.5 million vehicles last year. Carmakers expect annual sales in China to rise to 30 million vehicles a year by 2020. Several hope to double their sales from the 2011 levels by 2015. So it's no surprise that the flavour of Beijing show is hinting at that future. Star of the show was the outrageous Lamborghini Urus — a bullish supercar sports utility vehicle from the Italian car-maker. The Urus, set to go on sale from 2016 is a beast that Volkswagen-owned Lamborghini reckons will be the fastest-accelerating 4x4 on the planet, with a 0-100km/h time of less than 4.7 seconds and a top speed of about 300km/h, thanks to its hybrid four-litre petrol engine linked to an electric motor. Just the thing for the school run. Volkswagen showed off a sporty Beetle roadster that took my fancy. And there weren’t as many knock-off lookalikes as in previous years, though some Chinese makers had a crack at a Rolls-Royce and a Mini. And in China, the People’s Flag may be deepest red, but they also like to fly the Union Jack. The British flag was much in evidence, especially on the Chinese-owned MG stand, where it adorned a map of the British Isles, and also on the German-owned Mini stand. Indeed, Mini went the whole hog with what looked like models posing as flat-capped cockney barrow boys. Hats off also to MG, the once-great British sports car marque, now owned by Shanghai Automotive. Brilliant stand and it won the show’s best ‘concept’ — the MG Icon, a 21st-century take on the MGB, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.  

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia. But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show. The electic two-seat Volkswagen Beetle powered by an 85kW electric motor and with a range of 160km. The electric drive unit is being called Blue e-motion and will be used in future VW products, including the upcoming Golf. The batteries are housed under the rear bench seat and beneath the boot and weigh about 80kg. They can be recharged via a domestic plug or using a quick-charge station. The E-Bugster differentiates itself from a regular Beetle with a lower ride height and the C-shaped daytime running lights that have become a signature element on VW's electric vehicles and runs on a set of 19-inch rims. The coupe uses an blacked out A-frame to extend the look of the windscreen and emphasise the slightly curved roof, that doesn't look too far removed from the "backwards baseball cap" adopted on the Mini coupe. The interior instrumentation also sets the E-Bugster apart from a regular Beetle. The tacho has been replaced with an energy consumption display that pendulums depending on whether the vehicle is acceleration or slowing down. There's also a driving range indicator, battery charge display and a panel showing the intensity of battery regeneration during braking. The electric-only Beetle was joined by a petrol-electric Jetta hybrid sedan that VW says will go on sale in the US later in November. VW product head Ulrich Hackenberg says the Jetta hybrid will go from 0-100km/h in less than nine seconds and can operate solely on the 20kW electric motor at speeds up to 27km/h, though only for a distance of around 2km, at which point the 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine kicks in, running through a seven-speed dual-clutch manual automated transmission. Fuel economy is around 20 per cent lower than that of a conventional petrol vehicle. The hybrid Jetta adopts the Touareg hybrid's habit of decoupling the engine from the drivetrain when coasting or operating on the electric motor to reduce friction. The 35kg battery is mounted under the rear seat. and VW says the lightweight components means weight has only risen by 100kg compared with a conventional Jetta.

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia. But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show. The car follows the path of its 2005 Detroit show special, the Ragster. Like the forgotten Ragster, the Volkswagen E-Bugster Concept is a redesign of the Beetle, though the newer exercise is based on the latest Bug. E-Bugster - which has little chance of seeing a production line - is a design theme atop Volkswagen’s Blue-e-motion electric drivetrain that is planned this year to underpin a variant of the Golf. Volkswagen says the E-Bugster - slash Golf-e - uses an electric motor up front and a lithium-ion battery beneath the rear chassis. It claims a 160km range and the option of a quick charge that’ll get 80 per cent of it fired up within 30 minutes. The electric motor produces 85kW and about 270Nm of torque. That’s the inside. The outside is the new, new Beetle - in Australia in November this year - with 75mm chopped from the roof pillars and set on 20-inch wheels. There’s also slight changes to the nose and tail and LED daytime running lights. Only extra instruments - including the deletion of the tachometer and a energy-consumption meter in its place - identify the interior. The E-Bugster Concept is purely a showcase for the drivetrain - much as the Bulli was to present a new-age Kombi. Bulli is still a strong chance for production though will initially be fitted with the Up/Polo petrol and diesel drivetrain options. An electric Bulli - as shown at last year’s Geneva motor show - will come later. The same timeline is expected of the E-Bugster though the chances of it making it to showroom with a chopped roof are - zero.

China is clearly on top of the car world in 2011.

Do you remember the game where every time you see a VW drive by, you punched a friend? Now, with 13 VW models, the game just got a whole lot better. Introducing PunchDub the game. Its never been easier to reach out and punch someone.

A total re-make of the curvy contender is cutting the cute and pushing a much more macho line in a bid to win more male buyers. The original retro Beetle has been a hit with women, particularly in the USA, but Volkswagen has been concerned that it has not done well enough with men. So it has pulled in the edges and pumped out the guards in a major makeover which comes following the latest Golf VI, which provides the mechanical package for the Beetle. There is no new yet from Europe on the Golf's on-sale date but it is expected to be previewed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in October, pointing to Australian sales in the second half of next year.