VW Promises "More Courageous" Design / New Beetle Redesign Still Go

[FarrisK]

Yay! Finally a rear wiper!!

If there is a diesel version when it comes out, I may have to :gulp: trade Stinky in on one.

[scarabY2k]

Thanks Bill And PostO for beating me to the punch and saving me a lot of copying and pasting. Just got the new winding road, saw the feature and immediately said " gotta post this on the org". Thanks

I'm in a quandry now. The next car i was gonna add to my stable is the next-gen Camaro. After seeing the NB2 vert, I might reconsider.

I'm liking pretty much everything about it except for the rear tails- nothing aftermarket can't fix eh?

I hope VW has the courage to bring this into production.

[Pushing Fifty]

Originally Posted by kdbug

Wow, I'm surprised.... but I'm really liking this. If all this does pan out I might be looking to trade mine in 2010 or 2011. This is exciting. I was very worried about the Beetle's future for a while.

I, too, was worried about the NB's future. Over on the Vortex, when you go to the Car Lounge, every other person there seems to think it will be killed. Then again, the mission of the Car Lounge is to bash VW in any manner possible. I certainly like this Ragster derivative better than those Motor Trend shots that resemble a GEO Metro. I want the Beetle to be made for another 30 years, and for it to LOOK like a Beetle.

[2nd_BugMan]

I love it, both NB & NBC. Can't wait to see it show it at one of the shows. Best of all my current NB will be ready for replacement by then, or passing off to my kids to drive.
I love the way the tail lights pop out, like my old 74 beetle.

[SMG]

These were both drawn by a sketch artist who had nothing to do with VW.

I really don't like all of the unnecessary extra body lines. Less is more.

[Billsbug]

Originally Posted by PostO

Check out the rear wiper!

Check out the dual exhaust tips!

[NewBeeLoo]

thanks billsbug for the news & link to motortrend.com

[silverspeedbuggy]

As stated, these are merely one magazine's vision of the next NB. They are not official VW images.

Not to be a wet-blanket:
I just got the latest Automobile magazine and they have a two page spread on VW's future in America. I'll try to post the exact info tonight, but there is a sidebar focusing specifically on the NB. VWoA's CEO, Stefan Jacoby was quoted as saying the future of the NB is still in doubt. They have reworked their future offerings for the U.S. and the NB is not confirmed. From what this article states, the NB replacement is expected for 2012. They have been looking at another Golf-based design, but are not happy with it; packaging and production costs are the big issues with this model. There are two options, putting the next New Beetle on the up! (currently a concept car only; the up! is not confirmed for production as of today) platform or putting it on a mid-engine platform borrowed from Porsche (boxster). The problem with the up! platform is the largest engine that could physically be put in the car would be a turbo-charged 3 cylinder and they worry this will not be powerful enough for horsepower-happy americans. The article didn't elaborate 0n the mid-engine option, but me thinks fitting a rear seat into such a layout would be very difficult.

Some other info from the article:
- New Jetta (or at least majorly updated) in 2010, no Jetta wagon
- New mid-size sedan based on the current Passat, but with less gizmos and engine options
- Passat will move upscale and be available only as a 4 door coupe (spy shots of this new car have already been circulating the net)
- New mid-size SUV, larger than the upcoming Tiguan, but slightly smaller than the current Touareg
- New larger but more affordable Touareg
- Rabbit will be discontinued in the U.S. and only the GTI will be available*

*This last bit of info was the most surprising to me since the Rabbit is selling so well. The major problem with the Rabbit is it is very costly to produce so VW loses money on every single one it sells.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Here's a link to info on the up! Concept Car:

http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publi...cle_2052.shtml

[silverspeedbuggy]

Here's a link to the Passat Coupe Spy Shots, make sure you click on the link to the "high res photo gallery.":

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Enth...78.A13434.html

[Billsbug]

Originally Posted by silverspeedbuggy

They have reworked their future offerings for the U.S. and the NB is not confirmed.

.

[silverspeedbuggy]

HA! Never seen that version.

Don't lose hope though: while not confirmed, a NB replacement has not been killed off either. In fact, I find it interesting that VW is looking at all options. They know the NB has been successful and while a new one is difficult to fit into their production plans, they are not giving up on it.

[Billsbug]

I mean, 1 million NB's have rolled off the Puebla lines since '98, I'm not sure the other VW models can fill that 100K units per year gap.

[scarabY2k]

Originally Posted by Billsbug

CURSES!!!!.

Bill, where did you get the 'Curses' critter. Dude, i've been hypnotized and cracking up at that thing Awesome!!

Like the Passat concept. The UP platform looks great, but like the Polo, sadly it won't make the US market.

[Billsbug]

Originally Posted by scarabY2k

Bill, where did you get the 'Curses' critter. Dude, i've been hypnotized and cracking up at that thing Awesome!!

I'll be here all week, ladies and germs.

[Trey[eclectique]]

The VW Concept R?
http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z7281/default.aspx

[AceJay]

Okay this looks better than that other concept thing.

However I kinda hate how it resembles the old Beetle, with the hood and the shape of it. But the bumpers and REAR WIPER YAY

The Cabrio looks awesome though.

I hope the actual model is between the current and this.

Also, reduced headroom = nooooooo

[Pushing Fifty]

Backtracking a bit here....but why would VW discontinue the Rabbit? Since the Golf was renamed back to Rabbit, sales have skyrocketed. If cost/profitability is a concern, move production to Puebla, as the MK IV's were. Nevertheless, if VW does drop the Rabbit, a small car MUST replace it; Beetle or not. Otherwise, an entire demographic will be ignored. If they are uncertain about the NB's future, then they better get that Up thing moving. Gas is going to be $4.00 a gallon before you know it!

[Ms Deeve]

I don't even want to consider that they might eliminate the retro-beetle design. I think it would be suicide for VW (at least in the US). I guess if they do, I'll have to buy another car to drive in the winter and store my NBC so I can keep it forever.

[callisto9]

ugh. i don't like it at all! it's barf-tastic!