VW To Present 'People's Car' Platform in September.

[SMG]

This just in!

http://www.germancarblog.com/2007/07...-low-cost.html

It says the car will apparently be sold in 2009, which goes along with the upcoming demise of the MK4 NB.

Discuss.

[GINA]

For some reason, I have this nagging feeling that they might try to compete with the Smart Car in terms of size, quirkiness, and cost. I'm curious as to what they have up their sleeve.

[Devil Yellow]

i like the bug the way it is, reminds me of the older ones minus the watercooled engine and the fact the engine is in the back, would be nice if they put the engine back in the back

[Beetlemania]

Thanks for the info! Though, without another link, I doubt your statement about the demise of the Mk4 NB. Was that still your continued assumption?

[silverspeedbuggy]

Since I am seriously considering purchasing the Smart Cabrio in 2009, I personally would love a similar VW product. I think this car could return the Beetle to an honest, modern day people's car and ditch the unfortunate chick car image.

[lucian]

All it matters is that VW will continue to produce Beetle. The bug will be cheaper and hopefully better. Time to trade in the 99 :-)

[Billsbug]

Originally Posted by lucian

All it matters is that VW will continue to produce Beetle.

Stop dreaming, it's dead in it's current form. They've got the Rabbit to fill in for the tintop (plus the Polo in other parts of the world) and the EOS to fill in for the vert. VW won't spend big money to update it to a new platform, not to mention a totally new exterior and interior, just to make the US market happy.

"Volkswagen sales are up 2.7% this year, but that's misleading. Sales are off by more than 100,000 units a year from 2003. Sales of the Jetta are off 6.3%, and Passat sales are off 30%. Touareg sales are down 28%. The New Beetle is down 20%. Incentive spending on those four models by Volkswagen exceeds the average spending for each of those segments, according to Edmunds.com. That's anathema to Volkswagen, which has historically discouraged incentive spending to maintain brand integrity and resale values.

What's propping up sales even 2%? The addition of the Eos, which VW didn't sell last year, as well as an 80% boost in Rabbit sales. Ironically, ad agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky's idea of renaming the old Golf the "Rabbit," the name it carried in the 1970s and the early 1980s, was controversial inside and outside of VW. But it seems to have paid off. VW brought a new Golf/Rabbit to the U.S. last year, but it had already been on sale in Europe for two years and so there was no buzz on the car in America until it was renamed."

[Audiophil]

Originally Posted by Billsbug

Sales of the Jetta are off 6.3%, and Passat sales are off 30%. Touareg sales are down 28%. The New Beetle is down 20%. Incentive spending on those four models by Volkswagen exceeds the average spending for each of those segments, according to Edmunds.com. [/b]

I guess the Passat and Touareg are gone too? They are down even more... Drop their third best seller, probably not.

Will be interesting to see what the new one looks like...

[Billsbug]

Originally Posted by Audiophil

I guess the Passat and Touareg are gone too? They are down even more... Drop their third best seller, probably not.

Will be interesting to see what the new one looks like...

The Passat is already on the new platform, just needs a bit of design 'fine-tuning'. The T-reg is down cuz of gas prices and competition from so many SUV's on the US market. The NB is dead a/o '09.

[silverspeedbuggy]

I swear I read that the Beetle will continue in it's current MKIV form through 2010 and that VW is commited to replacing it since it has been so popular here in the States. Just last year VW made an announcement that over 100,000 New Beetles have been sold since 1998. Since 1998 in most, if not all, months until today the Beetle has outsold the Golf/Rabbit. I find it hard to believe VW would just dump such a popular model.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Just poking around, I found these sales figures on Vortex:
http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publi...cle_1914.shtml

Notice for Jan 07, VW sold:
- 1,668 NB coupes and verts
- 1,338 Rabbits, and if you throw in the 19 (19!) left over Golfs, that brings the total to 1,347

Granted, there are no sales figures here for the Golf Cabrio, but in January they might have sold, what 25 of them in the US?

Or, if you combine all Golf "models" VW sold:
- 1,668 NB coupes and verts
- 2,708 Rabbits, Golfs, GTIs, and R32s (the last two I personally do not think compete with the New Beetle for sales)


How about these figures:
http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publi...cle_1777.shtml

June 2006 sales:
- 3,776 NB coupes and verts
- 2,204 Rabbits, Golfs, GTIs, and R32s

Once again, I think the New Beetle has been far too important a vehicle to just kill off in the US.

[Billsbug]

Originally Posted by silverspeedbuggy

I swear I read that the Beetle will continue in it's current MKIV form through 2010 and that VW is commited to replacing it since it has been so popular here in the States. Just last year VW made an announcement that over 100,000 New Beetles have been sold since 1998. Since 1998 in most, if not all, months until today the Beetle has outsold the Golf/Rabbit. I find it hard to believe VW would just dump such a popular model.

It's 1,000,000 worldwide. Maybe the vert will last a year or so more than the tintop as special editions.

BTW, VW added black and white tintops plus black and triple white verts this year, all 4 were not available last year, and sales STILL dropped 20%.

[Porkchop]

Originally Posted by silverspeedbuggy

Just last year VW made an announcement that over 100,000 New Beetles have been sold since 1998.

I assume you mistakenly left out a zero? There have been 1 MILLION New Beetles sold since 1998...

http://www.newcarinfo.co.uk/html/news/1111.html

But compare the numbers from 1998-2001 to the last 5 years..

Atomic Glee had posted production numbers by year but I can't find that post. Does anyone else have them? I remember the early years were over 100,000 per year while more recently the numbers are in the 20,000-30,000 range.

EDIT: Dang it.. Bill beat me to it.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Oops, wrong figure.

Yes, while sales are off now compared to earlier, this model is now 10 years old. Ten years! While the recent refresh was hoped to revive sales, VW has known that sales and interest would not increase back to the 1998 model year excitement, but that sales would lift a little. Buyers knew the refreshed NB wasn't all-new, but just updated. I think if an all-new New Beetle (drop the "New" from the name VW!) were introduced, interest would increase again (but will never reach the height of 1998).

If these rumors are true, a VW Beetle that competes with the smart car and various hybrid models to be an eco-friendly car could really set it apart. Imagine a more practical smart (would have a backseat) car, with the economy of a Prius, without all the batteries and weight. Throw in a diesel engine and it would have no competitors in the US.

I truly feel the reason the Prius has been so successful is not because of the technology it contains, but because of the symbol it represents. Because it is styled differently than any other car, it is apparent at first glance that the car is eco-friendly and the driver cares about the environment. Could you spot a Hybrid Civic amongst a sea of regular Civics at a glance? Hybrid Camry? Hybrid Accord? Nope, the Prius stands out. If VW moved the Beetle to an eco-friendly car (Halo model?) it would function the same, once again as a symbol, as the Prius does for Toyota.

Does what I just typed make any sense?

[SMG]

If the Beetle gets smaller it won't be able to have a back seat. I hope it's a 2-seater, back seats are overrated anyway, rear passengers make me rub, I can't put people back there anymore.

[Smileybug]

The Beetle is a big staple for VW. Most people's first thought when they think of VW is the Beetle. Its just a different car. It stands out. And it has a very large fan base. I think VW has made decisions which have made the sales drop. The price is too high for starters. Also, the facelift got no publicity! I have yet to see anything advertising the changes for the Beetle that happened in '06. No one knew about it...only people in the VW community, and then only really people into Beetles. It just wasn't put out there right.

And saying they are going to kill the NB vert because of the Eos is crap. The Eos is too expensive for their only vert model. Having a lower-end vert model is a good move. So I can see them dumping the hard-top NB even...but not the vert. It just wouldn't be a good move. But they have been known to make very very bad moves lately...so what's one more?

Best idea? Take this new VW that they are releasing and call it the Beetle. I do agree that the Beetle is fading out...but I think thats a design issue. They need to revamp it again to get people excited about it. Have one more like the original, and I'm sure you'll get a good following. Especially if they make it rear-engined, which has been a rumor.

[Billsbug]

Facelift? FACELIFT?! I laugh at this supposed 'facelift'! VW design itself has been quoted as saying 'We made a mistake'. It's not noticable enuf to the buyers and the interior is virtually the same. Plus NO TURBO?! Insanity.

VW got along without a Beetle for about 20 years, maybe they should bury it again for another 20. At any rate, I think the NB, in it's current design state, is dead, they'd hafta surprise us with a totally new one. Sure they might keep making them, like they did the OB, but not for the US market.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Originally Posted by Billsbug

Facelift? FACELIFT?! I laugh at this supposed 'facelift'! VW design itself has been quoted as saying 'We made a mistake'.

Not arguing here, but where/when did they say they made a mistake? I've never read anything like this.

VW got along without a Beetle for about 20 years, maybe they should bury it again for another 20.

I really don't know you Bill, but you seem awfully worked up over this. I'm having trouble understanding why a NB owner doesn't want VW to make them anymore. ???

At any rate, I think the NB, in it's current design state, is dead, they'd hafta surprise us with a totally new one. Sure they might keep making them, like they did the OB, but not for the US market.

Agreed on the first sentence (hence my excitement for this rumored model). But are you saying if they keep making the current MKIV model? Or are you saying they shouldn't sell the rumored new model here at all? If VW keeps the Beetle as it is an important model, why wouldn't they sell it here as the US is the most important market to the vehicle?

[Billsbug]

On the Tex a year or so ago. They also said 'It's back to the drawing board'.

As a huge fan of the original NB Concepts, and having waited 10 long years for the turbo vert to arrive (I've owned a '99 1.8T NB and Turbo S prior), it's kinda sad to see how far the 'New' New Beetle has wandered from the 'Round for a Reason' idea. No offense to owners of it, but it's just not as good a design as the original.

The new rear engined model is not going to be called a 'Beetle', VW has already said that, it's just based on the line of the old water cooled VW vehicles, all of which were rear engined.

[silverspeedbuggy]

This thread has a little more info:
http://newbeetle.org/forums/rumors-insights/20014-return-peoples-car.html