Should we be concerned, or is it too early?

[pdoel]

Originally Posted by Pushing Fifty

True, but I hope the water-cooled Beetles will catch up some day. Admittedly, 14 model years so far and 1.5 million built is a good start. I do feel a bit more confident after reading Indy Tom's prediction that, if for some reason, this more masculine Beetle fails to meet sales expectations, (whatever those numbers may be; I don't even know) VW would probably restyle it again.

Catch up? I'd say for awhile there, if not still now, the NB community is bigger than the original. For awhile there, we were having NB gtgs with 20-30 NBs showing up. And we were having those several times a year, always with excellent turn outs.

[Pushing Fifty]

Originally Posted by pdoel

Catch up? I'd say for awhile there, if not still now, the NB community is bigger than the original. For awhile there, we were having NB gtgs with 20-30 NBs showing up. And we were having those several times a year, always with excellent turn outs.

I wish I could say the same thing applied around here. Most VW shows I attend are lucky to have 2-3 NBs entered. Of course, that makes getting a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place trophy in the NB class a lot easier!

I would love to start a NB club, but I'd be lucky to find 5 interested people in these parts(Eau Claire, WI). This leaves me with the Funfest in Effingham, IL that is primarily air-cooled, but many NBs show up, Roswell, which is only every other odd-numbered year, and most recently, a Midwest group I found right here on the org!

[vobmfas]

There is something going on with 2012 Beetle production. I stopped by a large VW dealer in the Houston, Tx. area last week and they had no 2012 Beetles in stock. I asked a salesperson what was going on and he said that "VW has halted production for some reason", but he did not know or would not say what that reason was. Of course this may not be accurate info, but for sure, there was not a single '12 in stock. I also notice that the monthly sales figures for VW show a great growth in sales of all models except the Beetle and a comment is usually made that
VW continues to "ramp up" production of the Beetle. They have been in production for 6 months or so. How long does it take to ramp up production of a vehicle that is mass produced? Something like 14,000 Jetta's are produced at the same factory every month. Maybe that is the reason that the Beetle seems to have taken a back seat on the production line.

[digitalputty]

I hope they don't kill it. I am trying to get enough money to buy one in 2015(ish).

[Fowvay]

Originally Posted by pdoel

Catch up? I'd say for awhile there, if not still now, the NB community is bigger than the original. For awhile there, we were having NB gtgs with 20-30 NBs showing up. And we were having those several times a year, always with excellent turn outs.

I lost many of my GTG photos in the divorce but we really did have awesome turnouts.

As for the factory ramping up. Look out for the Superbowl ad. Volkswagen is ramping up for a re-launch of the 2012 Beetle and a new ad campaign. They had some initial teething problems at the plant with suppliers and then an issue with the sunroof making contact with the tailgate when both were open at the same time. Jamie on the Vortex says things should be good to go now. So your local dealer should soon be inundated with loads of Beetles.

If you recall correctly (think back a few months) Volkswagen produced launch editions which were to be followed with full production models. Those launch editions do not have the option packages available on vw.com they are special cars minus sunroofs and a limited palate of colors. Combine that with a delay and it may appear that Volkswagen dropped the ball but I'd rather they have a slow roll out than rush it and have thousands of problem cars that need to be recalled.

[Pushing Fifty]

I certainly hope these issues have finally been resolved. On the Tex, there are many threads in the Beetle section regarding this. Many people that have ordered 2012 Beetles with sunroofs, navigation, turbos, etc, keep getting told that their cars are on backorder, so to speak, and the anticipated dates of delivery keep getting pushed back further. Some are getting very frustrated and are threatening to cancel their orders. If this happens on a widespread scale, the 2012 Beetle could become a flop. Speaking on behalf of all water-cooled Bug lovers, this would be disastrous.

[kcfoxie]

Originally Posted by pdoel

Catch up? I'd say for awhile there, if not still now, the NB community is bigger than the original. For awhile there, we were having NB gtgs with 20-30 NBs showing up. And we were having those several times a year, always with excellent turn outs.

I disagree. Go to any aircooled show, the aircooled will outnumber *all* watercooled models 2-to-1. Beetle to Beetle, more like 3-to-1.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by Pushing Fifty

I certainly hope these issues have finally been resolved. On the Tex, there are many threads in the Beetle section regarding this. Many people that have ordered 2012 Beetles with sunroofs, navigation, turbos, etc, keep getting told that their cars are on backorder, so to speak, and the anticipated dates of delivery keep getting pushed back further. Some are getting very frustrated and are threatening to cancel their orders. If this happens on a widespread scale, the 2012 Beetle could become a flop. Speaking on behalf of all water-cooled Bug lovers, this would be disastrous.

Never gonna happen. Even if some people would cancel their order the dealership would still receive the vehicles and they would have no problem selling them. Their impatience is other people's gain The 2012 Beetle along with the New Passat and the newly released Jetta GLI will be VW's biggest sellers this year so they could care less if some people don't want to wait for them. There are plenty out there that will.

[IndyTom]

Originally Posted by kcfoxie

I disagree. Go to any aircooled show, the aircooled will outnumber *all* watercooled models 2-to-1. Beetle to Beetle, more like 3-to-1.

Well, that stands to reason. Why wouldn't the Aircooled Beetle's outnumber the Watercooled Beetle's in an "AIRCOOLED" show?