capngrog Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Here's a short (90 sec.) video, produced by VW, titled "The Last Mile". It's a nice tribute to the air-cooled VW Bug. Cheers, Grog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 pretty much the longest production car in history.............. if Im not mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) In rhe end of the cartoon story, they sold the VW to an old guy with a cane, I'm an old guy with a cane, just had my second knee replacement and can't drive our VW yet. Edited January 9, 2020 by Paul Dobbin Added picture (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46 woodie Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I saw that commercial and thought it was really cool, very creative! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y-JobFan Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 It's brilliant, there is so much to see and a lot many would miss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 2 hours ago, mercer09 said: pretty much the longest production car in history.............. if Im not mistaken. The Chevrolet Suburban (utility vehicle) has been in production significantly longer, but it's not a car. I think Mercer is probably right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) I have always been a fan of small, simple, easy to maintain and drive cars. Not a big VW fan but I definitely see a great deal of merit in much of VW's engineering. I just have a personal dislike of rear engine layouts . Porsche 914 was a superior version of the basic VW building blocks.. A lesser Porsche without a doubt , but at the same time an uberVW. In the same light I see the Boxter or Cayman as an advance on the 911 family. Just not simple or basic in any regard and therefore will never be something I will own. It is still a mystery to me why a increasing percentage of the general public feel they need a SUV or full sized pick up as a daily transport vehicle. As work trucks , fine. But for mom to pick up the kids from school it just seems so excessive. Great video ! Almost anyone who grew up in the 1950's / 60's has VW memories. Just my 2 cents, Greg in Canada Edited January 8, 2020 by 1912Staver (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) 15 hours ago, capngrog said: Here's a short (90 sec.) video, produced by VW, titled "The Last Mile". It's a nice tribute to the air-cooled VW Bug. Cheers, Grog This was a tribute to the VW Beetle air cooled AND water cooled. It's interesting that they used a air cooled Beetle instead of the last water cooled Beetle in the add. The last air cooled Beetle was made in 2003 and sold as a 2004 model. The 70 years on the license plate is interesting. The final shape of the beetle and limited production before the war begins in 1938 so that makes it 82. Most VW enthusiast just like their Porsche brothers don't consider water cooled VW's or Porsche's a VW or Porsche. This is completely understandable through years of brand imaging and telling the brands story. Remember the guy standing there in the mid 60's VW advertisement with the VW's front bonnet up with steam coming out and the caption says "IMPOSSIBLE". Or the picture of a VW and next to it were a radiator, water pump, hoses, thermostat, heater core, and a car frame saying why carry all this useless stuff around! Below a nice bunch of VW's driving past Berlin's Victory column in 1938; ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We had a symbol for this pretender from Audi when it came out 🚫 Edited January 8, 2020 by Pfeil (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithb7 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 (edited) I owned a 1968 Beetle back in about 1990. I was broke and in trade school. It was in a poor state of repair however it just kept going. It got me back and forth to school everyday. About a 1 hour commute each way. At times I wished I had I kept it. It would have been a fun restoration over the years. But, marriage young family and bills take priority. Today I re-entered the old car hobby with a couple of old Mopars. I am happy and proud to drive them. The Beetle is iconic, however for some reason I don’t get real excited about driving one. Pretty bland but certainly a reliable, proven, people mover car. Edited January 8, 2020 by keithb7 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Man Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Anybody watch the video of the VW robotic recharging center? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMC1H__xL3Y Love the Beetle driving by.... PS my 12 year old son wants a air cooled Beetle, they will be collector cars for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlier Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 As a VW enthusiast and owner for more than 40 years, I very much enjoyed the video. The video incorporated a number of VW advertising themes from over the years ("Think Small", "Not a Lemon") and is also foretelling the future. The appearance of wind turbines not once, not twice but THREE times in this video and the Beetle looking at them tells me that Volkswagen has plans to re-introduce a plug-in EV Beetle in a few years. That is not a matter of IF but of WHEN. IMHO, the reason VW used the image of the Air Cooled Beetle is simple. The Air Cooled Beetle evokes much more emotion than a modern water cooled model would and is an icon recognized by old and young alike. Don't be surprised that when VW introduces the EV Beetle they dust off images of the Air Cooled Beetle for their AD campaign like they did when the "New Beetle" was introduced in 1998. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 The air-cooled Beetle makes a good EV conversion, because it's easy to bolt an electric motor to the transmission. You could put batteries in the front storage area. Far from ideal for battery storage, not enough room or lay-out for a good "battery pack." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe in Canada Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 (edited) 16 hours ago, mercer09 said: pretty much the longest production car in history.............. if Im not mistaken. I believe that title goes to the Chevy Suburban and still going from 1935. Edited January 9, 2020 by Joe in Canada (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 1 hour ago, mike6024 said: The air-cooled Beetle makes a good EV conversion, because it's easy to bolt an electric motor to the transmission. You could put batteries in the front storage area. Far from ideal for battery storage, not enough room or lay-out for a good "battery pack." Yeah, Great in a front end collision. And those batteries are not enough, you need them in the engine compartment above the "E" motor - "if you've ever seen the conversions". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 54 minutes ago, Joe in Canada said: I believe that title goes to the Chevy Suburban and still going from 1935. In name only yes, but platform changes are many. It's not really the same car. Real VW production ( air cooled) from 1938-2003-4 is on the same basic platform 1938–2003: 21,529,464 built. Did you know you could take the engine out of the 2004 Beetle and install it in a 1938 Beetle with just small parts changing. The thing is-it just bolts up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I enjoyed my '74 1600 when I owned it. Took a few long freeway drives at 80 mph which was hard on the engine and the valves got tight. Around town was great, like the handling, stiff torsion springs, light weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 the VW was the model T of Germany. Put them on the map and yes, Hitler was behind it's production............... before I could legally drive, we bought them for around 50. and would rip the fenders off, put a 4 into one header on and bash the hell out of them- often putting them on two side wheels and driving across back fields. they were virtually indestructible and loved high revs-redline! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuhner Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I still have a 56 beetle. We love it. Ive owned a VW pretty much my whole driving life. Too many beetles to count, could change an engine in about an hour by myself in the driveway, always kept a spare. Great video, I think someone was peeling onions when I watched it.... greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 (edited) I've owned this 1965 Sea Blue Type 111, 1200"A" Custom for 52 years. Bought it in the 12th grade. It's a matching #'s car. The 1200 Custom is a model not sold in U.S. and is in-between the standard model and the 113 deluxe. I've owned this 1964 Type 113 Deluxe in the picture below to the rt. for 45 years; When I worked in a VW dealership my fastest engine removal on a 1200 was 7- 1/2 minutes. Edited January 14, 2020 by Pfeil the bottom picture keeps disappearing (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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