Cult bug classic basks in final glory

The old Beetle enjoyed one last moment of newness again, as Volkswagen yesterday unveiled the Last Edition of the bug, a cult classic the company plans to stop producing in a few weeks.

The presentation of the "new" model came under a cavernous white tent next to the Volkswagen plant in the central Mexican city of Puebla yesterday, the last factory still producing the little cars.

After July 30, when the last one rolls off the production line, nearly 70 years of automotive history perhaps the best known, best loved and biggest selling car of all time comes to an end.

The last edition of the bug has a retro look, with chrome trim from bumper to bumper, whitewall tires and CD player, but it also stays true to the car's roots. It is still a four cylinder, manual transmission vehicle that weighs less than 1,780lbs.

It comes in only two colours, a reminder to drivers that when bugs first started hitting the streets, "aquatic blue" and "lunar beige" were the only colours available.

Armando Pasillas, a 60-year-old factory worker who has been building bugs in Puebla since 1967, drove a last edition Beetle into the tent, then stood beaming as journalists from around the world swarmed the vehicle.

"You feel a little sad because it's finally over," said Pasillas, who started at the plant three years after the bug made its debut in Mexico. "We knew this day was coming for years, and now it has arrived. All there is to do now is move forward."

Over the years, the back windscreen got wider, the tail lights and bumper got bigger and the frame became more compact to make the bulbous bug slightly more aerodynamic.

But the model has remained little changed since designers pieced together its first prototype in Nazi Germany in 1934 and introduced it to the German market as "The Sedan" after the Second World War.

Production for the US market stopped in 1977 because the car's rear, air-cooled engine did not meet safety and emissions standards. The plant in Puebla, 65 miles south-east of Mexico City, was the only place the old Beetle was still rolling off the assembly line.

The bug remained wildly popular all over Mexico for decades, but its sales slipped as the North American Free Trade Agreement allowed competitors to flood the Mexican market with other cheap vehicles.

Then, last year, Mexico City officials ordered all new taxis in the capital to have four doors.

While the "vocho", Mexico's Spanish nickname for the bug, is not specifically banned, the new rule effectively means it will slowly disappear.

The green and white taxis, usually with their front passenger seat ripped out, had been a symbol of the city.

But their outdated engines contributed to the Mexican capital's high smog levels. They were also popular with kidnappers. Trapped behind the driver and with the assailant blocking the passenger door, victims could not escape.

Still, the Beetle will remain a fond memory for most Mexicans.

Carlos Sanchez, a 23-year-old taxi driver who steers a bug taxi through Mexico City's congested streets six days a week, said the world has not seen the last of the old Beetle.

"It never fails, it just keeps on going. It will be 10, maybe 15 years before it's time to buy a new car," Sanchez said of his bug.

"By then, Volkswagen probably will have changed its mind and will be producing the vocho again."

Volkswagen plans to produce 3,000 last editions and the last Beetle will roll off the assembly line on July 30.

Jens Neumann, president of Volkswagen's North American region, said 2,999 of the cars will be sold for 7,000 each, slightly more than the Beetle's current 6,500 price tag. The last car will be sent to the old Beetle's birthplace in Wolfsburg, Germany.