Rumors and reports were circulating earlier this year that the iconic VW Beetle would be discontinued by the German car manufacturer.
Slow sales and seemingly soft demand for the cute little car appeared to be a warning signal that the Beetle would soon be squashed. But according to Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser, head of development at VW, it just isn’t so.
In remarks made at the 2015 New York International Auto Show to Motor Trend, Dr. Neusser assured that not only would the Beetle continue, there would be some interesting changes for the classic auto.
“Much More”So what’s in store for the Beetle of the future? Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neusser said:
.“It’s iconic and has a historical background. We think we can do much more with this car.”
The VW Beetle first made its appearance in 1938 and was produced as a “people’s car,” thus the name Volkswagen. The original idea and concept for the car was to provide a cheap and affordable car for the masses.
Since then the Beetle has gone on to be the longest running single model production car in the world. The Beetle’s solid engineering and early model easy DIY fix-it qualities made it a hit with many around the world, not to mention its instantly recognizable profile.
But with the “much more” statement by Neusser, just what is he referring to? For starters the Global Rallycross-like Beetle R-Line and Beetle Convertible denim will be soon in production.
Research and development at VW also has plans in the works for an electric Beetle and a hybrid Beetle. With the strong emphasis for cars that are environmentally friendly with superior mpg numbers, Volkswagen is getting ready to jump onto the bandwagon to meet demand.
Microbus On the WayDuring the 60s and 70s of the hippie movement, the Volkswagen Beetle and Microbus represented an antiestablishment statement by its owners. And Dr. Neusser wants to revitalize the old Microbus and bring it back into production.
He said:
.“We have two big pillars for the brand Volkswagen. One is Beetle, and one is the .”
The comeback of the Microbus has been around for decades but has never quite made it into production again, but if Nuesser has his way, the Microbus will be in production in the near future.
But there are some engineering obstacles that VW must hurdle if it is to produce a Microbus in the classic look.
.“To identify the genetic things of the microbus you have to look for a very small space between the A-pillar and the front end of the car, otherwise the hood is too long and it doesn’t look like a microbus.“That makes it hard, because this technical architecture of the Microbus with its rear engine is not anymore fitted to what we are doing with our mainstream architecture where we have the greatest flexibility of different power trains.”
Or in plain speech, they’ll have to figure out a way to place the engine so that it isn’t in the front of the Microbus.
Source:
MotorTrend