Hitler came up with the IDEA but Ferdinan Porsche developed the Beetle..... THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!!!

 

close enough in my book..........

 

the reason why this car was so sucessful is because it was one of Porsche's very first designs. It was based off of the 356A and it within itself was a legend.

You can run downhill in a vega and hit over 100, it's the nostaliga that you cannot buy, reproduce, or forget. If you don't think it revolutionized the world, ask the members of the German army how much they helped out. Without Porsche, The beetle would not have touched so many people's lives. If nostalgia means nothing to you, then you need not harbor memories at all.

 

Very well said!

 

That comment alone has me thinking of all kinds of responses but I'll just keep most all of them to myself except this one:

"that is like saying that all of europe is at fault for the 9/11 bombings because they are 'close enough' to the middle east!!!!

 

Whoa. How old are you guys? I'm 18, young enough not to care about the Beetle or about how many lives it touched. To me, it will always be a crappy car that automatically makes me think of ultra-liberals and hippies (not a good thing).

"If nostalgia means nothing to you, then you need not harbor memories at all." Please. Save me the new-age BS. That's right. I don't care about the Beetle, I don't care about muscle cars, etc.

I'm interested in the high-tech cars of today, showcasing current technology and the talent behind them. Not some ugly tin jelly bean from 500 years ago.

Pretty sad that people are wasting their time defending the Beetle. But to each his own, I guess.

 

The opposite could also be said....but I agree with you on the last point, to each his own.

 

Maybe it would be more appropriate for me to say that it's sad that people are wasting their time mourning the loss of the Beetle. . .

 

LOL, that wasn't what I meant.

 

I get the feeling that I'm being taken a little too seriously here..... It's just the fact that this vehicle was born of a concept of a "people's car" dreamed up by the Fuhrer, that's all. It's obvious that Ferdinand designed/built the thing. Believe it or not, I actually know a couple of Jewish families that refuse to buy VW/Porsche/Audi vehicles for this very reason. A bit of overkill to me, but hey

 

I know what you meant.

 

To me, that is like the folks who refuse to buy a Ford product because of all the needless deaths form the Pinto (for those that don't know, Ford exec's KNEW that people would die but calculated it would be cheaper to pay out the lawsuits they'd receive instead of doing a recall - big thing covered in just about any Ethics class)


The bottom line is that so many companies participated in something unethical during war times and so many other companies do unethical things but they are still in business.... ...it is just the way of the world.

Most of the folks in charge of VW/Audi/Porsche today had nothing to do with WWII anyway....

Then again, I'm not Jewish so it doesn't affect me emotionaly or personally (WWII and Hitler that is)

 

I just saw your posts. I happen to live in Mexico City and was fortunate enough to be invited by a VW friend to view the last VW Bug made at their plant. It has been on display at the factory for a few days. They are selling versions of this last Bug complete white whitehalls and chrome for $8,000, about $2,000 over the normal price. Several of my European friends have bought these with my help and are arranging to ship them to Europe. You see, VW Bugs have not been sold anywhere but Mexico since 1998.

 

Some company over here tried selling the mexico beetles over here a few years back. With all the import duties and tax the price was more than 20k.

 

Very true.

Had several American friends who would come across the border to 'upgrade' their 60s/70s Bugs. I have an American friend who bought one of the final versions I was talking about. He changed all the VIN numbers on the car to match his old Bug, which he sold for scrap here, and then took it back across the border.

As much as I respect the Bug, the manufacturing at their Puebla Mexico plant is the pits. Nobody everyone wants a German-made Passat here.