Official press release from VWs corporate media site.
30 July 2003
GOODBYE BEETLE!

This Wednesday the last Beetle left the production line at Volkswagen de México in Puebla. The Mexican workforce gave a festive farewell for the 21,529,464th Beetle with flowers and mariachi music. The best-selling model will now make a last journey over the Atlantic to Wolfsburg where it will have a place of honour in the Automuseum.

At 9:05 am Mexican time the Beetle production line was stopped. This signalled the end to almost 68 years of a unique success story in global automobile history. In recent years Mexico has been the only country in which the legendary Beetle, known in Mexico as the "Vocho", was still in production. The Beetle made Volkswagen world famous and was seen as a symbol of Germany's economic upturn.

In a short address, Reinhardt Jung, Chairman of the Volkswagen de México Board of Management, thanked the Mexican staff "who had not only worked in the production of a car, but also in the creation of a legend. A legend that would endure in the hearts and minds of all people for whom the Beetle had been a companion on their journeys".

The last Beetle is an Aquarius blue "Última Edición", has a 1.6 l petrol engine, and delivers a power output of 34 kW. It has chrome strips and chrome exterior parts, such as bumpers, hubcaps, and mirrors. Colour-coded wheels, the "Última Edición" emblem on the glove compartment lid, and the Wolfsburg emblem above the engine compartment lid round off the look.

The limited-edition "Última Edición", of which only 3 000 have been built, had been very well received by customers and was practically sold out, said Jung. Only the last Beetle was not for sale and would be taking up residence in the Automuseum in Wolfsburg.

The Beetle has been produced in more than 20 countries worldwide. In Germany alone, where production ceased in 1978, more than 16.2 million Beetles were built. In Mexico, where production of the "Vocho" had continued uninterrupted for 39 years, almost 1.7 million have left the factory.

 

Wow..those production quantities will probably never again be duplicated....GUINESS BOOK OF RECORDS..

 

longest production run in automotive history at 68 years!!!!! WOW!!! and basically unchanged that whole time too!!!

 

Unchanged? they're almost completely different. The engine move from rear to front for example, the new ones have the sole purpose of nastalgia (sp?). Not to mention the turbo options and the different sport packages that came with the new ones too.

James

 

I think the article is talking about the original beetles. They were still being produced in Mexico.

 

Oh, damn thanks for the heads up. didnt know that they were still being made.

James

 

yes, that was for the old AIR cooled beetle..... they were being made still despite the new beetle also being made and the old one was basically unchanged externally for 68 years!!!! ....how about that for a long run? virtually unchanged for 68 years... only small things changed but not the body itself (no body redesigns)

 

It's the end of an era guys .

 

I don't see what the big deal is. Who cares if that pile of crap goes out of production? It was probably a decent ride four or five decades ago, but in today's world it was the most basic, utilitarian form of automotive transport, with virtually no redeeming qualities.

Too bad it was made into a cultural icon by. . .Eh, God only knows who is responsible for its popularity, but they should be punished. . .

Those things were unsafe, unrefined, and as low-tech a car as they come. The old Beetle was a vehicle desirable only to those living in poverty or 3rd-world nations. It was definetly time to move on.

 

I agree that these cars are trash in today's world, but like stated above, 68 years is longer than a lot of people live. Thats an impressive length of time, but yea these hippy mobiles do kinda suck nowadays.

James

 

Yes, it's quite amazing that they were in production for so long. I guess they only reason they were popular was because they were very inexpensive.

 

yup.. very inexpensive to make and there will still be many old beetle taxi cabs in Mexico for years to come because of it

 

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the Beetle did and forever changed the way every company built the automobile. I had 2 Beetle's and one of them would run a 12.7@114 mph on pump fuel(yes, with the bug 4 cyl air cooled flat 4...highly modified) but it was an awsome car. It is sad that it is gone. It will be missed.

 

I'm not so sure the Bug "forever changed the way" Toyota, Honda, etc. built the automobile. I guess the same could be said about Ford and the Model T.

Yeah, those Bug engines are really popular with the airboat industry down in the Everglades. They can make impressive power. I've just always hated the Beetle, sorry.

 

and to think that we have none other than Adolf Hitler himself to thank for the creation of this vehicle
not that it matters anymore.