Volkswagen's New Beetle never could have equaled the performance of its predecessor - the original Beetle sold 21.5 million units over fifty-eight years - but, in modern terms at least, its eleven-year run has been a long one. First introduced in 1998, the New Beetle initially met with great fanfare (in the United States, if not in Germany), but by 2009, sales dropped to an all-time low of fewer than 15,000 units in the U.S. So the marketing strategists have decided to pull the plug, effective this summer.
The car's sales, however, were still good enough to earn an encore. The new New Beetle is due to appear in spring 2011 and will, like its predecessor, be built in Puebla, Mexico. It will adopt suspension components from the last-generation Golf. U.S. buyers will choose from three familiar engines: a 2.5-liter five-cylinder (170 hp), a 2.0-liter turbo unit (200 hp), and a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel (140 hp). Transmission choices will include manuals and dual-clutch automatics with up to seven speeds.
Subscribe
2010 Chicago Auto Show Photo Gallery
2011 BMW 335is Photo Gallery
2011 BMW 5-Series Photo Gallery
2010 Detroit Auto Show Photo Gallery
Read Article