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May 28, 2005
is it still a pod if it's all flattened out?
i wasn't thrilled in 2001 when they changed the mirrors on the new beetle. the original mirrors, although less practical, were clearly drawn along the same lines as the original beetle's mirrors.
i feel very passionate about the design of the new beetle. i think the original design was a work of genius-- a design that is so clearly beetle, yet really, if you look at it, actually looks nothing like the original. every curve is a perfect circle, and every surface is a curve. the interior, far superior to all interiors in its price range and to many above its price range, is equally genius.
over the years, vw has changed the new beetle more and more. the mirrors were the first really big change. the new mirrors are safer and more practical (the original mirror design can block the driver's view at certain critical moments if the driver isn't very careful), but not at all in keeping with the original beetle's mirror design. vw basically tacked modern car mirrors onto a decidedly retro car. feh.
well, now in the 2006 model year, they've started to flatten out the curves. i don't hate it, but its distressing that the beetle strays further and further from the original design. the original designer of the car hasn't worked for vw/audi since the beetle went production, and i've learned not to trust the people now in charge of the design.
curious? someone has posted photos of the 2006 beetle to flickr.
i will say that the new beetle convertible is well-executed. the top, when folded, sits on top of the trunk, which is one of the things that gave the original beetle convertible its distinctive look. (modern convertibles almost never do this.) the color schemes introduced for the convertible have had a retro feel-- soft pastels, and a limited edition with a black body and decidedly old-school red leather seats and red top.
as has been noted on the new beetle mailing list, the color scheme for the beetle sedan has lost a lot of its life. metallic neutrals are now more common, rather than bright crayola colors. the car looks good painted almost any color (except the appalling luna green-- fortunately a limited run-- basically white with just enough green to be confusing). but the spirit of the bug demands a certain color palette. it's either got to be a bright little round jewel, or the color that truly makes it look like a jetsons car-- silver.
of course, these unfortunate changes just make the early models all the more special. i hope to keep spacepod for the rest of my life-- and one day, long after he's no longer my daily driver, he'll go to a vw show and we will show them what a new beetle is really supposed to look like.
Posted by lisa at May 28, 2005 07:13 PM | TrackBack
Comments
I saw a black and red convertible last night at the dealership in Durham! It was nighttime so I wasn't sure I had seen correctly, but it sure looked like a black beetle with a red roof.
Also I agree about luna green. I think I saw one once, and my reaction was to think there was something wrong with my sunglasses, they were tinted too green.
Posted by: Sarah on May 29, 2005 08:35 AM
ok, just looked at those pictures. You're right, the hard edges are kind of a bummer. I don't know why but I get a huge 80s feel from it. Like if they had been making the beetle in the 80s, that's what it might have looked like. The elongated front & rear lights remind me of the Dodge Neon.
Posted by: Sarah on May 29, 2005 08:43 AM
i love the black and red look, but in a convertible in NC, it seems like it would be SO hot in the summer. if i ever got a new beetle convertible, i'd probably want one of the pastel colors. there's a robins-egg-blue with pale gray interior and top that i'm very fond of, and the beige-on-beige, white with beige interior and top, or pale butter yellow with gray interior and top are all very pretty too.
Posted by: lisa on May 29, 2005 08:54 AM
Okay, those flat edges are WEIRD. When Stephanie told me about it, I was going to keep at open mind, but that's just strange-looking. I was hoping that they'd imitate that original beetle just a bit more (I still adore them) but this certainly isn't that. Gak.
Posted by: Steph Mineart on May 29, 2005 10:39 AM
I'm not a fan of the flat fenders, but the front and rear bumpers look interesting -- I'd like to see it with a retro chrome bumper added to it. (My dad wants to do that to Phoebe, but I'm uncertain about putting holes in her when I don't know what it would look like.)
You already know how much I love Aquarius Blue on the convertible... :-)
Re: new colors -- whatever happened to black?!
Posted by: Stephanie on May 29, 2005 12:23 PM
are they not offering black any longer as a color choice? that would be really weird. black is classic!
Posted by: lisa on May 29, 2005 12:51 PM
According to the lists of colors that were posted to the list, they aren't offering black. I guess that just makes Phoebe more retro or something....
Posted by: Stephanie on May 30, 2005 11:18 AM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.