You've already been rocked with "Beatle-mania" as the three remaining members of the Fab Four have reunited for a reprise roll down Nostalgia Lane.
Now get ready for "Beetlemania" as the car that defined the '60s from an automotive perspective as much as the Beatles did culturally, gets ready for an encore.Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech made it official Monday at the Tokyo Auto Show that the VW Concept 1 car - first seen at last year's Detroit Auto Show to shouts of joy - will be built at VW's plant in Puebla, Mexico.
As everyone who attends auto shows knows, concept cars almost never go any further than the spotlighted turnstile. Car companies build these one-off "wish list" cars to garner some publicity and show that their company or division has a vision for the future.
That was initially thought to be the Concept 1's agenda, but VW has decided that the furor created by the show car cannot be ignored by a company that hasn't generated much public enthusiasm for a decade or two.
The Concept 1 is an updating of the venerable VW Beetle, the import that virtually invented the small car concept in the late '50s in America and then dominated it until 1980 when the Beetle bowed out and the Rabbit - now called the Golf - replaced it.
But nothing could really replace the beloved Bug, and certainly not the Rabbit/
Golf, a car that was eventually all but totaled in a collision with the Japanese demolition derby team Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Datsun/Nissan.
Now the Bug is apparently coming back, although whether as a true, inexpensive "people's car" or as a limited edition (read "expensive") showpiece, remains to be seen.
Jens Neumann, VW's board member for North America, where most sales are expected, has been quoted in the press as saying the Concept 1 will be designed for the widest possible market, like the original Beetle. He says the new car will be produced in an array of engine and equipment levels to span the range from mass transportation to urban yuppies. However, unlike the original, the Concept 1 will have a front-mounted engine.
But in Europe, Neumann has said the C-1 would likely be marketed as a prestige "fun car" - implying it will be a toy for people who want to give their Mercedes' and BMWs a rest on Sunday afternoon.
Pricing is the key, of course, but there has been no mention of price, nor volume nor even a firm start-up date. In its announcement Monday, VW would only say that production will begin at the Mexico plant "before the year 2000." For what it's worth, the automotive press has said that VW "insiders" have speculated that the neo-Beetle could be on the streets as early as 1998.
The C-1 is a product of Volkswagen's design studio in Simi Valley, Calif. The car's Beetle ancestry is obvious from all sides but the new version will include such modern safety amenities as air bags, anti-lock brakes and side-collision protection.
The C-1 is larger than the old Beetle with a longer, flatter hood engineered to meet crash protection standards. The interior is also changed to give passengers more space. While the original Bug had generous head room - making it a favorite for tall people - its quarters were tight everywhere else.
Actually, all these past-tense comparisons with the old Beetle are misplaced. Despite its near-antique status in this country, the original Beetle is still being built by VW's Mexican division and was recently put back into production in Brazil.
VW claims the Beetle is the world's all-time best-seller and it's still going strong (although not in the United States) with
production at the Puebla plant topping 90,000 units last year. Overall, VW has sold more than 21 million units since the Beetle's commercial introduction in 1945, having been developed during the war right alongside Messerschmitts and Tiger Panzers.
In Germany, the Beetle is said to be enjoying a revival as the 1970s fashion craze bubbles along. Although VW no longer sells the car in Europe, demand for the imported versions is strong.
In his remarks Monday in Tokyo, Piech said VW decided against keeping the car under wraps while it was developed in favor of taking public input on the final design. "We invite you to take an active role. This exemplifies the customer orientation of the Volkswagen Group," he said at a press conference.
Piech advised journalists that while they are looking at the C-1 they should "bear in mind that the memories of yesterday can also form the basis for the dreams of tomorrow. The Concept 1 embodies a vision that redefines the memories of yesteryear."
In attempting to bring the dream into harmony with today's government-regulated reality, a VW spokesman said the technical challenges of the C-1 project were formidable but have been overcome as designers have retained the unmistakable look of the original in a modern car that meets safety and environmental requirements.
In a bit of poetic license, the spokesman described the Concept 1 as a car that "illustrates the philosophy of life of its owner: individualist, lighthearted, youthful and non-aggressive."
I owned two Beetles during the 1960s but I don't recall feeling any of those things. Mainly, the Beetle was my car of choice because it was small, fun to drive and got great gas mileage in an era when Detroit paid small attention to such things.
But, I must admit, it also was an image thing. The VW Beetle is the only car I know that rich people would buy because it was a cooler car to own than others costing thousands more. For a time, car status was available to the masses.
When the Concept 1 comes to your local VW dealer, maybe it will be again.