CLIFF LEPPKE'S CYBER SEAT

Ceremony Marks End of VW's Third-Gen Beetle Production

The last of 5,921 Final Edition Beetles rolled off a Puebla, Mexico assembly line this week.  VW marked the occasion with a ceremony on Wednesday, July 10.  This end-of-an-era auto heads to a Mexican VW museum.

When VW launched the New Beetle in 1998, scores of people lined up to get their hands on the bubbly-looking revival of VW’s signature auto.  Its U.S. sales peaked at more than 80,000 units and gradually tapered off.  This isn’t what VW meant when it said, “Think Small.”

For 2012, VW replaced New Bug with a sleeker longer, lower and wider Beetle.  The base five-cylinder model’s mediocre performance didn’t match the looks.  VW later offered a hotter turbocharged mill or the now besmirched diesel.  Either version enjoyed better steering, an independent rear suspension and a six-speed manual transmission.  VW sold more than 500,000 third-gen Beetles since 2012.  It built 1.2 millon New Beetles between 1998 and 2010.

Ultimately, the current Beetle shared the same fate as Fiat’s 500 and the Mini—slow sales.  Ending Beetle production allows VW to shift its resources to produce a smaller-than-Tiguan compact crossover.

Does this mean VW will never build another Beetle?  VW claims you should never say never.