1998-2008 Volkswagen Beetle

The 1998-2008 Volkswagen Beetle was a New Beetle -- in both design and name -- for a new generation.

For a car that was an instant sensation, the 1998 Volkswagen Beetle -- officially named by VW the New Beetle -- had a bumpy journey from concept to production. Volkswagen in fact initially resisted the idea of a resurrected Bug, then nearly scuttled the project early in its gestation.

But when company decision makers finally saw the appeal instantly recognized by outsiders, Volkswagen committed to building a better Beetle than anyone could have hoped for.

The New Beetle was unveiled as the Concept 1 during the 1994 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Clearly recognizable as a retro Beetle, the design study was an instant sensation and the public begged Volkswagen to build it. This passionate reaction completely surprised Volkswagen, for the company had treated Concept 1 as a whimsical indulgence.

The New Beetle would share more than 80 percent of its underlying components with the Golf, but in areas where it could be made better, it was. Finally, on January 5, 1998 -- again at the Detroit auto show -- Volkswagen unveiled the production New Beetle. It was the automotive event of the year.

Hundreds of reporters swarmed the exhibit, which featured two-door hatchback New Beetles in every production color: white, red, black, yellow, plus metallic silver, bright blue, dark blue, and green. Newspapers published front-page pictures. German TV broadcast the ceremony live.

As the first Volkswagen New Beetles hit the streets, greeted by smiles and thumbs-up from nearly every onlooker, it was clear the car's emotional appeal and fun-to-drive nature was strong enough to overcome its skimpy rear seat and visibility blind spots.

Even loaded with just about every option, it listed for under $20,000. The only problem was finding a dealer willing to sell one at anything near list price.

By design, however, supply would never approach that of the original Beetle, or even of Volkswagen's concurrent Golf and Jetta. The Mexico plant was to turn out just 100,000 New Beetles annually, only 50,000 of them for North American sale.

To sustain interest in the car, Volkswagen talked of a 150-horsepower turbocharged gas four-cylinder option, then a model with a big fold-back sunroof, followed by a genuine convertible and perhaps even a Sport Beetle with a lowered suspension, all-wheel drive, and nearly 200 horsepower courtesy of Volkswagen's narrow-angle VR6 six-cylinder engine.

Some of these plans would come to fruition, some did not. But the Volkswagen New Beetle would echo the true Beetle ethic by changing very little on the outside, while enjoying refinements and enhancements beneath the skin.

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Opinion: Don't panic, Volkswagen!

Despite the harsh criticism threatening Volkswagen in Europe and America, DW columnist Zhang Danhong, in an open letter to VW, expresses confidence that Chinese car buyers will stay loyal to the brand.

Dear Volkswagen Group,

I know you're having a tough time right now. At the moment, you're the bad guys, the target of concentrated media attention of the least desirable kind: You're the scandal of the day. Journalists are working overtime on articles, op-eds and analyses, covering the full gamut of speculation about what the implications of your diesel emissions scam might prove to be.

And there's plenty to speculate about. Even the company's possible bankruptcy has been mooted! Two things could lead to your demise: Car buyers could boycott your brand, or class-action lawsuits in the USA could wipe out your balance sheet. As a side effect, the cherished reputational capital of "Made in Germany," built up over generations, could be dragged into the abyss along with VW's brand. I can well understand the doom-and-despair mood in Wolfsburg at the moment.

But: Chin up, VW! You won't go over a cliff. Your salvation has a name: China. First, because the Chinese market - your most important market - is hardly affected by the diesel emissions scam. Second, because as a German company, you've been profiting for years from the grand mythos of Germany that prevails in China, and you'll continue to do so.

I've explored in a previous column the reasons why Germany is economically successful - and why many Chinese idealise Germany as a nearly corruption-free political-economic nirvana. Scandals like the interminable delays and screwups associated with the construction of BER, the new Berlin airport, haven't tarnished Chinese faith in German virtues. On the contrary: Some Chinese actually see the controversy around such phenomena as a sign of the strict supervision and sense of responsibility of the country's supervisory boards.

This time around, you'll be able to count on the Chinese once again. The auto industry expert Zhong Shi, who is very well known in China - he's Ferdinand Dudenhöffer's Chinese equivalent - indirectly expressed his empathy for your emissions scam. As he sees it, VW overtook Toyota as the world's biggest-selling automotive group in the first half of this year, a corporate goal it achieved three years ahead of VW's target date for that marvellous milestone. To keep its nose ahead, VW, according to Zhong, had to drastically increase sales of diesel automobiles in North America. This explained, in his view, why the Germans sought to achieve a sales breakthrough with a bit of trickery. The means justified the ends: The fact that VW absolutely wanted to become Number One in the world - and stay Number One - impresses the Chinese hugely. After all, anything else would be second-class - and Germans don't do second-class.

It's the Americans' fault

Zhong also came close to suggesting the strict emissions standards in the USA were co-responsible for your disaster. He said: "Even though VW has advanced emissions control technology, it's nevertheless difficult to meet California's clean-air standards. That's why VW came up with the idea of using software to manipulate emissions test results."

Others were more direct. "If the Germans can't meet the standards, then the standards are simply unrealistic," wrote a Chinese commenter.

For many Chinese, Americans are the incarnation of evil. In the same way they've been trying to trip up China on its way to world leadership, they've also been using underhanded methods to undermine their competition. "Last year they weakened Toyota; this year it's VW's turn," wrote a commenter on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, referring to a 2014 controversy in the US alleging sticky throttles on Toyotas.

DW columnist Zhang Danhong was born in Beijing and has lived in Germany for more than 20 years.

Once VW has been cast in the victim's role, all restraints on the sympathy of the Chinese for Volkswagen are unbound. An editorialist from the respected Caixin Group, a financial and business media service, rejected the use of the term "swindlers" in reference to VW, used the word "cheating" in reference to your scam only in quotation marks, and went on to say that if you did indeed "cheat", then surely it will turn out that everyone did so.

I expect you'll be so moved you'll break out in grateful tears when I reveal his concluding remarks: The US Environmental Protection Agency, he pointed out, had actually only asked for an explanation from your company asking why the diesel emissions test results measured in the laboratory were different from the emissions measured under road-driving conditions. But Volkswagen immediately admitted the existence of the deceitful software: "That's how honest the Germans are!"

This distortion of the facts went too far even for some Germany-loving Chinese. "Quite honestly, they (VW) committed a fraud on the world," a commenter posted in response to the Caixin piece.

The Japanese shouldn't get their hopes up

Yes, the image of honest and trustworthy Germans may have taken something of a hit even in China. But Asians' deeply rooted preference for German products won't change much, in the view of auto industry observer Zhong Shi. Your cars are unavoidable in the Middle Kingdom: in the first eight months of this year, six VW models were among the top 10 highest-selling cars in China. You needn't worry that large numbers of Chinese will turn away from your brand because of the emissions scandal. They'll stay true to you - not least because of a lack of plausible alternatives, because for many Chinese, buying a car from the despised Japanese simply isn't an option.

With China in the bag, you've already won half the upcoming battle. With the money earned there, you'll be able to pay the American lawyers attacking you with class-action lawsuits, and deal with the outlandish settlements they'll demand. Beyond that, you know from the experience of the tobacco companies that the German state won't allow a major tax revenue source to dry up.

The moral outrage will ebb away as well - after all, the media will soon discover some other scandal or controversy to hype and obsess over. And so I repeat: Chin up, Volkswagen! Things will work out after all.

Respectfully

Zhang Danhong

Zhang Danhong was born in Beijing and has lived in Germany for more than 20 years.

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Uruguay's Mujica mulls million-dollar bid for his old VW Beetle

President Jose Mujica's 1987 VW Beetle, in Uruguayan sky blue, has become a symbol of his intentionally austere lifestyle. An Arab sheikh has reportedly offered well over the trade-in value for the cult car.

The market value for used cars, especially aging ones that begin to regain value as classics, can be difficult to pinpoint, but very few 1987 Volkswagen Beetles could ever fetch $1 million (807,000 euros), anywhere in the world.

Uruguayan weekly paper "Busqueda" reported that President Jose Mujica's sky-blue VW Bug is an exception to this rule, reporting that the president had received several international offers. Once nicknamed "the poorest president on earth" because of his demonstrative efforts to live on modest means, Mujica's Beetle became a symbol of the leftist leader's personal austerity.

After "Busqueda" reported that an Arab sheikh offered $1 million for the car during the G77 summit in Bolivia this June, the president told a news conference in Montevideo: "That's what they said to me, but I didn't give it any importance."

Mexico's ambassador to Uruguay, Felipe Enriquez, recently suggested at an informal chat that Mujica could fetch a great return for the car at auction. He said he would be willing to swap 10 four-wheel drive pickups for the blue Bug, telling Busqueda that he made the offer as a "profound admirer of President Mujica, his heritage, his human values, his real solidarity with those most in need, to whom he gives most of his salary as head of state."

'No commitment to cars'

Mujica told reporters that if he were to receive $1 million for the Beetle, he would donate it to a charity he supports that provides housing to the homeless. If the offer of vehicles in exchange for the Bug were to win out, Mujica said they could go to the public health office or his campaign workers.

Having "no commitment to cars," the 79-year-old said he would gladly sell the car at auction, but acknowledged that he understood why others might pay an inflated price: "Human beings have a bit of fetishism; we need certain material symbols." He likened it to two of his prized possessions with no real worldly value, a hammer and shovel that belonged to his father. "They are little things to the world, but are worth a lot to you."

On assuming the presidency in 2010, Mujica famously declared that it was effectively all his worldly wealth. The flower farm he lives on was in his wife's name at the time. He donates around 20 percent of his total monthly income, now declared at around $11,000 per month including the farm's revenue, to his political movement.

Mujica, nicknamed "Pepe," has also made headlines during his term for legalizing marijuana , abortion and gay marriage. He cannot stand for re-election, owing to a constitutional ban on presidents serving back-to-back terms. His successor will be decided in a runoff election on November 30.

msh/sms (AFP, AP, dpa)

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