Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Last ever VW Beetle model rolls off Mexican production line
German auto giant Volkswagen launched the final edition of its iconic "Beetle" car from its Mexican factory on Wednesday at a ceremony accompanied by a Mariachi band.
The bug-shaped sedan rolled off the production line to rapturous applause, the last iteration of a model first manufactured in the late 1930s in Germany and 1954 in Puebla, central Mexico.
"The loss of the Beetle after three generations and almost seven decades should provoke a wide variety of emotions," said Steffen Reiche, the CEO of Volkswagen Mexico.
[...] Dozens of factory workers had turned up from early morning to put the final touches on the car, which was unveiled after seven hours of work.
The employees wore bright yellow tops bearing the words: Thanks Beetle, as the unveiling proceeded in a festive atmosphere tinged with nostalgia for a car that has generated a loyal following like almost no other.
"Who couldn't want a car like this, made with Mexican hands?" said Roberto Benitez, a 40-year-old production technician.
"It's always sad, you feel like part of one. That's the daily work, full shifts to get the best results, it makes me proud," added Francisco Bueno, a 25-year-old employee.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by EvilSS on Friday July 12 2019, @01:00PM (3 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 12 2019, @01:59PM (2 children)
Yeah, my first thought was, why make no electric beetle?
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday July 12 2019, @02:50PM (1 child)
Because it's our job to squash bugs when the crop up in the electronics. :O 8D
This sig for rent.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday July 13 2019, @01:01AM
You know what a Mexican word for "beetle" is? Mayate. And Mayates are what all Mexicans are no matter their skin color.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 12 2019, @02:20PM
I've been seeing the same headline for 25 years.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday July 12 2019, @04:22PM (4 children)
The re-vamped Beetle looked great from the outside, but was terribly cramped inside for the driver and passengers. Anyone larger than Pygmies were forced to ride bent double to conform to the curves the body designers decided were beautiful.
So, hybrid or not, electric or not, the Beetle is just a failed vehicle. (FWIW, it's not because it's small, either. The Honda Fit and Mini Cooper are both pretty comfortable for even tall, broad-shouldered men.)
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Friday July 12 2019, @06:59PM
It looked pretty good but not much like a Beetle to me. In that sense I'm a luddite because I feel that aesthetically, the older a car design is, the better it usually looks, even going right back to the 1920s and 30s.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 13 2019, @04:10AM (1 child)
The re-vamped Beetle is/was an overweight piece-o-shit plasticky imposter. The original Beetles were steel body-on-frame, had rear-mounted, air-cooled engines, and were rear-wheel drive. Brain-dead easy to work on & maintain.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Saturday July 13 2019, @04:24AM
But also responsible for a significant amount of the Mexico city (and others) pollution and deaths.
an icon, but not a perfect vehicle
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 14 2019, @08:49PM
it's a fucking Audi A3 on the inside. The entire is in the front, the trunk in the back. It was a call to nostalgia and nothing else.
The beetle should have ended in 2003, not 2019 as the same sort of mockery modern television and cinema have turned into.
(Score: 1) by Coward, Anonymous on Saturday July 13 2019, @09:17PM
Do they offer swastika ornaments and a red/black/white color scheme?