| On the road, the New VW Beetle provokes similarly | | | | 2.0-liter is smooth but an otherwise pedestrian |
| utopian responses. Described as a retro car, the new | | | | package of 115 horsepower at 5000 rpm and 122 lb/ft |
| beetle is like the aggressive modern car on the road. | | | | of torque at 2600 rpm. It delivers a top speed of 112 |
| In a press conference, Dr. Ferdinand Piech, chairman of | | | | mph and leisurely 0-60 acceleration claimed by |
| Volkswagen and grandson of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, | | | | Volkswagen at 11.5 seconds. Like earlier Beetle |
| the Father of Volkswagen vehicle, wasted no time in | | | | engines, this four-cylinder's power curve is dead flat, |
| firmly asserting that Volkswagen, the fourth largest | | | | delivering little more than heat and noise when run up |
| carmaker, has become a "world" company rather than | | | | to the 6500-rpm redline. |
| a strictly "German" company. And to prove his point, | | | | According to car enthusiasts, the 1.9-liter TDI turbo |
| he announced that the New Beetle, being built not in | | | | diesel package proved to be something of a surprise. |
| Germany but in Mexico, will be sold first in North | | | | The diesel's hard-chugging off-the-line performance is |
| America fully six months before it goes on sale in | | | | strong, and at interstate speeds its torque pulled away |
| Europe. | | | | from the gas engine on even a slight incline. Not only |
| The German media people, however, at the car's | | | | that, the turbo diesel quieter this time. The gas engine |
| press introduction, were not amused. | | | | has considerable induction noise and just a generally |
| In initial form, the New Beetle has two core VW Golf | | | | high level of thrash. |
| engine options, a 2.0-liter inline four and the 1.9-liter TDI | | | | Dr. Piech says in about a year, the New Beetle gets a |
| turbo diesel. The New Beetle power train remained its | | | | five-valve turbocharged inline four of 150 horsepower. |
| style and character as that in its 1939 forebear. There | | | | The New Beetle is available with either the |
| is an exception, however. In the front-engine, front drive | | | | aforementioned five-speed manual or a four-speed |
| New Beetle is everything backwards. | | | | automatic. But the one standard in Beetle tradition is |
| In other aspects, however, this little car's lineage points | | | | strictly observed. Like driving one of the '70s Beetle |
| straight back to the original pre-WWII "KdF-Wagen" or | | | | automatics, in the New Beetle nothing has changed. It is |
| that also "Kraft durch Freud Wagen," or | | | | automatic, while advantageous in bumper to bumper |
| Strength-Through-Joy car. The KdF was notable for | | | | sludge, spreads a very cold, very wet blanket over |
| its thrifty, reliable, intensely unexciting power. Even in | | | | whatever enthusiasm the stock engine can muster. |
| "hot" 1972 Super Beetle form, 60 mph was a long way | | | | Each part VW Bug parts of the New Beetle is built to |
| away over the horizon and patience, which is an | | | | fit the modern day concept of cars. |
| essential part of the driving experience. | | | | During its extraordinarily short development cycle, VW |
| The New Beetle's power train reproduces those same | | | | spent a $560 million bringing the New Beetle to Main |
| qualities, but in an updated way suitable to the era. The | | | | Street. |