After more than 10 years and 1 million sales, production of the New Beetle will soon end. A 'Final Edition' version has just gone on sale in the USA.

However all is not lost. Trickle sales will continue in Australia for the rest of this year (we only buy around 500 a year here, one New Beetle for every 25 Golfs sold).

And 2010 will see the arrival of the Mk2 New Beetle, based on the latest Golf platform and mechanicals, with a restyled body. A new ridge in the front bonnet, and a more angular rear.

http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/news-and-reviews/car-news/beetle_bows_out 

mmm................was never a fan when they first came out

Anyway - the wife was up for a new car a year ago and she had her heart set on a diesel New Beetle

Have to say i am happy with the purchase - go as far as saying VERY happy

I am surprised they are saying it is the end though
Just seems Mk 2 (or 3 actually) evolvement process

Our 2004 cabrioo now has 180k on it and we love it. I hope they get a few things changed mind you but they are only little things like adding steering wheel audio and phone controls and things like that.

Yogie

For the Mk2 Beetle I reckon it really needs to be alternative body-shape option of a Golf, rather than a mish mash of platforms and engines like New Beetle was.

A more angular version of New Beetle, with GTi performance but at a similar or slightly cheaper price... I'd buy one !!!

Not a fan at all, and won't be sorry to see it go to be honest!
I would have been kinder towards them if it had'nt have been called a Beetle, and maybe they gave it a name like Golf / Jetta or whatever as it had zero in common with the original Beetle, except maybe the flower vase?!
A mate who had an original Beetle back in the day bought one as his wife wanted one....reckoned it drove ok but was overpriced compared to similar spec cars just because it was a 'Beetle'.

Perhaps Volkswagen should go back to the original beetle and start building them again, but instead with a water-cooled boxer (suby?) engine and a few mod-cons like A/C and powersteering.

Volkswagen will NEVER NEVER NEVER make the original Beetle again. It's totally obsolete and doesn't meet modern design laws. It's over.

The New Beetle was always intended for the US market, as the Americans just never 'got' modern VWs. It was a way to get them into modern VWs but with the 'emotion' of the originals. It was the ideal way to connect with die-hard fans of air-cooled VWs who would never drive a Golf or a Passat. It worked - they sold a million of them to the Yanks. However the rest of the world, particularly Europe, didn't like them. Australia was the same - after the initial rush back in 2000, they've barely sold 500 a year here (the Golf sold over 12,000 here last year).

Yes the New Beetle was designed on the then-current late 1990s Mk4 Golf platform, which is what it still uses. Mk4 Golf technology is now outdated, which is why they are redesigning it to use the current Mk6 Golf platform (which is bigger). And yes, any mod cons that the Mk6 Golf has (sat nav, phone connectivity, Ipod, etc etc) it can have too, just like the Jetta, Eos, Tiguan, Golf Plus, Scirocco and the many SEATs, Audis and Skodas that are also based on the Golf.

I agree it's a bit strange to be reporting it 'bowing out' or having 'Final Editions' when it is just moving to the Mk2 version. Maybe there'll be a gap after the current edition ends and the new one starts. Or maybe the Telegraph is just sensationalist (surely not??)

Hiya Phil,

You can find more news reports on the Mk2 New Beetle by doing a Google search on '2010 New Beetle' or '2011 New Beetle'. There are some slightly different renderings out there.

Yes I think the New Beetle novelty has well and truly worn off now - maybe 'retro' cars are out of fashion again.