New VW Beetle Debuts in New York

After more than a million sales globally since 1998, the New Beetle is, well, new again.

See the story from Autoweek here.

My first car was a candy apple red 1964 Beetle. It was falling apart and had been poorly treated, but it ran for a couple of years and was fun to drive.

The New Beetle was based on a concept car and felt a little odd with its huge, extended windshield, but it did its job of keeping Volkswagen on people's minds. Being front-wheel-drive and water-cooled (based on the Golf) it wasn't much like the original car--it was much more powerful, that's for sure. It's bud vase on the dash was cute--and, from what I can tell, was often actually used by owners.

The original Beetle was sold in the U.S. from the late 1940's until 1979 (but elsewhere for longer). Many are still on the road--including a nice blue one down the street from me.

The new 2012 model is a lot different, but still looks familiar. It should be a good driver, and I look forward to slipping behind the wheel of one soon. The bud vase, however, is gone--sorry.