I still prefer the old Beetles - the new one just never did a lot for me.

I think the biggest letdown with the new Beetle is the loss of the tried and true air cooled 4 cylinder pancake engine at the rear. Putting a water cooled front drive sewing machine really just turned it into a goofy looking car no different than every other econobox out there.

Old bugs were cool because they were quirky, they were different. New bugs are just the same old tired thing wrapped in a retro package. If Porsche can still have an air cooled (or even wasser-boxer) pancake at the rear, there's no reason the Beetle shouldn't have a similar drive train, dumbed down just enough so the shade tree mechanic could work on his own. And while the old Bug was the undisputed king of off road endurance racing, the new Bug didn't stand a chance leaving the pavement...

it could well be me but i think the older casting is much better than the later.

For sure a fan of the old Beetle since I owned one.......

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