Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle (the new Beetle, not the New Beetle) are down this year, down 7,600 units on the year as compared to last year.
We probably can’t blame the car – VW sales overall are down almost 33,000 this year, so it’s not only the Beetle that is suffering. No VW model has sold better in 2014 than it did in 2013.
But the Beetle’s problem, as we see it, is that it’s just a car. It is a mid-priced front-wheel-drive four-seat sedan (or convertible). It’s only distinguishing characteristic is that it has styling that is evocative of the iconic design that made Volkswagen a household name worldwide half a century ago.
It’s a modern, safe, and heavy car, just like dozens of others one could buy for the same money. So if the styling doesn’t do it for you, well, you are left with few reasons to choose it over any of the others.
Did Volkswagen miss the boat with the New Beetle and the current Beetle with engine placement? Instead of building the car on the FWD platform that lies beneath its other cars, should VW have cribbed the basics of the Porsche 911 platform and given the Beetle an economical four-cylinder engine at the rear?
Would such a car then appeal both to the persons who appreciate the appearance and to those who appreciate a car that is not like all the others under the skin?
Lest your memories include experiencing the original Beetle’s quirky handling, Porsche has managed to tame the handling of the back-motor 911 while continuing to increase the horsepower. If Porsche can today keep upwards of 500 rear-engine horsepower in check, VW should not find it hard to make a benign-handling 150-200 horsepower rear-engine Beetle.
Or is it simply a matter of the bloom being gone from the retro rose? The PT Cruiser is gone, and the Chevy HHR didn’t make much of a ripple. The last Thunderbird was a sales dud, and the retro design of the Mustang is evolving into some thing a lot less retro. The current Camaro and Challenger are becoming less about retro style and more about retro horsepower wars.
A rear-engine Beetle might be intriguing. The front-drive one, not so much.
Image selected from the Volkswagen Media Newsroom