Some like to call it the beetle, some call it a bug, some
call it a punch buggy named for that famous driving game. No punch back. No
matter what you like to call it, we all see this car on the road somewhere and
never really knowing how significant of a car the Beetle has been for all these
years. Growing up, I played Punch Buggy and had my share of bruises. I saw them on the road but never knew anyone that had one. Personally, I always lied them, there was just something about a VW Bug that was cool, maybe it was just the tie to Porsche.
Logo Variation
This Hot Wheels version depicted and discussed here today is called the VW Bug and was first
released in 1989. The VW Bug has continued to be a regular part of the line-up all the way into 2018.
There are a total of 65 different releases of this casting since. There is
also a convertible version that is only used for special series like holiday
cars and mystery cars. These numbers also do not include the first version called the Custom Volkswagen that is part of the sweet 16. [1]
The casting is a great casting. The door handles, door
lines, hood and trunk lines are all cast into the metal body and are usually
clearly visible. The base has remained a metal base which gives the casting
some weight and gives the casting a solid feel. The base has little detail but if you see
the base much, you are playing with it wrong. The headlights are part of the
base and are set into the body giving some depth to the front end. Paint jobs have been across the spectrum of styles from wild to
mild. There was some variation controversy on the 1997 release where the early
release had a black Hot Wheels logo and the later release did not (see picture above). This created
some temporary collector frenzy, but it settled down rather quickly. There are
always minor variations like these in every year on one casting or another so
keep your eyes wide open when trying to collect a particular casting. Wheel
types especially seem to capture the most collector premiums, the VW Bug has
adorned almost every wheel type and sometimes several different wheel types on
the same release as well.
Convertible variation from Mystery cars series
The VW Bug has some collector premiums with specialty releases
but with such a long list of releases, it is still fairly easy to add one to a
collection at fair price. My personal favorites from my VW Bug collection are
the Matte Black version that was part of the 2008 Volkswagen series and the
Herbie version released in 2014.
The real-life car started as the Type1 in 1938. The Beetle was produced from
1938 all the way into 2003 although the later versions were only sold in South
America from the Brazilian factory. The original split window design was
changed in 1953 to provide better vision. Interesting in that approach
considering Chevrolet must not have cared about vision 10 years later in the
Corvette. I digress. Take these numbers in: 21,529,464 total Beetles have
entered the world with 15,444,858 sold in Germany alone. The Beetle was
produced in 15 different countries spanning 3 continents. [2] The Beetle has
been compared to the American Ford Model A in contrast to the evolution from
horse and buggy to Automobile. The Beetle was also elected as one of the most
influential automobiles of the 20th century coming 4th
overall. [2] Those numbers and facts make this car one of the human species’
historic treasures. There is some interesting drama surrounding the design
rights and getting to the bottom requires much more research.
The Beetle has also had its share of racing applications
through the years. From a Beetle cup that features only air-cooled versions to
Baja 1000 races across Africa and even in the US Trans Am racing series as an
entry in the small displacement category. [2]
Personally, I have always enjoyed this casting and now that
I have done some historic research on the back story, much respect to the
Beetle Type 1 and what it truly stands for in automotive history.
And that is the review of the VW Bug. Hope you have enjoyed
the information and read, hopefully you read this alone, so you didn’t get
punched for every picture. No punch back. Happy peg hunting and collecting. As
always, drop a comment below and if you have any pictures from your own VW Bug
collection, leave them in the comments below.
Collector Quentin
I own the actual diecast pictured in this post. However,
all packaging artwork, Mattel or Hot Wheels logos, paint descriptions and wheel
descriptions in regard to the Hot Wheels versions are copyrights of the Mattel
toy company.
Beetle is a copyright of the Volkswagen Automotive group.
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