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HomeBeetle

Beetle

1960 VW versus US compact car ads
Multimedia

Satire of a 1960 VW ad essentially mimics marketing for U.S. compacts

January 17, 2022 Steve 2

(UPDATED 3/20/2023) Back in 1963, advertising executive Fred Manley presented a slide show parody about how to improve Volkswagen’s legendary “Think small” ad. The “best practices” he presented look hilariously misguided when applied to this […]

Chevrolet truck
Design Notes

Yes, but WHY do today’s automobiles look so similar?

July 26, 2021 Steve 7

(EXPANDED FROM 10/2/2020) Auto Extremist has reposted a Peter DeLorenzo (2021) column which argues that the auto industry has “reached the nadir of design. And it isn’t pretty.” The big reason why: Cars look so […]

Readings

Hiott’s VW book captures essence of old Beetle better than new one

January 8, 2021 Steve 0

Andrea Hiott has written an engaging and nuanced automotive history that transcends the usual “car guy” narratives. Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle offers a wealth of background about the political, economic […]

Readings

“Remember those great Volkswagen ads?”

June 19, 2020 Steve 2

This oversized hardback book is a compendium of Volkswagen advertisements produced by Doyle Dane Bernbach. The format is quite simple: The 364-page book consists almost entirely of ads — 500 in all. Content is grouped […]

Volkswagen's second-generation "new" Beetle
Current Events

What died when the VW Beetle ended production?

August 1, 2019 Steve 0

Paul A. Eistenstein’s (2019) story about the end of production for the Volkswagen Beetle makes an odd editorial decision. He treats the Beetle as a unified product line that stretches all the way back to […]

Volkswagen "new" Beetle has a flower vase
Current Events

Is brand management really an automaker’s No. 1 priority?

July 4, 2018 Steve 0

In his rousing introduction to Auto Extremist’s annual “Brand Image Meter,” Peter DeLorenzo (2018) argues that “image wrangling is now the Number 1 priority in this business.” The reason is that a “democratization of technology […]

Citroen 2CV
Design Notes

Citroen 2CV driver asks for a little patience

May 3, 2018 Steve 2

A while back we batted around the question of what would a modern simple car look like? The Volkswagen Beetle was used as a point of comparison,  but I suppose a Citroen 2CV could have also […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2
  • A sad reason bridges aren’t just used for driving over
    June 15, 2025 0
  • 1964 Studebaker Challenger
    Brooks Stevens’s rejection of brand continuity was bad for small automakers
    June 14, 2025 0
  • EVs need a George Romney to champion them in the next few years
    June 13, 2025 16
  • Citroen SM
    Citroen SM: A surprisingly conventional next step
    June 12, 2025 5
  • 1936-37 Cord 810/812 tried to do too much at once
    June 11, 2025 10
  • 1963 Studebaker Daytona convertible
    Classic film shows human side of Studebaker’s end
    June 10, 2025 15
  • Once upon a time, car wheels were 36-to-42 inches in diameter
    June 9, 2025 5
  • Brooks Stevens’s 1965 Studebaker Lark concept: Almost a baby Continental
    June 6, 2025 5
  • 1949 Packard Super Eight
    Packard kept a bigger foothold in the luxury-car field than commonly assumed
    June 5, 2025 9
  • Exner bio offers mostly positive take on controversial car designer
    Peter Grist views car designer Virgil Exner through rose-tinted glasses
    June 3, 2025 9
  • 1970 Mercury Cyclone
    1970 Mercury Montego had a last-of-the-wine quality
    June 2, 2025 2
  • A query, a thank you and an update on miscellaneous stuff
    April 4, 2025 0
  • 1956 Buick hood scoop
    Readers brainstorm ideas for future Indie Auto stories
    October 14, 2022 124
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