The Beetle is DEAD? How sad! I saw the news today that Volkswagen will stop production of the Beetle. They squashed the Bug. After seven decades, 2019 will be the last model year it’s made.
It’s a good thing Uncle and Ants is fiction. (Yes, I’m sorry to disappoint some true believers. Although there are many aspects of truth in the story, these threads of truth are completely mangled, blended with exaggeration and reconstituted into the characters on the page.) Read my post on How it all began and then How it Really All Began to understand more.
Maybe the Beetle announcement is all merely an elaborate marketing gimmick to juice sales. After all, they’ve announced they will bring back their old Microbus model as an electric van. They’ve got Beetle fans believing this is the end of the line.
Anyway, in our fictional world of Marty Golden, we will continue to have VW Bugs living on well into the future. Otherwise, what would poor Laney and her girls do for transportation? It already takes them weeks to select the right custom color choice for their new car after their precious ‘Sunshine’ is destroyed at the beginning of Uncle and Ants. No, this isn’t a spoiler because it happens on the first page of book 1!.
I remember my dad having a Beetle when I was young. My sister and I used to call it “the Daddy car.” I also had a VW Beetle toy car that I loved playing with. It may not be true, but that’s what I remember and selective memory can be a wonderful thing.
Wait! Don’t lose all hope. As I read more articles online, I found an article with the following quote:
“There are no immediate plans to replace it,” said VW’s CEO, before adding, “I would also say, ‘Never say never.'”
“Never say never” — words to live by. Just don’t use that on your kids.
What’s your favorite car or other object from your youth? Imaginary or real, doesn’t matter. Put it in a comment.