Nuevo vs. Viejo: Volkswagen Beetle

Comparamos el diseÃ±o del Volkswagen Beetle 2012 con el modelo original

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC]

00:10 Reinventing an icon is a bit like reinventing the wheel.

00:21 Where would you even start?

00:22 More to the point, how on earth do you duplicate a vehicle that's perhaps

00:26 the world's most recognizable, let alone improve on it?

00:30 Even Volkswagen admits they misfired with the second generation car, or

00:34 new Beetle.

00:35 It was too hippie, too dippy, too simply formed, and too childlike.

00:39 The follow up to one of the most wildly successful cars in history

00:42 was too one note.

00:44 It evoked the feelings held in some baby boomers' minds

00:47 relating to the first bug in the late 1960s.

00:50 And that's it.

00:51 What then makes a third gen Beetle?

00:54 More cues from the original, that's what.

00:56 Taken in from the side,

00:59 it's apparent that VW snagged the windshield and roof from the Type 1.

01:03 Unlike the second gen car, at a glance you can tell if a new car is coming or

01:07 going.

01:08 So not only is the new Beetle more attractive, it's more mature.

01:11 And if you believe Volkswagen's marketing machine, more masculine too.

01:16 While the new car is quite evocative of the original,

01:18 it somehow misses being a slavish derivative.

01:21 Sure, they copied the wheels, but in a smart way.

01:24 Most subtle and impressive of all might just be the design Easter eggs found in

01:29 the rear tail lamps.

01:30 Look closely and you'll see that they're taken from the upright shape of the 1967

01:34 Bug's tail light assembly, but rotated 90 degrees.

01:38 Laying them down like this helps to both widen and lower the car,

01:41 all the while keeping part of the original spirit alive.

01:45 It's sharp design, really.

01:47 But is it sharp enough?

01:48 Probably not.

01:50 Trying to recreate the magic of the first Beetle is like trying to bottle lightning

01:54 or recapture your youth.

01:56 It's a worthwhile endeavor, but ultimately fruitless.

01:58 Still, the new Bug looks pretty good, no?

02:01 [MUSIC]