.

.
May 07May 21, 2003
.
This Week:

• MINI Confirms New Convertible Models

• DaimlerChrysler Puts More Fuel Cell Vehicles on the Road

• GM Design Celebrates 75 Years Of History With Eyes On Design

• The successful New Beetle Cabriolet

• Peugeot launches Smartnav as an approved accessory across all models

• Cadillac Announces Competitive Pricing For 2004 SRX

• MG Rover Group Re-Enters The Japanese Market

• Coveted US award for Mercedes safety engineer Karl-Heinz Baumann

• Ford Opens New R&D Centre In Windsor For Engine & Transmission Testing

• New Fiat Punto

© 1998 - 2003 Copyright & 
Disclaimer
Automotive Intelligence,
www.autointell.com
All Rights Reserved .
For questions please contact
editor@autointell.com  

.
The successful New Beetle Cabriolet: 6,100 Volkswagen customers already looking forward to summer in the open-topped New Beetle

Photo: VW
 

New Beetle Cabriolet: this open lifestyle four-seater is becoming a best-seller Prices start at 19,750 Euro; most customers choose exclusive equipment and trim Wolfsburg. "Hello Sunshine" is in strong demand: all you do is open the soft top and push the rain clouds away - in the New Beetle Cabriolet. Launched in Germany on February 21, 2003, Volkswagen already has more than 6,100 orders for this model. The run on this convertible is like the crowds that descend on the ice cream kiosk when the first warm spring days arrive.

Catch that first breath of summer air - the electro-hydraulic soft top opens in only 13 seconds, after which it's "Hello Sunshine". This catch phrase sums up the new model and reflects the attitude to life that its enthusiasts favour; in a word, top-down motoring style. It may not be a new concept, but the New Beetle Cabriolet interprets it in a new, fascinating way.

It's a convincing concept too: emotive power, space and safety for four. An unmistakable design with an unbeatable empathy level and a classless aura: on its way to becoming a modern classic. Before the open-topped New Beetle appeared, 330,000 Beetle Convertibles were built and sold - not direct predecessors of the new car, but a strong clue to the spirit that it communicates. Past and present blend imperceptibly in the New Beetle Cabriolet and are the key to its strong appeal. Each journey in this car, if you want it that way, becomes a road movie that reviews the previous decades - but technical features, equipment and design interpretation build the bridge that brings it right back to the present day for everyone to enjoy.

The New Beetle Cabriolet is built in Puebla, Mexico, just over a hundred kilometres east of the country's capital, Mexico City. This one of the most important automobile production plants in the Americas. Volkswagens are produced round the clock and around the world, many thousands of them every day, built to identically high quality standards. In Mexico, output includes up to 50,000 New Beetle Cabriolets annually. The ideal cure for the doldrums: sunshine for everybody.

The convertibles bound for Europe cross the Atlantic in a freighter, taking about two weeks for the journey. Preferred body colours are Black (24.3 percent), Royal Navy pearl effect (20.5 percent) or the more avant-garde "Harvest Moon Beige" (17.4 percent).

Customers have also clearly expressed their desire for an exclusive level of equipment and trim. About two-thirds of them order leather upholstery, the Highline package and air conditioning; half of the New Beetle owners choose the CD changer, which is housed in the centre armrest, and a New Beetle "alpha" or "gamma" radio for the uniquely styled cockpit. More than 40 percent want the car with one of the factory-fitted types of alloy wheel ("Route 66" or "Daytona"). A third of them check the box for the technology package, which includes an effective anti-theft alarm to protect this open car.

What every single customer gets and rejoices in is a long list of items such as the ESP electronic stabilization program, ASR wheelslip protection, the Brake Assistant, electric windows all round with central one-touch control button, central locking with radio-operated remote control, the celebrated flower vase on the dashboard, the active roll-over protection system, side airbags, outside mirrors with electric heating and remote control and a fabric soft top with heated rear window - every one of these items being part of the full standard equipment specification

(May 5, 2003)