VW Beetles for Dummies

Type 1 VW Beetle

In case you kids out there didn't know it, the car you call a VW Beetle today is not the original. No, Volkswagen started selling the car known variously as a "bug" and a "Beetle" 'w-a-a-ay back in the 1950s (in the USA, anyway), and stopped selling them in the '70s. The ones built in the 2000s are better known as "New Beetles"; where the originals are called, by people in the know, Type 1 Volkswagens. Unfortunately for anyone asking "How to Identify VW Bug Types"¹ on the 'net, eHow's Justin Schamotta is obviously not "in the know."

Schamotta blathers briefly about the Beetle (neglecting to mention the reintroduction of the New Beetle" in 1998), telling everyone that

"The vehicle is particularly associated with the counter-culture movement of the 1960s, and vehicles from this era have become widely sought after. The only guaranteed method of identifying a Beetle manufactured in 1965 or later is through its chassis number..."

...which, of course, is only half an answer: 1) Justin doesn't explain how to tell New Beetles from Beetles (front engine vs rear engine, overall profile, etc.); 2) Justin doesn't mention that millions of Beetles were produced before 1965; 3) he never mentions the Beetles still being built in Brazil; and 4) he ignores the fact that it's hard to look at a serial number on a VW rolling past you at 60 MPH. In reality, Justin, VW fans and former owners can often distinguish model years at a glance. For instance, the front turn signals changed from white to amber for the 1963 Beetle. And then there's the change in rear window size between 1960 and 1961 -- there are hundreds of little clues in both the exterior and the interior if you know where to look.

Schamotta's "solution" to the question at hand would be of use to someone who could get inside the car to check a "chassis [number] printed underneath the rear seat on the frame tunnel"; probably not a simple task if the car is locked... or moving. No, our Dumbass of the Day provided -- at best -- half an answer to the question; and not the good half at that!

[Note: VW "types" actually refer to different body styles: Type 1 = Beetle, Type 2 = Microbus, Type 3 = notchback, etc.]

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was    ehow.com/how_7682664_identify-vw-bug-types.html

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