2003 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible - When Less is More
When I was a broke teenager living in a fairly well to do neighborhood one thing just made me ill. Maybe I was jealous? Maybe I thought it was somehow wrong, an injustice? Still, the young 16-year old girls whose rich dads had just purchased them brand new white-on-white Volkswagen Rabbit (Golf) Cabriolets didn't care what this oddly dressed, alternative music freak thought. They had their tops dropped, stereos blaring out the latest top 40 song and seats loaded with giggling girlfriends, all enjoying some good old fashioned exhibitionism.
I'm sure Volkswagen wouldn't mind if their New Beetle Convertible took on such a pop cult like status. The only negative aspect of the Rabbit convertible's adoration was its alienation of almost all men - who wouldn't be caught dead driving a 'woman's car'. The same thing seems to have happened with the New Beetle, so VW shouldn't be too worried about its latest convertible repeating the feminine image.
I, speaking as one member of the male contingent, have driven quite a few New Beetles. Whether I'm 'in touch with my feminine side' or just have to drive it as part of my job is something I haven't considered, but product sexual orientation aside, I've always been impressed. New Beetles incorporate the general higher than average quality associated with Volkswagens and offer decent performance, especially in 1.8-L turbo or turbo-diesel form - the latter almost sounding like an original Beetle.