Last Volkswagen rolls off Mexican factory line

PUEBLA, Mexico -- Volkswagen is saying goodbye to its icon, the Beetle, ending production and sparking an international battle among collectors who want a final reminder of the car that was popular with everyone from post-World War II suburbanites to hippies.

The world's last new Volkswagen bug rolled off the assembly line Wednesday at the VW plant in Puebla, 65 miles southeast of Mexico City. The German car manufacturer planned to say goodbye to its homegrown legend by beaming footage of the car all over the world, then sending it to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Volkswagen produced 3,000 "last edition" bugs to be sold at Mexican dealerships for $8,000 -- a few hundred dollars more than the normal price. The design stays faithful to the original model with a few minor changes, including chrome trim, whitewall tires and a CD player.

Experts said prices will likely rise as the car is resold in and outside Mexico.

"The prices are going to be higher because this is a a car that is considered a classic, a limited edition," said Marcos Bureau, editor of Vochomania, a Mexico City magazine for bug lovers.

'Heart and soul'

Collectors are flying to Mexico and shipping the car all over the world.

Australian car collector Gary Collis said he couldn't resist making a long journey for a car he calls "the heart and soul of Volkswagen."

Collis bought his new bug -- the 21st of his collection -- in Guadalajara and is driving the car back to Los Angeles, where he will have it shipped to Australia.

"I just had to go to Mexico," he said. "Since they first announced the final edition ... I thought to myself: 'This is really the end.'"

The venture will cost him $20,000 and put him deeper in debt. But for the 46-year-old Volkswagen car parts salesman, money is not the issue.

"If I wanted to get a new car, this would be the only one I'd want to buy," he said.

In Germany, the last edition bug is selling for $14,900 each, while car companies in Great Britain have them on sale for $16,000. Volkswagen of Brazil plans to import 50 last edition bugs and sell them for $13,000.

"This is the end of a very long story, and a lot of Beetle people here are going to be very sad," said Ivan McCutcheon, editor of VolksWorld, a monthly magazine for Volkswagen lovers in London.

U.S. ban

The United States banned the bug in 1977 because the car's rear, air-cooled engine doesn't pass safety and emission standards. That has made it virtually impossible for U.S. bug lovers to get their hands on the last edition cars.

Jerry Jess, a collector from Phoenix, Ariz., tried and failed to get permission to bring a new bug over the border.

"There is a lot of demand for those last bugs here in America," Jess said. "And I'm sure some of those cars are going to get here illegally anyway."

Many collectors are die-hard fans from countries that long ago abandoned the car -- known for its varied nicknames, including El Huevito, or the little egg, in Cuba, to ladybird, or coccinelle, in France.

The vocho, as the car is called in Mexico, is still a fixture of daily life here. Mexico City taxi drivers yank out the front passenger seat, and use the back to transport clients, while others prefer the car for its durability and cheap parts.

Workers reassigned

Perhaps no Mexican is as sad to see the bug go as Armando Pasillas. The 60-year-old spent more than half his life building bugs. It was his first car and his children's first car. He even learned to speak German because of his many years with the plant.

Pasillas and the other 300 employees working on the bug assembly line will be reassigned to other departments at the factory, which also produces Jettas and the modern new Beetle.

Despite the end of production, the puttering of the Volkswagens' infamously noisy engine floods the streets of Mexico, where some 500,000 Volkswagens are still in use.

Manuel Rubio, a 45-year-old Mexico City taxi driver, said he will miss a car that at first he hated but fell hopelessly in love with after 25 years of driving it.

"At first I didn't fit in the car. I am 6 feet 3 inches tall and weigh 396 pounds," he said, bravely pulling out in front of a speeding truck. "But after years driving it, you realize how durable, versatile and cheap it is. It is a tough car that Mexico will miss."