[tintin82]

Originally Posted by basilmabraham

I disagree when someone says the beetle is the nano of Europe. its not a low cost car, but a full fledged car, albeit small.

Well, the original intention Adolf Hitler had was to produce the "people's car". Though the car was bought only by elitists pre war, post war saw to it that it became available to the common man. The Beetle was heralded as a car that can be frugal on gas, maintenance and at the same time be extremely reliable later on when it became very popular after WW II.

I remember reading an article on Beetles in Readers Digest where somewhere in Africa, bananas, yes bananas being substituted for engine oil when the drain plug fell off and the oil drained off. Also, do you remember the scene in the James Bond movie (Goldeneye, I think) where Bond's associate in Russia starts a Beetle by hitting it with a hammer? It's reliability is legendary.

Then as people began to get richer and started acquiring taste and a penchant for luxury in it's major markets, low cost cars like Beetle were ignored. Eventually, the Japs took the small car market by the collar with better design, technology and features. Beetles then became a novelty due to their extraordinary history and resilience, and partly due to the Herbie movie series.

I'd take a old Beetle any day, but for the fact that I cannot afford to restore it and maintain it worthy of how a Beetle must be maintained. But I do hope to own one eventually, simply because I adored that car when i was a kid, and still continue to adore it. 20 lakhs is far out of reach for me now.

[basilmabraham]

Originally Posted by tintin82

Well, the original intention Adolf Hitler had was to produce the "people's car". Though the car was bought only by elitists pre war, post war saw to it that it became available to the common man. The Beetle was heralded as a car that can be frugal on gas, maintenance and at the same time be extremely reliable later on when it became very popular after WW II.

I do agree with you when you talk about the original intention of the beetle. But, in its new avatar, 'the new beetle' comes loaded with features and so commands a higher price.

20Lakhs in India is a very high price, so obviously only the ture enthusiast with enough money would buy it. The car would be bought not for it being small and frugal on fuel, but for what it has gone through the years. To me cars like these, the FIAT 500´inlcuded, are not meant for the masses, but for the very few who have the money and the mind to buy one of them.

[sachinj12]

20 L for a small car. Bummer you get good high end cars at that range. And for a common man like me, 20L is sufficient to build a house for three people.

[1-Testosterone]

I don't see any point in Touareg, especially when you have Q7 in the same price band and is 7 seater. Only VW fanboys would shoot for the Touareg.

[dhrishikesh]

Is this VW Beetle is going to be a direct import ??
Any guesses on its on-road price ??

[amith.2974]

I actually expected the 20 lakh bracket for the beetle. Friend of mine bought the beetle in 2005 for close to 40 lakh. Wonder if we are going to see another fiat 500 story.

[sohail99]

Originally Posted by EssYouWe

The Touareg should be fun to drive with all the torque on tap.

Fiat 500 at 14-15 lacs with a 1.3 MJD and a Beetle at 20 with a 2.0 litre Petrol.

The Spare wheel for the Touareg is a 195/75 R 18, while it is otherwise shod with 255/55 R 18s. The difference comes out to be slightly more than acceptable IMO.

What do you guys think?

Yea! But here(see link) it says that the spare wheel is a space saving design, which can inflate to near original size!?

- Touareg Spare Tire Failure - Volkswagen Forum - GenerationDub.com

[EssYouWe]

Originally Posted by sohail99

Yea! But here(see link) it says that the spare wheel is a space saving design, which can inflate to near original size!?

- Touareg Spare Tire Failure - Volkswagen Forum - GenerationDub.com

Ooh that is interesting. Thanks a lot for the link.



It doesn't make sense though. Why would one keep their spare tire deflated?

Also, if that is the case, why would they mention it with its non-working dimensions.

[agspins]

Hmmm...20 lacs, I think i would rather go for 4 Original Beetles in that price(assuming that restored costs 5 lacs a piece).

[thorpe]

Touareg was on VW India's site for quite a long time and I remember reading it specs and features couple of times. It has suddenly disappeared from their website and now the news is that they're launching the touareg! what the hell is going on?

[aerohit]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Start earning twenty lakhs a month. You'll see value in the Beetle then

I said - I would rather buy a Fortuner for 20L.

I repeat - I would rather buy a Fortuner for 20L. Period

[Gurpartap Singh]

Originally Posted by thorpe

Touareg was on VW India's site for quite a long time and I remember reading it specs and features couple of times. It has suddenly disappeared from their website and now the news is that they're launching the touareg! what the hell is going on?

I have even seen Touregs around in Jalandhar and on Phagwara to LDH road. They were of course available earlier too.

Maybe VW is just restarting the game to score better this time (even if they're including another engine for the 2nd launch). We know what's happening, VW. Kinda.

[tanwaramit]

Originally Posted by Gurpartap Singh

I have even seen Touregs around in Jalandhar and on Phagwara to LDH road. They were of course available earlier too.

Maybe VW is just restarting the game to score better this time (even if they're including another engine for the 2nd launch). We know what's happening, VW. Kinda.

Yup, relaunching with new engine, and a media hype, may be with auto expo.

With the success of models like Cayenne and esp Q7, VW does wants to capitalize on this SUV, though earlier hardly anyone knew about it.

The link is still there on VW India site, I have pasted it somewhere else in the forum, its just that you cant find any pointers to it, Need to do a little googling and you can land up there

Here is the link The Touareg

[FlyingSpur]

Why's everyone behaving like VW wants to create volumes with the Beetle?

[beejay]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

Why's everyone behaving like VW wants to create volumes with the Beetle?

. We should expect the Polo to do volumes. The Beetle is a different segment/breed altogether. Pains to see it get compared to the Fortuner and other vehicles.