Volkswagen Beetle may grow
A rumour is circulating that VW are thinking about stretching its iconic two door Beetle a few inches for its next model.
The current Beetle has been in production for more than ten years and is overdue for an upgrade. Rumours coming out of the UK suggest the Beetle may grow from 251 cm to 258 cm by using the Jetta platform.
Stefan Jacoby, VW Group of America CEO said in October 2009 the Beetle was expected to receive more back seat space. Jacoby also announced that VW planned to make the New Beetle, which is due 2012 more of a Halo car for the brand. There has been talk of the need to make the car more masculine, VW believes that size matters. Making the car bigger is not the only change the Beetle needs to become more masculine, removal of the Daisy flower vase on the dashboard would be a good start.
The original Beetle was designed to be affordable and was the most successful, the bigger Beetle hasn't enjoyed the success of the first. So making the next generation even bigger may fix the masculinity problem, but it may price itself out of reach.