Bye Bye Bug

Ever since the first one rolled off the factory floor, millions have found the VW Beetle to be the car of their choice. Rahul Ghosh pays homage to this sensation

- Rahul Ghosh

India was one of the very few countries which were kept away from the ‘People’s car’ for the longest period of time. Even when the Beetle was launched here, it was the new generation model and not the iconic ‘Bug’. However, enthusiasts kept the flag flying high for the Bug here as well. Not just that, every toy store surely had a scaled model of the Beetle! This is how I got introduced to the Beetle. I still remember those two scaled models. A red coupe and a yellow convertible! What joy they were. Surely over time they had their very own ‘accidents’ and over a period of time lost their headlights, windscreen and were essentially scrapped! However, replacing them where a similar set of cars! This was also the case in the real world where people were replacing existing Beetles with a new one. No wonder then that the iconic Bug sold in millions. Such was the charm of the vehicle and then there were numerous models to choose from. But the impact of the Beetle was far more significant than most other cars as it touched the masses giving them hope of personal mobility.