This is what happens when a car company simply cannot leave well-enough alone. Back in 1998 Volkswagen redesigned the iconic Beetle. It was based on a concept car called aptly, the Concept One which debuted at the 1994 North American International Auto Show and was clearly a modernized version of the original. The car looked perfect and the buying public fell in love with it. As with anything else though a product has a certain life-cycle and after a wonderful 12 year run VW decided to take another crack at it. What you are seeing are the first pics of Volkswagens newly redesigned 2012 Beetle as brought to us by Autoblog.com, and to be honest I think the 1998 version looks a lot better.
1994 Concept One
Generally you get one shot at a redesign and if you get if right then you should rejoice because lightening doesn’t strike twice in the same place. The new Beetle seems to be riding on a stretched wheelbase and incorporates a chopped roof line for a more aggressive look.
The problem is I don’t really think it works to well as it is very difficult to incorporate a tough look and feel into a car that came from the dealer with a flower vase installed. I supposed we’ll have to wait just a bit longer to see the final version, but as it stands now it’s just not working for me.