Matthew Keyser is a freshman journalism major who writes "Downshift" for the Daily News His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Matthew at mdkeyser@bsu.edu.
Hitler, Porsche and Southern California. This may sound like a list of random nouns, but in actuality, each one is directly responsible for the existence of the 2016 Volkswagen Beetle Dune.
In 1934, Adolf Hitler commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to build a people’s car or “Volkswagen” in German. While the design was finalized in 1938, production didn’t really take off until after World War II. After the bombs had dropped, however, the officially-named Volkswagen Type 1 became a worldwide phenomenon.
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It had deep associations with the hippie movement of the 1960s, a starring role in Disney’s "The Love Bug" and in the late ‘60s, a group in Southern California created the Baja Bug. Baja Bugs were lifted and modified to be more competent off road all in the pursuit of having fun.
While the Type 1 was pulled from the U.S. market in 1979, production continued in Mexico until 2003 when, after 65 years in production and over 21 million units sold, the final Type 1 rolled off the assembly line.
By the time Volkswagen officially ended production of the original, they had already been selling a car they branded the "New Beetle" for over five years.
The New Beetle looked like a Type 1 with elephantiasis, featured a flower vase in its interior and was not very good. Finally, in 2011 Volkswagen gave us a new New Beetle, which is no longer called the "New Beetle," but rather just the Volkswagen Beetle.
Now that you’re all caught up, let’s talk about the Beetle Dune.
The Dune I drove was $27,850, and while that may sound steep, keep in mind that Beetles can be optioned up well into the $30,000s.
On the face of it, the Dune drives like every other new car. It has electric power-assisted steering which does its best to imitate steering feel but is overwhelmingly lifeless and its pedals communicate less than a recently divorced couple.
Sure, with only 170 horsepower, the 1.8 turbocharged inline four is not impressive on paper, but on the road, it feels eager to give all it has to give at a moment’s notice. The Dune won’t win any drag races, but Beetles were never meant to be fast.
Volkswagen attempted to capture the spirit of the Baja Bugs of the late 1960s with the Dune, and I think they’ve succeeded.
While the fundamental driving characteristics may not be anything to write home about, the exterior color-matched dashboard serves as a constant, glaring reminder that you stand out from the pack and the increased ride height and whizzy little engine ensure you are smiling while doing so.
While base model Beetles may appear more sophisticated than the Dune with its oversized tires and “Look at me!” yellow paint, you don’t buy a Beetle because you want to appear sophisticated. You buy a Beetle because it’s fun and a little silly, and if that’s what you’re looking for, look no further than the 2016 Volkswagen Beetle Dune.
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