We Have a New Travel Bug...
Louie the Travel Bug is a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle. He has a 1600cc motor that produces 60 horsepower and a four-speed manual transmission. Louie is 4060 mm long, 1550 mm wide, and 1500 mm high. In 1971, Louie (a new Beetle) cost $1,845, or about $14,263 in 2023 US dollars.
History Lesson
The Volkswagen Beetle was produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. It is one of the most iconic cars in automotive history, noted for its distinct shape. Its production period of 65 years is the longest of any single generation of automobile, and its total production of over 21.5 million is the most of any car of a single platform.
The Volkswagen was conceived in the early 1930's as a need for a "people's car" - an inexpensive, simple, mass-produced car - to serve Germany's new road network, the Reichsautobahn. The German engineer Ferdinan Porsche and his team began developing and designing the car in the early 1930's, but the fundamental design concept can be attributed to Bela Barenyi. The result was the Volkswagen Type 1 and the introduction of the Volkswagen brand. Initially slated for production in the late 1930's, the outbreak of World War II meant production was delayed until the war had ended. The car was originally called the Volkswagen Type 1 and marketed simply as the Volkswagen, but it was not until 1968 that it was officially named the "Beetle."
Life as a Travel Bug