New Volkswagen Beetle Convertible opens up

[Vectorer]

How 'bout some nice SPY-PICS of the New-New Ragtop? Dunno if these are posted elsewhere.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/...convertible-fully-revealed-in-spy-photos.html

http://garagecar.blogspot.com/2011/11/volkswagen-beetle-convertible-2013-spy.html

http://bycarinfo.com/volkswagen/2013-volkswagen-beetle-convertible-at-los-angeles-auto-show/

 

[Dave_D]

The new VW convertible beetle has been revealed. According to the article a TDI version will be available!

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/10/04/new-volkswagen-beetle-convertible-opens-up/

 

[Boswell Bear]

Just to clarify this:

Those that have "never heard" of the airline subsidy, etc. might want to rethink it all.

http://www.trainweb.org/moksrail/advocacy/resources/subsidies/transport.htm

Getting some people somewhere "right now" is perhaps not the wisest reason for the cost we all bear fronting the cash for air travel....

 

[TDI2000Zim]

It's more than just the emissions system, though - it's the aerodynamics of the layout.

You want a cutesy clone of an old car, you get old car drag coefficients, and the corresponding awful fuel consumption.

The Beetle does have the lowest Drag Coefficient of any modern car.

In fact, it needs a rear spoiler to keep from "taking off" at high speeds.
​

The issue is not aerodynamics, but of engine lay out, and room for the Ad-Blue equipment.

The engine layout offers reduced cooling (New Beetles TDi tend to suffer from overheating).

And the Ad-Blue system takes a considerable amount of space, it could only be achieved by replacing the standard full size spare tire wheel well with a can of Fix-A-Flat.

BTW, since this thread is about CONVERTIBLE Beetles, there is NO room for the spare tire already, thus NO ROOM FOR AD-BLUE.

 

[TDIMeister]

Drag coefficient is not the same thing as lift coefficient, which is implied from the statement "'taking off' at high speeds."

The previous-to-current New Beetle had a Cd of 0.38, far from being "lowest of any modern car." The new shape doesn't do much to reduce this figure significantly, i.e. in the order of 0.1 points to <0.28, which would truly bring it down among the lowest in modern cars.

 

[bhtooefr]

And the lowest in current production cars is 0.22, with the Mercedes CLA 180 BlueEFFICIENCY.

Getting down to 0.26 or so is considered good by modern standards. The current Prius is 0.25 (previous Prius was 0.26), the BMW 3-series EfficientDynamics is 0.26, Golf BlueMotion is 0.27.

Mind you, lower's been done, even on production cars - look at the EV1, at .19.