TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1,000,000th "Beatle" wikipedia & VW museum

Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:15 pm

Just noticed this recent picture of the 1,000,000 "Beatle" [sic] on Wikipedia and noticed that someone has decided to install a new set of rhinestone studded chrome yet its still got that 1960s black Wolfsburg crest on the hood !!! I mean come ON, they seem to love messing with that car at least put the right hood crest on it already for cripes sake! I will personally donate one of mine and next time I'm in Wolfsburg I will bring it along and personally pry the wrong one off for them if necessary ...

it just drives me crazy that no one at the museum cares enough to put the correct early hood crest on this car, its almost like its been on there so long its got sentimental value to someone to continue being wrong ?

Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:45 pm

It makes no sense!

Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:48 pm

. SEE even Dave has the right one
/\
l_l_______________________

Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:54 pm

billmetric wrote: . SEE even Dave has the right one
/\
l_l_______________________

I fixed what I could on the wiki page ;)

Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:19 am

Its bedazzled.

Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:28 pm

Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:29 pm

The museum is a disappointment overall. Very few of the cars are "correct" in any sense. It's like VW has no pride. I don't get it. :?

Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:07 am

David wrote: It makes no sense!

Exactly! How did that crest even end up there? Hasn't that car been in the museum since it rolled off the line?

I mean VW is well known for incorrect restorations, but when did this car get restored? Perhaps some factory idiot backed the millionth golf into it, and they botched the repair job? :roll:

Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:35 pm

KantDriveFast wrote: David wrote: It makes no sense!
I mean VW is well known for incorrect restorations, but when did this car get restored? Perhaps some factory idiot backed the millionth golf into it, and they botched the repair job? :roll:
When the car was built, it was equipped with tons of special features, like all the rhinestone equipped trim parts.

The car was put on display where visitors used to STEAL the rhinestones as souvenirs. After many years of that, the car was looking pretty bad.

The car was also used extensively in parades and official functions. It has a surprising number of km on it.

The trim parts without the rhinestones looked really bad, so they were replaced along the way with standard items.

Recently, the car was restored to it's original spec. Hopefully, people won't steal bits off it anymore.

Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:00 pm

That bug is F-UGLY!
And why is this in the museum? Maybe it's just me. I guess it probably looks amazing in person.

Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:05 pm

I'm not really seeing the rhinestones here, but that bumper does look odd.... also the front emblem looks black,then again, hard to tell in black and white....anyone know if this pic was originally taken on the 5th of august 1955??

Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:06 pm

It's in the museum because it was the 1,000,000th Beetle produced.

The best part is the upholstery.. Majestic stuff.

Are the white window rubbers and running board mats correct? I'm guessing not.

Sun Jul 06, 2008 5:23 pm

Up to that time, no German car co had ever produced 1 million of any car.

The window rubbers and running board mats are indeed unique to that car. Also note from the pic, the front beam and brakes appear to be white.

Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:34 pm

1 million I can see, but why the rhinestones? What do they symbolize?

Sun Jul 06, 2008 11:52 pm

ok, here's me standing next to the same car in 1989, back then it had 221 KM on the Odometer, I certainly hope they didn't "restore" it because back then it was basically a NOS car, the bumpers and the chrome trims and hood crest had been basically vandalized the day it rolled off the assembly line because it was such a big deal for a German car company to have built 1,000,000 of the same model of car that every punk kid and their mom wanted a souvenir off of it, I suppose somewhere someone has THE actual hood crest off of THAT car, is it worth any more than the other one million almost identical hood crests that they made from 1951-1959, maybe, will it ever turn up, probably not, can anyone prove its the one, probably not unless they have a black and white photo of themselves prying it off in 1955,

back in 1989 it had regular stock black window rubber and chrome window trims, I'm not sure if just the old window chrome was diamond studded, hard to tell from the old pics, the old hood crest looks stock '55 type to me, the running boards were the regular off white ones just available at that time and the continental wide whitewalls were a bit scuffed up and yellow but not cracking much, I'm not sure if this car has ever been rained on or not but its been pretty well cared for probably in climate controlled storage for most of the last 50+ years,

you can tell from the old pic that the bumpers were not completely covered with rhinestones just squared off sections ending well before the edges and the over riders also had a rectangular section covered with "diamonds", this last rejuvenation just seems like overkill to me, even flashier than it was originally

I just noticed from another old pic that it did not originally have a mirror mount hinge pin so they have pressed in a mirror mount hinge pin at some point also, <cringe> ...

Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:40 am

Face it, the 1,000,000th Beetle is the ultimate HoodridE. I got your back 1,000,000th Beetle. [-X

Mon Jul 07, 2008 3:16 pm

Quote: the 1,000,000th Beetle is the ultimate HoodridE

Is that spray paint or pee stains? :roll:

Mon Jul 07, 2008 3:22 pm

KantDriveFast wrote: Quote: the 1,000,000th Beetle is the ultimate HoodridE

Is that spray paint or pee stains? :roll:

:lol:

Mon Jul 07, 2008 3:40 pm

Probably a little bit of both. :wink: Sorry for defacing her, I couldn't resist.

Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:09 am

That's how I remember the car from my '89 visit. Eek, they sure have spoiled it eh?

My favorite part though...check out the drip pan under the '89 shot. Yup, VW museum...leakin oil.

-Dave