The Volkswagen Beetle, Quality Problems

Ah yes, the VW Bug-the icon of teens and young adults of the 1960s and 1970s. The flower power generation adopted the Volkswagen Beetle (also known as the Bug) as part of its culture, inviting the car into its garages, families, and lifestyles and plastering its image on notebooks, lunch boxes, and T shirts. Beetle fan clubs formed around the country, giving owners a chance to meet, exchange maintenance advice, and create a special kinship through a soiree of Bug lovefests.

The Beetle filled a specific transportation need in the U.S. car market that the typical large American car didn’t meet in the late 1950s and 1960s. In addition to being countercultural in its appeal and, to some, simply adorable, the car was known for its low price, reliability, unique design, and good gas mileage. Volkswagen intentionally kept the car design the same for many years, changing the car only under the skin so that parts remained readily available and fix ups were

easy. The car appealed to independent minded people, often centered in university oriented locales, who frequently found themselves explaining why they bought a VW. But devotees rather enjoyed talking about their cars-as fans usually do-taking pride in their ability to pay less without sacrificing quality.

The U.S. car market changed in the 1970s, when Japanese automakers entered the market during the energy crunch with several low priced, efficient, compact cars. Volkswagen was left going headto head against a new array of formidable competitors who seemed to steal the spotlight from the familiar Bug.

Although VW kept upgrading the car, it was the collective footsteps of its new competitors and its parent company that would eventually squash the Bug. Volkswagen decided to phase out the Beetle and replaced it with the Rabbit in 1975. The Rabbit was Beetlesque in its quirky looks, fun colors, and great gas mileage, but the similarities basically stopped there. The Rabbit had many quality issues-from cold start problems and noisiness to faulty electrical systems and high oil consumption-which would tarnish the reputation of the company. Quality problems, a lackluster array of cars (remember the Scirocco, the Dasher, and the Thing?), increased competition, and dissension within the company about strategic direction created a sales and image meltdown for VW. Management’s slowness to correct the problems that plagued its U.S. operations became the “drug” that poisoned the brand in the minds of industry insiders, consumers, and even devotees, just as surely as chemical drugs had poisoned the members of Aerosmith.