When Volkswagen reintroduced the Rabbit to the U.S., it claimed that it was drawing on enthusiasts' emotional connection with the Rabbit name, and it wants to draw on even more of that pop culture history with its latest advertising and marketing campaign. VW is referring to its new campaign as "DAS AUTO", or literally as "the car." A black 1964 Beetle called Max will be the star of the campaign as he it converses with such varied celebrities as Heidi Klum, David Hasselhoff (!) and Leonard Nimoy, among others.
According to Tim Ellis, the newly-appointed vice president of marketing at Volkswagen of America, "Max personifies Volkswagen's American consumers and lets them know how Volkswagen understands and responds to what the people want." Were people asking for talking VW Beetles? We're not sure, but we'll soon be finding out; Max and the DAS AUTO campaign will begin in earnest starting very soon, kicking off five new model launches: the Tiguan compact SUV, Routan minivan, CC, clean diesel Jetta TDI and Jetta SportsWagen.
It's a rather undignified process, being pulled over by the police. Next time you're sitting at the side of the road with the lights flashing in your rearview mirror, just think of this: at least you weren't pulled over by a VW Beetle. Unless you reside in Blount County, Tennessee, where Archie Garner, a 40-plus-year police veteran, nabbed this 1972 Beetle in a DUI case and summarily converted it into an Interceptor. Not that it does too much intercepting, being capable of only 70 miles per hour or so using the stock air-cooled 1600cc engine.
The "bug-erceptor", as it's affectionately referred to, just so happens to be car 53, wearing the same number as the lovable bug from the Herbie movie enterprise, and sees most of its duty in parades and on public relations missions. Wouldn't it be fun, though, to see your buddy pulled over in his souped-up Camaro by a Beetle? That's a story he'd never be able to live down.
