Car Gazing
J-Lo, we've found the white car for you
Triple-white New Beetle convertible another slug-bug gimmick
By Derek Price
If you ever need an excuse to waste time online, go to thesmokinggun.com.
Amid the yummy public-record candy, like celebrities' mug shots and court records, you'll find backstage riders. These documents help concert organizers prepare the dressing rooms for picky performers, ensuring that Bruce Springsteen gets his soy milk and green tea, Elton John's room will remain a nippy 60 degrees in the summer, and 50 Cent gets exactly 24 pieces of shrimp on ice.
You'll also see how Jennifer Lopez likes her dressing room decorated. She requires a white room with white flowers, white tablecloths, white drapes, white candles and white couches.
And, if J-Lo knew about this car, she'd probably demand it backstage, too.
It's the Volkswagen New Beetle triple-white convertible. It has white paint, white leather seats and a white cover for the convertible top, making it a rolling advertisement for Clorox.
Once you're in the driver's seat, though, this VW doesn't seem quite so monochromatic. It has black carpet, a black interior and a black cloth top, making it more zebra than polar bear.
The unusual color scheme actually pays homage to its unusual ancestor, the original Super Beetle convertible of the late 1970s. While the New Beetle isn't as quirky as the old one, it still has some strange features.
Take the engine. It has five cylinders, which isn't too bad except for the fact that Volkswagen makes a perfectly good turbocharged four-banger. A five-cylinder engine seems like more of a gimmick than a necessity.
Come to think of it, so does the whole car.
Today's Beetle is, at least to some extent, a victim of its own success. It's become such an iconic design, one that sold so well initially, that today it's hard to generate any interest whatsoever.
When it was introduced eight years ago, it made everyone who saw it say "wow!" Today, it's essentially the same car with the same oh-my-gosh-it's-so-cute styling, but that's not enough to get attention anymore. That look is almost a decade old.
So, Volkswagen is resorting to gimmicks to make people notice the slug bug again.
And it appears to be working.
The triple-white convertible turned lots of heads driving around town. Women loved it. Guys noticed, too, but probably because they were thinking, "I can't believe a dude is driving that thing!"
Yes, the New Beetle has always identified with the fairer sex, complete with a standard-equipment bud vase. And a triple-white convertible version gives it an additional, supersize helping of estrogen.
Which is another reason it's the perfect complement for Miss Lopez.
(Derek Price is a newspaper editor and freelance writer living in Texas.)
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