In September 2018, something really sad happened, Volkswagen announced that they would stop producing the iconic VW Beetle.

The Volkswagen Beetle, sometimes known simply as the Bug, was the vehicle of the 1960s.

They were everywhere, with their rear-mounted air-cooled engines making them sound like a food processing machine at full throttle.

The Volkswagen Beetle is the longest-lasting and most-produced single-platform car ever made. But why do people love this vehicle so much?

This is what we plan to shed some light on today.

Why do people love the VW Beetle? Here are 3 reasons why

Reason 1 – It has great fuel efficiency: Everyone who owns a vehicle would love for his or her vehicle to travel farther than any other vehicle while using less gas.

Except for the speed factor, the Volkswagen Beetle was designed for such.

The original Beetle was designed using highly efficient naturally aspirated air-cooled engines made of various sizes and powers.

Reason 2 – Highly Customizable: It’s best to buy an older car if you want to customize it. Simple, plain, and uncom­plicated are good qualities to look for when buying a used car.

As an inexpensive classic vehicle with a basic design, the old Volkswagen Beetle serves as a good example of such.

Because it’s easy to upgrade and can be extensively modified, the VW Beetle thrives in this aspect.

For example, the old Volkswagen Beetle’s upgrade components can be found online or at local auto repair shops, but the replacement part can be done by yourself because it’s so simple to work on the vehicle.

Reason 3 – Easy to repair: Usually, when the price of goods and services goes up, they don’t usually come back down.

Therefore, drivers are becoming smarter when it comes to repairing their own vehicles by doing routine maintenance and repairs themselves.

However, this can be extremely challenging because of today’s advanced, technically sophisticated, high-performing cars.

But not the old Volkswagen Beetle.

Armed with a few appropriate repair kits, an old Volkswagen Beetle can be easily maintained or repaired by almost any person with some basic mechanical skills.

Are VW Beetles considered safe?

If you’re driving an old Volkswagen Beetle, you get a lap belt and whatever material is between you and the oncoming object.

If it’s a frontal or sideways crash, that’s basically nothing.

Also, compared to the older Volkswagen models, modern-day cars are huge.

The real answer is: When it comes to safety, the Volkswagen Beetle has been at least as safe and often safer than most other vehicles in its class and from its time.

Like every other vehicle of its era, it won’t be able to compete with modern cars. It isn’t a fair comparison at all.

If you’re looking for an old-school Volkswagen Beetle, make sure it’s in good shape, not rusted out, with good modern seats, good brakes, and decent tires.

It won’t ever be as safe as a new vehicle, but none of the older vehicles will be either.

Can you modify an old VW Beetle?

Oh yeah, you can! As it was said before, one of the reasons the VW Beetle is so popular is because it is so customizable and cheap.

VW Beetle fans go absolutely crazy on these cars, it is a real fandom out there.

You can encounter anything from slightly modified beetles that have just simply been modernized to absolutely insane projects that do engine swaps or even monster trucks.

Below are some of our favorite examples of crazy modified VW Beetles.

The 1963 Cal Look

A Cal Look VW Beetle
A VW Beetle modified with the classic Cal Look

This one is pretty straightforward.

The “Cal Look” was originally created in California which will surprise mostly no one. It was Southern California in the ’60s exactly.

Now widely used all over the world, its design features some typical design elements.

Narrowed front and sometimes rear and slammed down, this low Volkswagen Beetle likes to sit mere inches off the ground.

More recent restorations or conversion projects tend to use larger wheels and thinner tires.

You might even be able to spot them without a bumper.

The Cal look is all about looking clean and slim!

A VW Beetle rocking the Cal Look
VW Beetle looking slim and stylish in a Cal Look

We dare you to try and look away from this beauty!

The VW Beetle goes drag racing

A VW Beetle in a drag race competition
A VW Beetle lifting its front end in a drag strip

This one should be familiar to everyone that visits this blog. A VW Beetle modified for Drag Racing.

Often, you see drag Beetles wearing modified exoskeletons, which are usually fashioned from fancy alloys and lightweight plastic materials.

This blue beauty still shines in all its sheet metal glory, pullin’ wheelies with the engine sitting at the back of the car.

And would you just look at that engine!! It is exposed just for your eyes to see.

This Beetle is perhaps the most pure drag bug out there.

Still running an air-cooled motor, still wearing original metal parts.

The LS Swapped VW Beetle

You might remember a little bit of a news report from 2016 about a Volkswagen dune buggy tearing up the streets of San Francisco, California.

It had an LS engine swap, showing that you can fit an LS engine into almost any vehicle.

He made some great leaps and bounds during his bullrun through the streets of San Fran.

Sadly for the driver, his viral YouTube clip landed him in a jail cell for a solid 45 days!