Road Tests: Long-Term Test

Although our New Beetle still gets lots of smiles from passersby, the shock factor has definitely dwindled in the past two months as more and more New Beetles have shown up on the streets of California.

A new rider, who sat in the passenger seat and backseat, was impressed that she had plenty of legroom in both places. In the backseat, however, this 5-foot-6-inches tall passenger bumped her head on the sloping greenhouse as the car rolled over small bumps in the road. She enjoyed the position of the clock, which is on the ceiling of the car, where the overhead console normally sets. This positioning allowed her to see it better than if it were on the dash. The driver at the time didn't like it, however, because it was too high for him to glance up at while driving.

Much to the frustration of those who are driving the Beetle around California, the cruise control is still not working, but we have an appointment to be serviced soon.

Last month, our pretty yellow bug was involved in a small accident when a boy rode his bicycle into the driver's side blinker, shattering the lens. The boy was fine, but the Beetle needed a replacement lens at a cost to us of $55.12. This incident prompted our California staff to do a bit of research about the comparative cost of replacing lenses, illustrated by the chart below.

To repair driver's-side blinker lens:

Vehicle Information	Part Cost	Labor Cost	Total (Parts & Labor)
1998 Volkswagen Beetle	$21.00	$31.00	$52.00
1998 Dodge Intrepid	$255.00	$70.00	$325.00
1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue	$215.00	$20.00	$235.00
1998 Isuzu Rodeo	$32.13	$35.00	$67.13
1996 Jaguar Vanden Plas	$13.25	Free	$13.25
1998 Toyota Corolla	$33.00	Free	$33.00
1998 Honda Civic	$178.00	$30.00	$208.00

Best Fuel Economy: 43.4 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 36.8 mpg
Body Damage: $0
Maintenance Costs: $55.12
Problems: Cruise control still not working.