From Young To Old, The New Beetle Attracts Swarms -- Updated Vw Bug Sells Fast, Even Before It Arrives Here

It's not the Beetle of your youth: The engine's in front, it comes with cupholders, and you can play your Grateful Dead CDs on a six-speaker stereo.

But the anachronistic features of the new Volkswagen Beetle apparently haven't bugged Seattle-area car buyers in the slightest.

The first new Beetles are being shipped this week, and the Seattle area's seven major Volkswagen dealers have taken about 175 advance orders. The updated version of the utilitarian German car carries a sticker price of $15,200.

VW dealers said the energy and anticipation surrounding the new Beetle has been unmatched by any other model they can remember.

"It's a phenomenon, no doubt about it," said Miles Richardson, general sales manager of University Volkswagen Audi Subaru.

"We're going crazy," added Matt Welch, general sales manager of Carter Volkswagen in Ballard. "What's amazing is we've got 40 sold orders and no one's seen the car. They're doing this on blind faith."

So what compels people to plunk down a minimum $500 deposit on a car they haven't even taken for a test drive?

In a word, nostalgia. A simple, practical car with quirky appeal, the Beetle boasts the loyal affection of legions of car owners.

"The concept is what sold me," said Dermot O'Brien of Redmond, owner of a 1972 Beetle and No. 3 on Carter's list of pre-orders for new Beetles. "I've got enough confidence in Volkswagen that they're not going to bring out a bad car. I bought it on faith, I guess."

The new Beetle has a slew of perks that former "Bug" owners may find unfamiliar. Whereas the old, no-frills Beetle carried its small chugging engine in the back end, had no air conditioning and carried - maybe - an AM radio, the new model offers such options as power windows, automatic door locks and cruise control.

O'Brien, who has owned eight Beetles over the years, said some of his fellow "Beetlephiles" across the country have criticized the new car, finding its snazzy features out of sync with the Bug they've grown to love.

One skeptic is Hunter Fulghum of Bothell. "Part of the pleasure and delight of the VW Beetle was its simplicity," said Fulghum, owner of a baby blue 1967 Beetle. "When you start taking all that away, you start losing the character of what it's all about."

But O'Brien welcomes the updated model. "Frankly, the reason they stopped making them is because they weren't as efficient as they needed to be," he said, defending the new model.

Richard Farler, general manager of Auburn Subaru Volkswagen, said he expects buyers of the new Beetle to surface in two waves: First will come the middle-aged buyers, followed by a younger generation looking for something hip and new.

"The initial onslaught will be baby boomers who had one in college," Farler said. "Yuppie, upscale . . . a guy who's looking to relive his youth."

Farler's dealership is expecting 23 new Beetles over the next month, with 13 reserved for pre-orders. The remaining 10, he expects, will be gone within 72 hours.

Craig Campbell, general manager of Campbell-Nelson Volkswagen in Edmonds, said demand for the new Beetle has been staggering.

"Everyone's asking the same question: `When's it going to be here?' " said Campbell, whose dealership has fielded 30 pre-orders for new Beetles. "They want to see it, touch it, feel it, drive it."

Richardson said he rarely comes across a vehicle that grabs his interest personally. But with the new Beetles, Richardson said, "I'm fighting every urge I have internally to buy one myself. Everything about this car is just plain cool."

Jake Batsell's phone message number is 206-464-2595. His e-mail address is: jbatsell@seattletimes.com