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Third-Generation Beetle: More Than Meets The Eye

What does the third-generation Beetle launched last year represent? Paul Eisenstein writes that, from a designer’s view, "it is a morph somewhere between the original 'people’s car' and the so-called 'New Beetle' of a decade back." He says that a closer look shows that the vehicle revolutionary.  "That’s because the real breakthrough comes in the way the newest Beetle – and virtually everything else that will now be developed by the German automotive giant – is being designed and manufactured.” He says that going forward, any model build on a new platform called MQB could roll down the same assembly line. It could yield a 30% reduction in the cost of building the typical vehicle. So the company could add new models without having to spend an arm and a leg.

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