Put the Poncho Away: Volkswagen's Beetle Sees a 'Final Edition' for 2019

Kiss the never-ending Summer of Love goodbye. Leaves are falling from the trees, there’s a chill in the air, and Becky from Sacramento just left with your best friend — and wallet. After two latter-day revivals, the Volkswagen Beetle, formerly the New Beetle, formerly the Beetle, formerly the KdF-Wagen, looks to be entering its final model year.

There’s no concrete plan to return it to the lineup at any point in the future, either, despite the tie-dyed dreams of certain wistful VW executives. Maybe this truly is the end.

According to VIN decoder documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and uncovered by VW Vortex, the Beetle line adopts ominous-sounding Final Editions for 2019. The same thing occurred in 2010, right before the transition from the annoyingly cheerful New Beetle to the slightly more serious, revamped Beetle. Of course, back then, there was something to look forward to.

Now, as Phil Collins once said, there’s just an empty space.

The Beetle coupe and convertible both see volume SE and higher-trim SEL Final Editions, while the hardtop sees regular base S and midlevel SE models, too. The drop-top doesn’t go in for the S trim level. As before, all Beetles see a 2.0-liter inline-four generating 174 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic.

It’s not like we weren’t warned the end of the line was fast approaching. VW R&D chief Frank Welch made it crystal clear that the Beetle wouldn’t return after the current generation ran its course, though the brainstorming of some execs kept hope alive. Perhaps an electric Beetle, one mused. Well, maybe a four-door electric Beetle, said another. Sales of the two-door niche model aren’t what they once were, and who’s to say a resurrected electric version based on VW’s I.D. platform would do any better?

VW of America saw 15,166 Beetle sales last year, down from over 43,000 during the first full year of the present-generation’s reign.

[Image: Volkswagen of America]