Originally published at: This wild VW Beetle knockoff is an EV called the Ora Punk Cat | Boing Boing
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Holy moly!
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4 door beetle? I just threw up in my mouth a little.
The retro dashboard however is delightful. Just don’t look over your shoulder at those rear doors.
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TAKE MY MONEY!!!
Yes, it’s a complete sentence. you grammar nazi!
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Speaking as someone who pulled a baby seat in and out of a Beetle for a year, then buckled in a toddler into the back seat for a couple more: bring on the four doors! Back pain avoidance wins over aesthetic purity. 
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Like, seriously, that is one awesome fucking car.
Why can’t VW make a new EV that’s based on their classic bug? Would buy.
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Dear lord, that’s beautiful. Maybe Jason Torchinsky can be persuaded to import one. He’s already written about it.
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Probably because the original beetle is a death trap by modern crash test standards?
That’s not to say it’s impossible, but modern consumers aren’t going to buy great numbers of a retro retro EV beetle.
Judging by the pictures this car probably wouldn’t pass US crash safety testing either.
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Yep, agreed. They’re supposedly putting out the Buzz, which is the retro Van based one, but this is such a cool looking car, me want.
That would be true if it weren’t for the fact VW sold an updated Beetle for a decade just recently. No one expects it to be built exactly like the '67 Beetle.
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They could, you know, update it. They already have twice.
You don’t think so? They have bought the crap out of Minis, the throwback Mustangs, T-Birds and even that hideous Fiat pile of trash. Hell, I even see this hideous monster fairly often:
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Holy retro-futurism Batman!
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Yes, yes, yes… we know, we know…
I never liked the look of the New Beetles, but would love one that looks like a classic, but updated as an EV and with modern safety in mind.
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How about finally building the electric dune buggy they’ve been teasing for years?
https://newsroom.vw.com/vehicles/volkswagen-id-buggy-concept-takes-the-dune-buggy-electric/
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Yeah, I thought modernizing it too much was the biggest misstep. People don’t love Beetles for their practicality.
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an electric vehicle that bears more than a passing resemblance to the
VW BeetlePT Cruiser
(from some angles)
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But they made a modern Beetle based on a Golf chassis, so why not an EV?
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But isn’t that way everyone loves this one? VW dropped the retro update because sales declined and they didn’t want to spend the money to update the same styling again. Sure you would have good sales for a few years, but then what? Tesla does well in the EV market because they are the leader, but if everyone sold EV’s then are they that special?
I own a 77 convertible and yes I’ve seen a Smart car. I didn’t say it couldn’t be done, but what you’d end up with wouldn’t be at a price point anyone would want to buy it. Looking at the pictures does it even have an airbag? I have a hard time judging if that interior shot is CGI or a real photo.
And that was back when car companies spent money on unique cars. Chevy only produced about 24k SSR’s over 4 years. That’s less than a month of Camry sales.
The original beetle was a cheap economical car. A retro EV bug would not be that at all.
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Been there, done that… hey, even the Mini Cooper comes in two door and four door now. They may sell more four doors, but they need to lead with the aesthetic, sell with the back relief.
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