Oh yes! The legendary Volkswagen Beetle….these things never fail to make me smile. Just recently we’e started playing Slug Bug with Wolfie. You know the game, right? You see a VW Beetle driving down the road and you call out “Slug Bug!” and sock your car buddy in the shoulder. We play a modified version and call out the color of the car, “Slug Bug Yellow!” “Slug Bug Red!” A lil smack punch might come later, but it’s more about the thrill of spying one before someone else. (Sorry purists…but  Wolfie’s only 8 and doesn’t have any siblings, so I’m usually on the receiving end of these punchies!!)

Do you call it Slug Bug like we do? Or maybe you call it Punch Buggie? I’ve even heard some people call it, Piggy Punch, or Beetle Bug. And of course then there’s “SLUG BUG —no punch backs!”

I think these cars are just so quirky, cute and distinctive. I like the more modern version too, but of course it’s the classic that really makes me happy. Their motor makes such a distinctive sound. Did you know that the engine was in the back of the original model and the front was the “trunk”? It was also said that the unique construction of the Bug made it air tight so it could float. I remember when I was a kid back in Michigan, there was a small area that was flooded and a guy in his VW bug just puttered across. SO COOL!

“The first production-ready Kdf-Wagen [as it was called] debuted at the Berlin Motor Show in 1939; the international press soon dubbed it the “Beetle” for its distinctive rounded shape. Though VW sales were initially slower in the United States compared with the rest of the world, by 1960 the Beetle was the top-selling import in America, thanks to an iconic ad campaign. By the 1970s, it had become a worldwide cultural icon, featuring prominently in the hit 1969 movie “The Love Bug” (which starred a Beetle named Herbie) and even on the cover of the Beatles album “Abbey Road.”   — History.com