By 1974, Volkswagen had moved production of the Beetle from Wolfsburg to its new plants in Mexico and Brazil, and, beginning in 1977, only sold the Type I Beetle in the U.S. in convertible form. Throughout the 1970s, the Type I gradually grew more powerful and driver-friendly, getting a larger windshield, automatic transmission, and electronic fuel injection.
Volkswagen introduced the New Beetle in 1998, with the familiar rounded shape but proper 20th-century features like a sunroof, air bags, and a turbocharger. While the early New Beetles had these modern features, VW tried to maintain the link to the car’s hippie roots by including a flower vase as a dealer accessory. Car and Driver clocked the 1999 New Beetle as capable of going from zero to 60 in 7.3 seconds.
The last Type I came off the assembly line in Mexico in 2003, and the new version of the Beetle saw several updates and revisions before it was finally dropped for good in 2019.