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The New York International Auto Show closed out the week with a couple of headline-grabbing stories, the first of which is Nissan's Leaf winning the 2011 Car of the Year. The other piece of news is the complete redesign and reintroduction of the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle.
The car was unveiled Monday simultaneously in New York City, Berlin and Shanghai. VW's newest iteration of the Beetle, which until now hadn't changed since 1998, will go on sale in the fall. It has a lower and slightly tougher look than its cutesy predecessors, which were favored by women buyers and for the most part ignored by men.
The 2012 New Beetle is six inches longer, a little more than three inches wider and half an inch lower than the old New Beetle (last produced in 2010). Speaking of hewing toward masculine, the flower vase -- formerly located in the middle of the dashboard -- is history, as it didn't jibe with the new more masculine stance, said VW lead designer Klaus Bischoff at the New York Auto Show.
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