News / A Bug's Life: Jan Haacke, VW Designer

A Bug's Life: Jan Haacke, VW Designer
We had this New Beetle in between. And it had this image of a quirky car, a feminine car. And when you look at it, it's basically three circles. It's like a kid's drawing with three circles. Also, it lacked direction. So we looked at [the New Beetle] and said, "Yeah, it's a nice car. But what did we do wrong?" Then we looked [at the original], and it had much more direction. We wanted to bring back the old spirit and avoid this toyish character.
The roof. To me it's a really modern-looking and wide-looking thing. It's well-executed. I also like the taillights, which to many people appear random. But if you look, they have a history. They appeared on one of the first versions [1967] of the Kaefer, of the Beetle. It had this graphic, and we just turned it 90 degrees. Which gives it a wide look. We really tried to make the car appear as wide and low as possible.
The first Beetle is an icon. What are you hoping to achieve with this version?
We hope really to jump on the old feelings people had for the first car. But to me, the new Beetle is an icon. We have a strong history with this car, and we really believe in it.

What will a fourth-generation Bug be like?
That's a tough question. This is what we talk about all day at the office. Maybe shrink it a little bit. Reduce the overhangs even more. Make it as low as possible, although that's something we already did because the tires are so massive.

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Car review and newsReview of news on the market of cars becomes more incredible every month.
Here is a short description of greatest series production cars of last time.
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New concept sport car from German car producer E-Wolf. E-Wolf unveils an EV supercar that’s so sporty. With a top speed of 155 miles per hour and a 0-60 acceleration that clocks in under four seconds, it has the performance to match its Italian playboy good looks, and its all-wheel drive, where each wheel is powered by an independent electric motor, should be able to keep all 2,000 pounds of it on the road. The Ford F650 is a super truck, appeared in 2000. The F650 is designed as a heavy hauler and is often used for towing or as a small dump truck. It is humongous! Its weight is about 160 tons, height is 3.5 meters – like a one-floor house! But then again, with a price tag of $60,000 up to infinity, it’s not like the standard home owner will possess one anyway.
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Car News Test DrivesBefore you and me see new models of cars or modifications of old one, they pass through the stricked control in laboratories, garages, on streets and platforms. Everything thing is called test drives. There cars are tested on a great number of points – power, safety, control, easiness of driving, protect from damages and other features. Tests can be made not only for the whole car, but for its separate parts also – wheels, air bags, hardness of base, suitiness of wheels to the type of road, protect from temperature and many others. For each, even smallest detail, scientists have couple of test.
In special laboratories techniques create situations and observe how car will show itself. How will these situations will influence passengers and driver.
It helps producers to identify all problems and disadvantages due to correct them before mass production. In case of low quality test drives, innocent people can be harmed.
While cars are tested instead of passengers, soft manikins are used. Numerous appliances are based on them, and at the moment of artificial crash it will memorize the force of hit, speed, possible damage on other characteristics, needed to be clarified.
When parts are tested they may be separated from the car structure or be on their place. These test also show what material is better to be used on this or those detail, how long will it serve and how it should be treated.
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