>The main reason the beetle is shaped the way it is, is aerodynamics.
>When it first came out, it had the lowest drag coefficient of any
>car, bar none, and it retained that distinction for many years, despite
>the development of cars such as the Citroen 2CV, the Jaguar X series,
>the Corvette, etc.

Ah. I thought the reason the Beetle is shaped the way it is, is because of
gratuitous Bauhaus excess. ;) But I will accept this because I am cunningly
working it into a pet theory I am developing. Here is the name of my
theory:

"Germans Are Wierd."

Think about it. Sez you, Herr Doktor Porsche spent many hours indulging his
towering intellect in a wind tunnel developing the most aerodynamic auto on
the planet. I have no reason to doubt that this is true.

But I think Volkswagens are peculiar. I love them because of their
utilitarian _ethos_. You know what I mean what I say that so I don't need
to explain it. But betwixt building the ultimate in utilitarian autos,
Volkswagens make time for a lot of meaningless and bizarre gestures.

Herr Doktor Porsche spent all that time in the wind tunnel working on the
aerodynamics---of a 25-horse flyweight that could maybe hit 50 on a long
straightaway. Why?

You could get a porcelain bud vase. But you couldn't get hydraulic brakes.
You could get a beecatcher. But you couldn't get a fuel gauge--and when you
finally got one, it turned out to be a metal yardstick. Why? Why?

By all accounts Porsche was a mechanical genius, so why f*ck around in the
wind tunnel when he might have been inventing valves that wouldn't
self-destruct and chew up the pistons? Why? Why? Why?

We could call it slightly skewed priorities, I guess. But clearly the
highest priority was utility--it was the only reason for the Volkswagen in
the first place. So I don't understand it. Currently I chalk it up to some
strange cultural thing I don't understand. Any thoughts? Any Germans here
who could illuminate this?

--Ken
  Adjunct Professor
  Department of Skulls and Beaks