In Port Charlotte, this Beetle is more than just another advertising gimmick. It dramatically became the symbol for a need to change their town’s code.

The Dawg House is a restaurant which specializes in—what else?—hotdogs. They serve fresh ways to cook ‘em, top ‘em, and the taste is great and all. But the problem is, the restaurant sits in a “tucked-away place”, according to a report by Herald Tribune. Hence, owner LeRoy Davidson modified the VW parts of this 1967 Beetle to make it a very effective tool for advertising. He parks the car outside along the main road, which eventually draws people to come to his restaurant. Without the car, sales will roll down a $400 difference.

Hence, Davidson customized these VW parts and added a red beam to make the Beetle look like it ran over a hotdog. A cute, Scooby-Doo-ish canine is illustrated at both sides, and the name of the restaurant is displayed. Problem arises when Charlotte County code compliance officer Tom Gravagna notes this as a violation of the code. Their town’s code requires them to park any means of advertisement near the business. This is similar to saying that attracting many customers this way is illegal. This, however, is not the end of it. Restaurant owner Davidson aims to change the code of their County… because it is the only way that they could park the Beetle outside.

As long as the Dawg Beetle is parked outside, it will serve as a note to everyone that not all implementations will stay as effective as before.

Story and Photo Source: Herald Tribune

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 3:11 am and is filed under Beetle News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.