The only car plant in the world that is responsible for making the New Beetle and its VW Parts was sadly left impaired for ten days—the Volkswagen Mexico Plant has succumbed to its illness after being badly hit by Leftist attacks in Mexico, but it quickly got on its feet to keep its flag alive.

According to a report by Reuters, the Popular Revolutionary Army or the EPR has detonated a bomb last September 10 which was said to have caused a lot for the economy of Mexico. The rebels blew up “natural gas pipelines” which triggered the halt in energy supplies in major export companies. This led to the thousands of hours of loss in production. The country’s economy is badly hit by the attacks, all the more since their economy has been paralyzed by the US slowdown too. Mexico Felipe Caderon’s government is now alarmed by the capabilities of the rebels to stage such a devastating force upon the country.

The Volkswagen plant in Puebla, Mexico, is now a picture that is far from where it used to be. From successful factory labor which assembles the world-famous VW parts and the New Beetle, it is now a plantation that carries out burnt particles of “hot molten steel” identified to be as car body parts and engine components. The rebel’s bombs greatly killed six major ducts in central and eastern Mexico, causing the pipelines to move about a quarter of Mexico’s natural gas. The 740-acre car factory was now a big devastation as they are responsible for bringing about two-thirds of its output to the United States and Europe—which has been halted for ten days. Production reportedly resumed last Sunday.

“All the manager types are nervous about reaching their production goals,” said Volkswagen engineer Carlos Varela in an interview by Reuters.

All businesses were hit by this attack as manufacturers admittedly felt the pain from having a second attack in just two months. According to Reuters, a Mexican manufacturer’s group named Canacintra said that this attack has cost about 2,000 factories that produce everything from surgical instruments to cement. Due to this, the Mexican government is now facing a huge loss in their crucial industrial sector, with which the country’s economic growth heavily relies on. Mexico’s finance ministry chief economist has predicted that this will immediately impress upon the results of the stocks, so there is indeed a lot for the country to worry about.

“We noticed gas pressure was falling quickly and so we had to shut off the furnaces right away,” said Coheto Ladino in the same interview, who helped operate several giant kilns fired by natural gas.

The EPR made their presence known in the year 1996 when they reportedly fired automatic weapons in the air during a political rally in a poor state called Guerrero. Their new strategy of bombing energy pipelines began with a wave of attacks last July according to Reuters. They aim to cut natural gas supplies to business but this month’s attack was obviously bigger.

After this trial, Volkswagen is optimistic in seeing this event through.

America is indeed one country that treasures all of the icons that it saw through. Be it immortal cartoon characters, or famous artists who pioneered what a song should sound like—they are all celebrated with equal fervor and admiration as they hallmark our generation. However, when they go away, they create such a big sore within our hearts… But every once in a while, they come back.

The highly celebrated VW parts gave birth to the Beetle, and it truly became a huge success as an icon of our generation. No other vehicle has seen this kind of popularity, or reached its own niche in the automotive industry. Along with its rise, the VW parts became lauded for its capabilities to create something as immortal as the Beetle. This is why many people mourned when they heard that the Beetle has ceased its production. With the New Beetle though, many have rejoiced over the Beetle’s ‘resurrection’, but some remained unhappy. The Daily has compiled a list of the “ten less-than-commendable comebacks from some pop-culture history’s favorite” yadda, yadda. But guess what—the Beetle ranked third??? Unbelievable!

“The “New Beetle” that emerged in 1998, however, is basically just a funny-looking sedan. It is insulting that the folks over at Volkswagen thought they could erase the fact that no one can obtain an amazingly vintage, properly functioning Beetle without paying millions or taking a trip to Mexico,” the feature said. What’s not to like about the New Beetle? It does not aim to replace the original Beetle for in the first place it cannot be replaced. It is only meant to showcase the next generation of what the Beetle technology could have had, so these people should not be so bitter over it. The Beetle, whether in the form of the original bug or the New Beetle, will always be loved, that’s for sure.

The spotlight of the Frankfurt auto show was mostly kept focused on two top carmakers as they have been successful in delivering what the people are looking for: small cars that are totally eco-friendly. Hence, it was the German genius of Volkswagen and Japan giant Toyota that reigned among the rest, the VW Up! and Toyota’s iQ. The good thing about them, is that these cars are for real—they are not just concepts—they are both four-seater cars that focus in getting the best in fuel efficiency, and in making less emissions.

The Volkswagen Up! Is comparatively longer to the contender of the Toyota, the iQ, with its high quality VW Parts and about a 3.45 m excess. It is still shorter though to VW’s new baby car, the Fox. The creation of VW”s chief designer Walter de Silva will reportedly go into production at around the year 2009, with a very captivating selling price of only €6,000. The car’s three-cylinder engine promises to maximize fuel consumption of around 70 mpg. The Up! Is all prepped up by Volkswagen to become their next icon car, and they are hoping that it will follow the footsteps of its predecessors, the Beetle or the Golf.

Meanwhile, since most car owners have known just how Toyota handled the green market with their Hybrid flagship, the Prius, the iQ is sure to be put into production with the same green technology but with the new twist. Toyota plans to incorporate a new car capability wherein it could be charged at any electrical power socket. This might be another first, which is probably why car companies are now up and running on their feet to follow suit. But VW is already through that phase, all they have to worry about is how to further enhance the VW parts to make the Up! climb a notch higher against its competition.

Volkswagen unveiled its new car, Up! concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show which happens to have the same mechanical layout as that of the Beetle, but in a different, smaller package, complete with VW parts. The same rear-engine takes us down to memory lane with the original Bug, as the Up! was said to have the same feature together with its rear-wheel drive that can accommodate four passengers. Walter De Silva, Volkswagen’s head stylist, was able to steer away from where most cars are headed in terms of design, at the same time allowing us to take a peek at what the future cars of Volkswagen will look like with the new Up! From the front of the vehicle, its six-sided angular headlamps embedded with the VW logo in the center will immediately capture onlookers. Its D-shaped intakes on each front and rear bumpers add a certain “glee” to the car’s look, which will surely give smiles to its driver. Fully armed with reliable VW parts in quality craftsmanship, the new Up! is also sure to make its safety optimized.

“Powered by a turbocharged two or a three cylinder engine with a simplistic mechanical interface and without many luxuries, the Up! is a perfect solution for growing nations, and with its projected 3.5 L/100 km fuel economy rating it would do well just about anywhere. Meanwhile, with its slick styling, ultra green image, and high-end LCD interfaces, it would be an urban hit,” a review by carpages.com stated. Will this mean the demise of our loved Beetle? No, I’m sure it is not. In fact, even if the Up! Is just a concept car, they are planning to bring it into the market not to replace the Beetle, but just to create a new version of it. After all, nothing will ever replace the Beetle.

Due to the advent of the iPhone, and the ever-so popular iPod, Apple is now cooking up something that will make the car industry shiver with envy—the new iCar. Now, guess how Steve Jobs is able to make his team go that extra mile in creating another technological innovation? Well, they were not…so instead, they called upon the successors of the great Dr. Ferdiand Porsche to cook up the said iCar. Hence, here is the biggest and strongest partnership to date—Apple and Volkswagen. Our much-loved VW parts are now upgraded to bring the Beetle anew—with both Beauty and Brains.

Did you know that the big guy behind Apple had a real thing for Volkswagen cars? Jobs reportedly once sold his Beetle 31 years ago so that he could raise capital to fund his then growing computer empire from its humble beginnings in the garage of his parents’ Los Altos garage. Today, he may be caught in fancy rides such as the Rolls Royce, Ferrari, and even a private Boeing to name some. But his sentiments for the high-quality VW parts remained in tact as they are now trying to incorporate the Apple technology into the Volkswagen. When Volkswagen chief Martin Winterkorn and Jobs brainstormed about their plans, insiders said that “scores of ideas are being kicked around”, which could lead to the development of an iCar—the Beetle with brains. Winterkorn has indicated that he wants to revive a Beetle-type low-cost car with a basic model that would retail at about £4,000. His plan is regarded as appropriate in an environmentally-conscious era, “a return to the origins of the VW which was commissioned by Hitler as an affordable Car for the People.”

People from the automotive industry are a bit skeptic about the concept of the iCar, saying that the real question is, will the iCar be just another upgraded version of the original Beetle, but with a few tweaking. For instance, it is still the same good old Beetle but with a lot of Apple products installed to make it more appealing to younger generation. Or, will it be a totally different design that will add another meaning to the evolutions of the Beetle? While they are more geared towards the latter, other competitors are still hot on what this new partnership could bring. The incentive for the development of an iCar —which would be both a four-wheeled office and an entertainment center—probably came from the recent announcement of the deal struck by Ford and Microsoft through which Ford will introduce an in-car entertainment and communications system known as Sync, later this year.

BMW is fast on its heels to join this technological war, and I’m sure others are soon to follow. Hm…quite excited to get your hands on the new iCar eh? We all are, and until it’s out, let’s wait and watch the progress.