DRIVING : Undying Love for the Bug

More than 21 million Volkswagen Beetles have been built since the car was introduced in 1938.

Its trivia is tremendous: Designed by Ferdinand Porsche, it was one of only two positive orders from Adolf Hitler. The other was for the autobahn.

Mexico is the only country still making Beetles--for Latin American driving only--and 85,000 were built there last year.

The car breeds fanaticism and collector-car values, and there is a gray market trying to reintroduce a few Mexican-made versions of the air-cooled, gas-sipping little Teuton to Europe.

That should delight Volkswagen.

But a recent report in the Economist of London claims “the company has long wished that the Beetle would die a natural death and stop cluttering up its image (among) affluent customers.”

That might be Europe’s thinking. Over here, says Volkswagen spokesman Larry Nutson, the Beetle evokes images of durability and value, and the company does not hide from “its good heritage.”

Nutson believes the Beetle’s “brilliant concept . . . a small, low-polluting, economical package conserving highway space” has greater application in today’s society than it did in the ‘30s.

“So we just might see another compact car, the 1990s or the year 2000 version of the Beetle somewhere down the road,” he says.