Hear that? It’s the sound of a room of men and women (mostly women) screaming and hyperventilating after Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience that each one of them would receive a new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle, a car that won’t be released until next year.
Volkswagen isn’t revealing what the newer New Beetle looks like. The “Oprah” audience was allowed to see only a silhouette line of the car and Ms. Winfrey’s reaction to the design (in a video clip showing her as she saw the car for the first time). But thanks to Brenda Priddy, a spy photographer who seeks out prototype cars before designs are made public, we’re able to give the lucky audience members a glimpse of what they can expect. (See above.)
Oprah selected the Beetle as one of the items in her annual “Favorite Things” show, the second part of which aired on Monday. The occasion was particularly momentous because it was the last “Favorite Things” show, billed as Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things 2010. Ms. Winfrey will end “The Oprah Winfrey Show” next May and start her own cable channel, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.
VW held a conference call Monday morning to talk about the marketing deal. Jonathan Browning, chief executive of VW North America, offered that Oprah had approached the company and said “the Beetle was one of her favorite things.”
Mr. Browning added that the Beetle would come with a TDI engine option, which would also be offered on the Beetle Cabriolet. He revealed few other details, other than calling the car “sporty” and “sleek.”
In 2004, Oprah gave everyone in her audience a new Pontiac G6. But a few days later, after the screaming and mad hand-clapping had subsided, it came out that the winners had to pay tax of about $7,000 on the gift. This time around, VW said it would pay “all taxes and fees” for the recipients.
So what do you think of the 2012 Beetle’s design? Any nicknames? One early suggestion: the VW New Oprah.
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