VW sends off the Beetle with ‘The Last Mile’ short film tribute

In case you’d forgotten — and it would be difficult to, since Volkswagen has seemed determined to remind us every few months — 2019 was the final year of production for the VW Beetle. As a final send-off, VW put together an animated short film commemorating the nameplate’s contributions to pop culture over the past eight (!) decades. 

This 90-second tribute, dubbed “The Last Mile,” can be forgiven for lacking depth, but it will probably still manage to tug on your enthusiast heartstrings. It features cameos from Ren McCormack, Kevin Bacon, Andy Warhol, and Andy Cohen, and is set to a cover of The Beatles’ “Let it Be” performed by the Pro Musica Youth Chorus of Oak Park, Illinois. 

“The Beetle is easily one of the most recognizable cars in the history of automobiles,” said VW marketing VP Saad Chehab. “Honoring it properly required a medium with just as much versatility and universal appeal as the car itself.”

While the film focuses on the original Bug’s place in history (and our hearts), fans of the reincarnated generations of VW’s iconic coupe can take heart; they’re not being left out of the celebration. 

“While we chose the classic Beetle as the star of the animation, additional campaign components in Times Square honor the latter two generations of cars and their place and presence in American culture,” Chebab said. “We are proud of our past but our eye is on the future – hence our choice of New Year’s Eve to hint at our upcoming long-range EV and the 2020 Atlas Cross Sport.”

“The Last Mile” will be featured alongside other VW memorabilia and hints about the brand’s future in Times Square Tuesday night as part of the company’s sponsorship of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” on ABC.

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