The Love Bug brought to the United States, Walt suggested a different car story for him, which was "Car, Boy, Girl", a story written in 1961 by Gordon Buford. "Car, Boy, Girl;" "The Magic Volksy;" "The Runaway Wagen;" "Beetlebomb;" "Wonderbeetle;" "Bugboom" and "Thunderbug" were among the original development titles considered for the film before the title was finalized as "The Love Bug." Herbie competes in the Monterey Grand Prix, which, except for 1963, was not a sports car race. The actual sports car race held at Monterey was the Monterey Sports Car Championships. Peter Thorndyke's yellow "Special" is actually a 1965 Apollo GT,
Volkswagen Beetle oil cooler. The new engine produced . The ventilation system was improved with the original dash-top vents augmented by a second pair aimed directly at the driver and passenger. For the first time the system was a flow-through design with crescent-shaped air exits fitted behind the rear quarter windows. Airflow could be increased via an optional 2-speed fan. The standard Beetle was now badged as the VW 1300; when equipped with the 1600 engine, it was badged 1300 S, to avoided confusion with the Type 3, which wore VW 1600 badges. The new, larger Beetle was sold as the 1302/1302