The Love Bug (1997 film) installment of the "Herbie" franchise, this film is part remake and part sequel, in that the events of the original 1968 film are repeated while the storyline plots to follow 1980's "Herbie Goes Bananas". It can also be thought a prototype of "" (2005), in that both show a later racer finding Herbie in a junkyard and restoring him. The film also marks the first new appearance of Herbie in 15 years, following the Bug's lone television series "Herbie, the Love Bug", which had ended after five episodes. The narrator, Jim Douglas (Dean Jones), unfolds the story of Herbie the
Volkswagen Beetle in Mexico de C.V. (Central Volkswagen Distributor), which opened its doors the following year as Mexico's first Volkswagen dealership. In 1961, the first 250 cars were assembled through Automex (later Chrysler de México). In June of that year, a six-month contract was signed with Studebaker-Packard de México to assemble the Beetle from CKD kits (“complete knock down,” or separated pieces) imported from Germany. The following year, 1962, the first Volkswagen assembly plant was established in Xalostoc, State of Mexico, under the name PROMEXA ("Promotora Mexicana de Automóviles" - Mexican Automobile Promotor). Opening in June, the plant turned out 10 assembled units per