The Love Bug The Love Bug The Love Bug (sometimes referred to as Herbie the Love Bug) is a 1968 American comedy film and the first in a series of films made by Walt Disney Productions that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie. It was based on the 1961 book "Car, Boy, Girl" by Gordon Buford. The movie follows the adventures of Herbie, Herbie's driver, Jim Douglas (Dean Jones), and Jim's love interest, Carole Bennett (Michele Lee). It also features Buddy Hackett as Jim's enlightened, kind-hearted friend, Tennessee Steinmetz, a character who creates "art" from used car parts.
Volkswagen Beetle offered an optional semi-automatic transmission (marketed as "Automatic Stick Shift" and also called "AutoStick",) which was a 3-speed manual coupled to an electro-pneumatic clutch and torque converter. While the overall appearance of the Beetle changed little over its life span, it received over 78,000 incremental changes during its production. It was in 1948 that Wilhelm Karmann first bought a VW Beetle sedan and converted it into a four-seated convertible. After successfully presenting it at VW in Wolfsburg the Beetle Cabriolet began production in 1949 by Karmann in Osnabrück. The convertible was more than a Beetle with a folding top. To