End of an era
The week's news at a glance.
Puebla, Mexico
Volkswagen is shutting down the last assembly line in the world to produce the original Beetle, the most popular automobile ever made. The factory in Puebla, Mexico, kept churning out Beetles after the car went out of production in Germany (in 1978) and Brazil (in 1996). Twenty-one million Beetles have been sold since the car’s debut in the 1930s, but nowhere has it been more beloved than in Mexico. Seventy percent of that nation’s families have owned one. Recently, though, Mexican drivers began turning to more modern cars, including the flashy New Beetle. Demand fell, and the end was inevitable. “My heart is sick,” said Antonio Cholula Olvera, who assembled Beetles for 40 years.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How to create a healthy 'germier' home
Under The Radar Exposure to a broad range of microbes can enhance our immune system, especially during childhood
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring