For Mini-Warfare, A Bigger Beetle

In the annual battle of the automakers, this year's big weapon is the small car. Largely to combat the inroads made by the imports, which have lately captured more than 15% of the nation's auto market, American Motors has brought out the Gremlin, General Motors has introduced the Vega, and Ford the Pinto. In anxious counterattack, Germany's Volkswagen and Japan's Toyota are mounting an assault with new models at prices that remain equal to or lower than those of competitive U.S. cars.

Up with Power. In September, Toyota, the fastest-rising foreign automaker in the U.S., introduced a 1971 Corolla that is just about the same in size and price as the smallest Volkswagen. Listed at $1,798, not counting preparation costs, local taxes and transportation, the sporty '71 Corolla has white sidewalls and tinted glass as standard equipment. Its engine winds up to 73 h.p.--more than Volkswagen's, but less than the U.S. models'.

Volkswagen is retaliating by stepping up its h.p. from 57 to 60 and producing two versions of its famed bug. Both will have essentially the same design as the model of 1970 or, for that matter, 1949. A new standard "mini-bug" will be stripped of some chrome and door pockets, but will be equipped with, among other improvements, an automatic switch that will cut off the headlights when the ignition is turned off. It will list for $1,780 on the East and Gulf coasts, compared with $1,839 for the '70 beetle.

At the same time, Volkswagen will roll out what it calls the "superbeetle," listed at $1,899. It will be about 3 in. longer and 1 in. wider than the standard VW. Volkswagen is already the fourth-largest-selling car in the U.S., with volume this year expected to reach 560,000. The president of Volkswagen of America, J. Stuart Perkins, appears to relish the heightened competition. "We'll sell 600,000 cars in 1971, while Ford and G.M. should each sell 500,000 Subcompacts."

Detroit is paying tribute to VW's philosophy by indicating that the U.S. subcompacts will be basically the same in size and style year after year. Meanwhile, Volkswagen is emulating Detroit by moving more strongly into the medium-priced market. In January, the 1,150 Volkswagen dealers in the U.S. will put on sale a new sedan listed at $2,959. Called the 411, it is slightly more than 20 in. longer than the 158.6-in. standard beetle, and wider and much heavier. When the 411 was introduced in Europe in 1968, critics complained that its 68-h.p. engine was not powerful enough to haul the car's weight and that the 411's interior was not well insulated against engine noise. VW states that the newest model, with 85 h.p. and added insulation, no longer has these problems. Still, some American critics who have tested the car claim that the 411 "drives like a bus and sounds like a tank."

A promising newcomer to the VW line is the five-passenger K-70, which will make its debut at the Paris auto show this week. The K70 represents a radical departure in VW's diversification drive. It has angular lines and a water-cooled, front-end engine instead of the usual rear-end, air-cooled one. Already praised by Continental critics, the K70 will go on sale in Germany in November. Company chiefs contend that the K70 will not be brought to America until it has an automatic gearshift, which VW feels is imperative in this hotly contested U.S. market.

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