Volkswagen has introduced a new version of the Beetle that "integrates" the iPhone into the vehicle. However, that integration amounts to little more than an iPhone dock on the dash, a Beetle app, and iBeetle badging on the car.

004 volkswagen ibeetle
Autoblog is unimpressed with the iBeetle, hoping for more from a car that VW says is "one of the first cars in the world to have a genuine integrative interface for the iPhone that was coordinated with Apple".

This is the kind of kit we expect to see as a bullet point on an option sheet, but instead, VW has made this dock+app an entire model by including special "Disc" wheels and iPhone-matching color schemes. The iBeetle will land on dealer lots in the US in 2014, but you can probably make something similar yourself today with an aftermarket dock and an iTunes gift card's worth of third-party apps.

The app does offer some unique features because it talks to the car while docked, getting information such as oil and coolant temperatures, a G-meter, and more. The iBeetle app allows users to send map-based postcards and to measure driving times and fuel economy to determine the best route to a destination.

The iBeetle will be available at the beginning of 2014 with preorders beginning in October.

Top Rated Comments

GoCubsGo Avatar
157 months ago
Terrible placement. It should be more seamless than a dash-mount for your phone. Not to mention, what happens when the iPhone changes shape? Surely people keep cars longer than phones, no?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SockRolid Avatar
157 months ago
It's not a product. It's a feature.
(A feature that more and more cars will have, but a feature nonetheless.)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blacktape242 Avatar
157 months ago
iFail....
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jayducharme Avatar
157 months ago
I wonder how much of a premium this is going to put on the car. It really is a pretty sorry implementation.

All auto manufacturers need to do is allow for bluetooth connection to their built-in system, so that any enabled device can work with it. Have a USB charging port available and a place to stow the device. Why is that so difficult?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
157 months ago
Looks more like a dung beetle to me.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KdParker Avatar
157 months ago
What is with all this intergration? Facebook, and now iBeetle. This seems like the my choices to use my phone my way are being limited.

Phone integration is not a factor when choosing my next car.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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