{"id":131146,"date":"2025-02-14T12:42:47","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T20:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogv2prod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/?p=131146"},"modified":"2025-05-14T12:13:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T19:13:58","slug":"why-are-volkswagen-beetles-called-slug-bugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/why-are-volkswagen-beetles-called-slug-bugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Are Volkswagen Beetles Called Slug Bugs?"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><style>.kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column131146_4c7acc-86 inner-column-1 qk-look-widget\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-row ultp-block-74cba1  qk-main-wrap\"><div class=\"ultp-row-wrapper\"><div class=\"ultp-row-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-ultimate-post-column ultp-block-b16dea\"><div class=\"ultp-column-wrapper\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf\"]{text-align:center;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-family:Inter;font-weight:500;font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"kt-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf summary-title wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading131146_b3954a-bf\"><span>Summary<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The term &ldquo;Slug Bug&rdquo; comes from a game that people play, with the word &ldquo;slug&rdquo; referring to a punch and the word &ldquo;bug&rdquo; referring to the Beetle&rsquo;s insectoid shape.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People play Slug Bug by pointing out Beetles on the road and punching other players.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Volkswagen Beetle is also known affectionately as the Punch Buggy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/volkswagen\/beetle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Volkswagen Beetle\">Volkswagen Beetle<\/a> is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and beloved vehicles of all time. Though it was discontinued in the early 2000s, there&rsquo;s no denying that its influence and appeal still linger to this day. It&rsquo;s so beloved that it&rsquo;s been given many affectionate nicknames, such as &ldquo;Slug Bug&rdquo; and &ldquo;Punch Buggy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But why do people call the Beetle a &ldquo;Slug Bug&rdquo; and how exactly did this whole thing start?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Are Beetles Called Slug Bugs?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The term &ldquo;Slug Bug&rdquo; comes from an old game where a player shouts &ldquo;Slug Bug!&rdquo; upon spotting a Beetle and punches another player in the arm. &ldquo;Slug&rdquo; refers to the punch whereas &ldquo;Bug&rdquo; is another nickname for the Beetle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Much like Slug Bug, there was also a game called &ldquo;Punch Buggy&rdquo; with the same set of rules.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The only difference between the two is that the term &ldquo;Slug Bug&rdquo; was commonly used by people from the West Coast while &ldquo;Punch Buggy&rdquo; was more common on the East Coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Play Slug Bug<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to learn how to play the game responsible for giving the Beetle one of its beloved nicknames, follow these steps carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pick a Partner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Before you start playing, make sure you have people to play with. It&rsquo;s completely possible to play Slug Bug with only one other person. Likewise, you can play with a large group of four or more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch the Road<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The objective of the game is to look out for Volkswagen Beetles. It&rsquo;s a little trickier to play nowadays because Beetles have become relatively rare, but that makes it all the more satisfying when you see one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Punch Your Partner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After spotting a Beetle, call out &ldquo;Slug Bug!&rdquo; as quickly as possible and punch someone you&rsquo;re playing with on the shoulder. It doesn&rsquo;t have to be a hard punch. It&rsquo;s better to give them a soft, gentle punch to avoid hurting them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep Score<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As fun as it is to punch people without having to keep track of the score, Slug Bug is, at the end of the day, a game. There&rsquo;s a clear-cut winner and loser, with the winner being whoever delivers the most punches. It&rsquo;s easy to track this by keeping score. As you play, keep a tally of how many times each player punches another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other Rules<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you decide to play this game in a car, don&rsquo;t count any Beetles you see if you drive past a Volkswagen dealership. It&rsquo;s also important to penalize players who mistakenly call out without spotting a Beetle. Deduct a point every time this happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of the day, there are no hard rules when it comes to Slug Bug, but it&rsquo;s strongly recommended to end the game after one player has gotten a certain amount of points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Is It Called a Beetle?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/volkswagen-beetle-slug-bug-1024x550.jpg\" alt=\"volkswagen beetle slug bug\" class=\"wp-image-131150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/volkswagen-beetle-slug-bug-1024x550.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/volkswagen-beetle-slug-bug-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/volkswagen-beetle-slug-bug-768x413.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/volkswagen-beetle-slug-bug-1536x826.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/volkswagen-beetle-slug-bug-150x81.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/volkswagen-beetle-slug-bug.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Though historians haven&rsquo;t been able to track down the first instance of the vehicle being referred to as the Beetle, the name eventually took on. The name was eventually adopted by Volkswagen for marketing purposes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Believe it or not, the Beetle&rsquo;s official name isn&rsquo;t the Beetle. Instead, it&rsquo;s called the Volkswagen Type One. Since that didn&rsquo;t roll off the tongue quite as well, many people affectionately called it the &ldquo;Beetle&rdquo; because of its rotund, bug-like shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though historians haven&rsquo;t been able to track down the first instance of the vehicle being referred to as the Beetle, the name eventually took on. The name was eventually adopted by Volkswagen for marketing purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Did Volkswagen Discontinue the Beetle?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite being an iconic and beloved vehicle, buyers&rsquo; preferences shifted away from the Beetle and towards larger vehicles capable of transporting big families. This meant there was more money to be made making SUVs, crossovers, and minivans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2003, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/last-volkswagen-beetle-ever-produced\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"last Beetle rolled off the assembly line\">last Beetle rolled off the assembly line<\/a> in Puebla, New Mexico. A newer model was released in 2011, but production ceased in 2019. Volkswagen shifted its focus away from the Beetle and prioritized developing newer models to cater to modern tastes and trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, even if the Beetle has been discontinued, that doesn&rsquo;t mean it&rsquo;s completely off the market. Used car dealerships might still have them. You could also get one from a private seller. But before getting your hands on a Volkswagen Beetle, it&rsquo;s a good idea to familiarize yourself with its overall <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/volkswagen-beetle-reliability-and-common-problems\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"reliability and common problems\">reliability and common problems<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Volkswagen Beetle Trivia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some fun facts that you may not know about this beloved model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Big as a Blue Whale&rsquo;s Heart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The blue whale is the largest living animal on earth, capable of growing up to 100 feet long and weighing as much as 200 tons. This means their hearts are massive&mdash;roughly the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Designed By a Student<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The chassis design of the Beetle was designed by an 18-year-old Hungarian student by the name of Bela Barenyi. He created the design a decade before the first Beetle was made in 1938. Bela contributed numerous innovations to automobile design and is now considered one of the fathers of car safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Has Different Names in Different Countries<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Though the Volkswagen Type One is known as the Beetle in America, other nicknames emerged and were popular in other countries. In France, the Type One is known as the &ldquo;Coccinelle,&rdquo; which means &ldquo;The Ladybug.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s called the &ldquo;Kodak,&rdquo; meaning &ldquo;frog&rdquo; in Indonesia. In Germany, it is known as the &ldquo; K&auml;fer,&rdquo; which also translates to &ldquo;beetle.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 4<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>The Volkswagen Beetle is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and beloved vehicles of all time. Though it was discontinued&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/why-are-volkswagen-beetles-called-slug-bugs\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1651,"featured_media":131148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[53,3950,3770],"tags":[84],"ppma_author":[2607,3269],"class_list":{"0":"post-131146","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features","8":"category-for-the-car-owner","9":"category-trivia-and-history","10":"tag-volkswagen-beetle","11":"entry"},"acf":{"adrotate_specific_mobile_ad":"","adrotate_specific_desktop_ad":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why Are Volkswagen Beetles Called Slug Bugs? - In The Garage with CarParts.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about the Volkswagen Beetle and how it\u2019s affectionately gotten nicknames like Slug Bug and Punch Buggy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/why-are-volkswagen-beetles-called-slug-bugs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Are Volkswagen Beetles Called Slug Bugs? - In The Garage with CarParts.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn about the Volkswagen Beetle and how it\u2019s affectionately gotten nicknames like Slug Bug and Punch Buggy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/why-are-volkswagen-beetles-called-slug-bugs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"In The Garage with CarParts.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/carpartscom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/carpartscom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-14T20:42:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-14T19:13:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carparts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/why-are-volkswagen-beetles-called-slug-bugs.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1364\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CarParts.com Research Team, Lisa Conant, Automotive Content Specialist\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/CarPartscom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@carpartscom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CarParts.com Research Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.carparts.com\\\/blog\\\/why-are-volkswagen-beetles-called-slug-bugs\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.carparts.com\\\/blog\\\/why-are-volkswagen-beetles-called-slug-bugs\\\/\"},\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"$id\":\"1651\",\"name\":\"CarParts.com Research Team\",\"jobTitle\":\"Expert Automotive Writer\",\"description\":\"The CarParts.com Research Team is composed of experienced automotive and tech writers working with (ASE)-certified automobile technicians and automotive journalists to bring up-to-date, helpful information to car owners in the US. 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