00:02We decided to be like the Volkswagen and we wanted it to be 50% bigger.
00:08The funnest thing for this is being on the freeway.
00:11People just chase you to try to get up next to it.
00:15And then they almost run you off the road because they're not looking where they're going.
00:25Some vehicles dominate the street with sheer size alone.
00:30The Volkswagen Beetle isn't one of them.
00:33The Bug is the great car but it's very small.
00:37Being dwarfed by other vehicles on the California roads led two generations of this family to the only logical solution.
00:46They were going to need a bigger Bug.
00:49My dad and I just thought it would be nice if we had a Volkswagen that was comfortable
00:53and not feel like you're going to get run over in traffic.
01:02It's a big vehicle. It's bigger than a Hummer.
01:13We decided we liked the Volkswagen and we wanted it to be 50% bigger, which is a huge amount.
01:19But it was a little bit too big to actually drive on the street legally.
01:23So we scaled it back to 40%.
01:27And supersizing such a classic is no mean feat.
01:32We had a 59 Volkswagen convertible.
01:34We basically digitized it.
01:37We scanned it everywhere.
01:38Got that computer file built.
01:40And then took it apart and made each part 40% bigger on the computer.
01:46Used that information to build templates and get all of our dimensions and things.
01:51And then started fabricating from there.
01:54The platform that we started with for Huge Bug is a Dodge truck.
02:00So it could handle all the weight and the size and the scale that we needed to go.
02:04And then everything's built on top of that.
02:06And while it's based on a 60 year old car, this big beast has a good few mod cons.
02:13It's got all the creature comforts that you'd want in a new car.
02:17Power steering and heated and air conditioned seats.
02:20And a Volkswagen with air conditioning is kind of nice.
02:24We did a lot of work in here to hide the power window controls and the power door locks
02:29and all of the modern stuff and still make it look like a Volkswagen.
02:32All of the controls from the Dodge truck and the gauges are on a gauge pod that comes down from
02:39under the dash.
02:40So that while you're driving it, you get all the information that you were getting from the Dodge truck.
02:45But when you park it and get out, it goes back up inside and you can't see it.
02:49So it still looks like a Volkswagen.
02:54The Dodge is an automatic transmission and the Volkswagens are manual transmissions.
02:59It has a simulated brake pedal in there and a clutch pedal, but they're actually both brake pedals.
03:05It looks like you'd push the clutch in and do the manual shift, but it's an automatic.
03:09So it's nice and comfortable to drive.
03:12My favorite thing is that it's not a prop.
03:15You can get in it and jump in it.
03:16It runs, it drives, it does all the stuff it's supposed to do.
03:19It's not just something that's big and shiny and sitting in the background like it is right now.
03:27The funnest thing for this is being on the freeway.
03:31People just chase you to try to get up next to it.
03:34And then they almost run you off the road because they're not looking where they're going.
03:37And it will come as no surprise.
03:39This big bug attracts big bugs.
03:43There's quite a few offers on it that are standing, that are humbling,
03:47that people want to pay the kind of dollars they want to pay for something that we built and we
03:51love.
03:51But the Volkswagen's not going anywhere right now.
03:54Just when I see it, it just makes me smile.
04:10I'll see you as an app.
04:11I hope you're watching.
04:11We'll see you next time.
04:11We'll see you next time.
04:13Bye.
04:13Bye.
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