<P> Though extremely successful in the 1960s, experiencing its greatest sales growth in North America between 1960 and 1965, the Beetle was increasingly faced with stiff competition from more modern designs globally . The Japanese had refined rear - wheel - drive, water - cooled, front - engine, small cars including the Datsun 510 and Toyota Corona, whose sales in the North American market grew rapidly at the expense of Volkswagen in the late 1960s . Honda introduced the N600, based on the space - efficient transverse - engine, front - wheel - drive layout of the original Austin Mini, to the North American market in late 1969, and upgraded the model to the Honda Civic in 1972 . The Japanese "big three" would soon dominate compact auto sales in North America . In 1971 Ford introduced its Pinto, which had some market impact as a low cost alternative . As the 1960s came to a close, Volkswagen faced increasingly stiff competition from European cars as well . The Beetle was faced with competition from new designs like the Fiat 127 and Renault 5, and more robust designs based on the Austin Mini layout such as the Superminis . German competitors, Ford and Opel also enjoyed strong sales of modern smaller cars like the Ford Escort and Opel Kadett . Volkswagen's attempts to boost the power of their air - cooled motor to meet the demands of higher highway speeds in the late 1960s, then comply with new pollution control regulations, caused problems for reliability and fuel efficiency that impaired the reputation of the aging design . Safety issues with the Beetle came under increasing scrutiny, culminating in the 1972 release of a rather scathing report . During the early 1970s, sales of the Beetle in Europe and North America plummeted . </P> <P> There were other models introduced to supplement the Beetle in the VW product line throughout the 1960s; the Type 3, Type 4, and the NSU - based and larger K70 . None of these models, aimed at more upscale markets, achieved the level of success as the Beetle . The over-reliance on a single model, now in decline, meant that Volkswagen was in financial crisis by 1974 . It needed German government funding to produce the Beetle's replacement . </P> <P> Production lines at Wolfsburg switched to the new water - cooled, front - engined, front - wheel - drive Golf designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1974, sold in North America at the time as the "Rabbit". The Golf would eventually become Volkswagen's most successful model since the Beetle . The Golf would be periodically redesigned over its lifetime, entering its seventh generation in 2012, with only a few components carried over between generations, while the Beetle had only minor refinements of its original design . </P> <P> The Golf did not kill Beetle production, nor did the smaller Polo which was launched a year later . Production of the Beetle continued in smaller numbers at other German factories until 19 January 1978, when mainstream production shifted to Brazil and Mexico: markets where low operating cost was an important factor . However, this shift in production did not completely end sales of the Beetle in Europe, although after this date sales of the Beetle in Europe were very low . Beetle sedans were produced for U.S. markets until July 1977 and for European markets until 1985, with private companies continuing to import cars produced in Mexico after 1985 . The Beetle convertible / Cabriolet ended production (as 1979 models) as of January 31, 1980 . </P>

The beetle convertible power top can operate at what speed