LAST UPDATED: 1-1-2001

This page is all about the Love Bug (1969). It will have mistakes and other Herbie oddities. In my opinion, this is the best Herbie movie. It begins with the demolition derby with the clippets of classical and Disney music. When Jim gets home, notice how the sign indicates that Marine View Apartments is about to demolish the firehouse. That almost happens in the next movie, only by Hawk (maybe he bought them out?) When Jim goes to the dealership, he sees the Thorndyke Special. That was actually a modified Buick Apollo. Then Herbie appears! This car sets the example to be followed by all other Herbies- a US 1963 deluxe Volkswagen Beetle. He has a cloth sunroof, gray interior, 40-hp motor, radio and aerial antenna, reversing mirror on the driver's side, and sealed beam headlights. Notice that there are no VW logos. The license plate is also set here: OFP-857, from California. They are the 60's yellow on black California plates. When Herbie follows Jim on the hill (when he gets on the cablecar) the hidden driver almost stalls it (notice it as it begins to take off; it jerks kind of to a rocky start). The next morning, when Herbie appears in the yard, notice how he seems to have white running boards; but you can just tell that they are not because you can see the black ribbing on the very edge. When Thorndyke gets oil sprayed on his shoes, notice how dark and solid black it is. When he turns onto the highway, notice that this car is a '62 or earlier (you can see where the Wolfsburg Crest has been removed). When he gets scared and jumps, that is a model. When he jumps, he seems to have slanted rear wheels. When Herbie opens under the tunnel, notice the choke switch ('63's had automatic chokes). When Herbie bumps into Thorndyke's Rolls Royce, notice that there is not a mark on either of the cars. The Rolls doesn't move an inch. Also, when he bounces off the car, Herbie's rear wheels are slanted. The wall looks fake, like a curtain. Also notice that the Roll's shadow seems to bounce with Herbie. When Carole is driving, notice all of the other Bugs in the background. This is a studio car, because it has no headlining or rears seat belt mounting holes. The famous VW grab straps are there in some scenes, but aren't in others. Some hippies challenge Jim to a race down the road. Notice he stops with lockup brakes. At the diner, carol pushes the door handle FORWARD to open it! No wonder it won't open! Notice that this is a real VW because of the headlining. The hippies in the "Hippie van" are actually Dean Jones and Buddy Hackett! Then Herbie takes them to Seabreeze Point (spelling correct?). Listen to the clutch slip. Back at the firehouse, you see the correct US-spec taillights. Something is wrong with the curvy, steep hill. It's Lombard St., and it's never that empty during the day! It also has a 5-mile speed limit and a stop sign at the end of the street. Then it's Herbie's first race! This also sets the example for the numbers and stripes.

If you are looking at Herbie from the front, he has a red stripe, a white stripe the same width as the red and a blue stripe with a double width size. The stripes are slightly off to the front. The racing number is a circle with a pure black outline, a pure white background, and black numbers. If you are looking at him from the back, he has the stripes: a blue stripe, a white stripe half the width of the blue stripe, and a red stripe the same width as the white one. He has a 53 on each side on the doors, centered. Herbie, here, has wider steel 6", but still, VW wheels. He has is tape on the headlights and the driver's headlight is loose (watch it "jiggle"). He has a roll bar also. When Tennessee fills the gas tank, notice that this is a set in a studio. Also, note that the wiring is still covered and the spare tire in the correct place. Now Herbie wins alot of races. Notice the one where he crosses the finish line and the crowd cheers...he was a whole lap ahead of another car! See it pass for the last lap (hopefully!) right before Herbie. Notice Thorndyke has an E Type Jaguar. He isn't wearing a seatbelt! When the newspaper appears right before the Mexican Road Race, it says that Herbie has an "intake too small!" Don't try to read the rest of the paper...it's junk. In the race where Herbie squirts oil in Thorndyke's face, notice where it comes from...the right rear bumper bracket. You can just see the pipe where it comes from. He also has no license plate. Back at the firehouse, notice that the racing stripes cover the sunroof but not the engine cooling vents. Then Herbie is sabotaged by Thorndyke with Irish coffee. Poor Herbie! Notice when he "jumps" the second time, it is in a studio. Also, notice that he is rocking slightly. He's probably on a machine turned on to make him do that. Now here's a biggie during this period...a DELETED HERBIE SCENE! You probably wouldn't know it because it was only deleted in only one release of the movie on video. It is RIGHT after when the announcer says, "Number 53 is fading fast and is developing a problem of some kind". Then we see the deleted scene, where Tennessee is looking out onto the racetrack and Herbie is screeching out of control! The only release that this scene was deleted was the very first video one. It's a white clamshell case showing Herbie doing the two-wheeled driving stunt (after he lost the wheel). Now, you can see it on every TV broadcast and any version of the video sold now. Next, notice that in some parts where Herbie is swerving out of control, Jim seems to actually be smiling! Why is he smiling? Herbie's going out of control! This is a goof up or maybe Dean Jones was bribed to smile while doing that. Watch how Herbie's bumper seems to slip off as if right on command. It's back on when Tennessee loads him in the truck. Jim then buys a Lamborghini, but after Herbie smashes it up, it seems to be an E-type Jaguar. My guess is that is a life-size model car. Would Disney destroy an expensive car like that? . Thorndyke's offer for Herbie is $2000. That's more than a BRAND NEW 1969 Bug. Herbie then runs away. Havershaw catches him in an alley. When Jim comes out of the alley and sees another white Bug, notice that it has hubcaps on...Herbie did not when he ran away. Also, shouldn't you be able to see at least part of the 53 on his door? Herbie gets pretty bashed and messed up in the next scenes. When he crashes through the garbage cans, Herbie becomes all dirty and then crashes into Mr. Tang Wu's grocery store. Is this irony? Mr. TANG Wu...like the drink? In addition, if you think about it for a moment, why is he wearing a suit and top hat? He's just the owner! At the Golden Gate Bridge, Jim finally sees Herbie. If Jim had walked all of that way, it was about 12 miles! Shouldn't he be more out of breath than that? Maybe he works out off stage. You can tell that the tollbooth is fake...you only have to pay coming IN to San Francisco at the south (other) side. The bridge is never that empty either. When Jim is hanging from the front bumper, you can just see a red bar holding Herbie up. Now, the big race begins. It's called the ElDorado, the Race for the Gold. Herbie's engine sounds weird at the starting line. Herbie's model for the map is a little OVAL model, painted just like Herbie. When Herbie runs out of gas, the Bug the guys that pick Herbie up are given a relief...the body's fiberglass. Herbie then loses a wheel...but the car is stationary for about 11 seconds! From the ground shot, you can just see the cables keeping the car from falling. Then when they try to get Tennessee out, it's in a studio. When they take the spare out, notice that it's in backwards and notice the round plate behind to keep it in position. Now comes the part that I have on my mainpage (the link at the bottom).

This is an interesting picture. Notice the missing 53 on the door. That's interesting, since this scene was used on many Love Bug books and video covers. Also, notice the same door is cut off at the bottom. That was so the bottom of the door wouldn't scrape along the edge of road. That's the reason for the missing 53. If they put it on, it would be right near the edge of the door, which would look wrong. The last interesting bit of trivia is the license plate. Look at it hanging. How? It seems to be there sometimes and sometimes not. When Tennessee yells, "Yahhh!" notice that this is in a studio with using a projector or something for the background. If you look underneath this Herbie, you'll spot the mechanism that is making him rock back and forth! When the other tire comes off, notice that it's not a stock one... it has spring-loaded axle to fling the tire off. However, the wheel Jim chases is a stock one. When Herbie does cross the finish line with the big wagon wheel, notice that the driver has a white helmet. Jim has a WHITE one! Now for the second part of the race. The Herbie that does the wheelie at the start has a V8 in it's tail. The Herbie that hangs from the tree is fiberglass. Then when Thorndyke is "eaten" by Herbie, his face shows up in the glovebox. This means that the wiring cover and glovebox have been removed. Then Herbie breaks up. The car is very well done. The roof and central tunnel with the gearshift and heater breaks at the A-pillar, while the body breaks at the B-pillar. The trick car that has a side-moving rear seems to have a cal-look windshield. You can just see the caster wheels (the wheels on the wheelie-office chairs) when the rear has to move sideways, but how was it steered? After the race, we find out that Mr. Wu bought Thorndyke's dealership. Thorndyke and Havershaw are mechanics at it. When they squirt each other, again, notice how black it is. Herbie's all restored and back to former glory! A few more things. Notice when Herbie comes out waiting to pick up Jim and Carole for the honeymoon, he wears a GIANT pink bow tie. Now where would you find a GIANT pink bow-tie? I don't know but it's featured in Herbie Rides Again. When Herbie seems to be driving by himself, notice that the scenery doesn't exactly match Herbie's steering.

 EXTRA: "The Wheel Deal"

Herbie's wheels change from time to time. Here is the rundown:

• In the Jack Rabbit Springs Race, the wheels look like the way they are in Monte Carlo (no bolts, just plain white) only painted black.
• They're also like this in the scene where Herbie "eats" Thorndyke and when Herbie tries to kill himself.)
• Moving further, black bolts appear and in some of the racing, white colored wheels like you'd see in Monte Carlo.
• For most of the rest of the film, they mainly stay with the black bolts.

EXTRA: Extra Info

• About 30-40 Bugs were used in this film.
• Most were about 1962's to 1964's and are easily disguised as the correct 1963's.
• In the later movies, this range of years is spread to late 1950's cars to mid-1960's cars.
• The original story of how Disney modified these cars was that VW Headquarters in Wolfsburg actually did the work. This was proved false recently.
• Notice how the VW logos are missing on the hood and on the hubcaps.
• When you see Herbie driving without a driver, most of the cars had the driving controls in the back seat and there was a driver. He was hidden by a lace cloth, which was 3D and made to look as if Herbie had no driver.
• Some of the extra controls are a fork lift hydraulic system, a carbon dioxide bottle, a powerful electric motor, and operate 26 levers and buttons to control all of the doors, hood, etc.