| The VW Beetle Fender |
 Musicians and fans of music have long known Fender as one of the foremost producers of guitars and amplifiers, with an incredibly diverse range of musicians from Jimi Hendrix to Brad Paisley using Fender gear over the years. Fender recently expanded into the car audio business by teaming up with Panasonic to produce sound systems for Volkswagen, and at last year’s Frankfurt show VW created a concept Beetle billed as a tribute to the iconic company. Now, Car and Driver reports that the concept is headed to production as the Beetle Fender Edition. Unfortunately, several of the concept’s more unique details won’t make it to the showroom. The vintage amp-style head-unit and dashtop tube amp will be ditched, and the trunk-mounted subwoofer with an integrated guitar jack won’t make the cut either. A different subwoofer of some sort will reportedly still be offered, but musicians will need to plug in through the aux-in port (necessitating an adaptor) or via Bluetooth with smartphone apps. The concept’s two-tone wood dash design, which pays homage to the distinctive “sunburst” finish of certain Fender guitars, will likely make it to production, although plastic imitation-wood could replace the genuine article. Expect the chrome and aluminum accents, 19-inch wheels and high-gloss black paint with subtle red trim around the windows from the concept to survive, while VW could keep the lowered suspension by simply using the setup from the Beetle Turbo. Look for the Beetle Fender Edition to arrive by the end of the year.   
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