© Howie Lipton 2014
Welcome
Welcome to my website.
This is the largest collection of VW New Beetle toys and collectibles in Canada! How did it all start? I’ve owned VWs all my driving life, starting out with a 1979 Rabbit GTI, to an ‘84 Audi 4000S, and ‘87 Jetta GLI. In January 1994, VW came out with their next model, called Concept 1, at the Detroit Auto Show. People literally threw deposits at them as they wanted to be first to order one. I, too, was also blown away by the design since its sexy curves weren’t available on any car at the time (and pretty well nothing similar since then!). I discovered that there were a few Concept 1 toys issued, and bought them, not realizing what I was getting into. Once the real car was unveiled, in January 1998, there started to be toys, press kits, and other products sold of the “New Beetle”.I was hooked on the design, plus the different colours, sizes, and
degrees of detail. Being an eBay fan, i bought toys that were only sold in
Canada, and then sold them on eBay, using the money from those to buy
NB toys from the USA.
Of course, I just had to have my own real full-size model of the car, and bought Peanut after being on a waiting list for a few months. I enjoyed him for a few years, and then was smitten by the turbo gas model, buying Sweetie in 2001. During this time, I was becoming involved with a New Beetle group on the Internet, and then helped plan and run the first trip to Roswell, NM in 2000. Now our shows take place every 2 years. The collection of toys grew and grew, and now includes rare items like silk underwear, pasta, ties, and puzzles that have the NB logo or toy. There are some toys that seem very rare, which is strange, because you’d think they’d have to make thousands of them to be economical. For example, I found a Hello Kitty toy in Toronto’s Chinatown, and have never seen another in another other collection, or on eBay. Browse around the website, and also see my other hobby, which are “bubblecars” from the 50’s.
Howie’s New Beetle Website
Largest Collection of VW New Beetle Toys in Canada!
What Colour Do You Dream In?
Animations courtesy of Bingee
