Herbie

Based on the 1961 novel 'Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford, Herbie the Love Bug is a beloved 1963 Volkswagen Beetle with a lot of character. He has worked alongside human stars ranging from Dean Jones, Buddy Hackett, Don Knotts, Helen Hayes, and Cloris Leachman to Lindsay Lohan, Matt Dillon, and Michael Keaton. Herbie received his first on-screen credit in the 1968 hit 'The Love Bug'. Set against the backdrop of San Francisco, 'The Love Bug' featured Herbie saving the day as he fueled a down-on-his-luck race car driver's quest for victory and romance. Initially unmarked and all white, Herbie was emblazoned with his famous number '53' to compete in the races. 'The Love Bug' was one of the top-grossing films of 1968. Herbie then took the title role in 'Herbie Rides Again' (1974), 'Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo' (1977) and 'Herbie Goes Bananas' (1980). He also had a television career, with the short-lived TV series 'Herbie The Love Bug' (1982), and the 1997 made-for-TV film 'The Love Bug' (1997). Along the way, he inspired many imitators and collected die-hard fans. Herbie's last film was 'Herbie: Fully Loaded' (2005), playing four different roles: Junk Yard Herbie, Tricked-Out Herbie, Demolition Derby Herbie and NASCAR Herbie. 38 different VW Beetles were used in this production, and Herbie achieved a top speed of 132 MPH during his NASCAR racing scenes. This was also the only Herbie film to utilize CGI to achieve the necessary special effects. All the earlier previous films and TV roles had mechanically-produced effects. Due to destructive stunts and trick shots, hundreds of cars were used in filming the earlier movies, of which numerous ones survive today. Models used were on the 1963-1965 chassis. Herbie got his name from a Buddy Hackett comedy routine. In his Las Vegas stage show, Hackett joked about a snow bunny who only dates guys named Herbie. Herbie's number 53 came from baseball player Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Producer Bill Walsh was a fan, and used his jersey number on Herbie. Herbie's official factory color is Pearlweiss (pearl white) which is a creamy, non-metallic white. Oddly, Herbie is never referred to as a Volkswagen or a Beetle in the first film. He is called 'the Douglas Special' or 'the little car'. All of the Volkswagen branding was removed from the car as well. However, Volkswagen was on board for the second film and beyond, and the name and branding returned.