iconic cars, who better to celebrate the beetle than long- time vw owner don dahler. car that rolled off the assembly line in puebla, mexico, it was the last of its kind. the beetle is an unlikely automotive classic spanning eight decades with sales totaling more than $23 million it was conceived by adolf hitler and designed by ferdinand porsche as the volkswagen or people s car. to reinvigorate nazi germany s economy and make the people mobile. the type 1, its official name, became famous for its durability, ease of maintenance and while there are no other way to put it, cuteness. this is a beauty. yeah, 1962 convertible. reporter: chris vallone of new york runs perhaps the last shop in the world dedicated slowly to restoring bugs. what is it about the bug that appealed to you. that happy look on its face. it has a face when you look at it. the little smile, what bumper there. reporter: in the 60s the beetle became a symbol for the counterculture.
name rip as a boy and refused to change it. rip torn was 88. up next, after 81 years, could it be the end of beetlemania? up next, could it be the end of beetlemania? you know what i m thinking? why not use it? i mean, we re talking about six trillion dollars here. that s a whole lotta cash out there people are just sitting on many older americans are in a tough spot right now. they just don t have enough savings to get by. it s their biggest concern. they could be our family, our friends. and then there s that six trillion dollars. that s the amount retired homeowners have already paid into their homes. it comes down to an average of more than two hundred thousand dollars per senior household. so,
axelrod: today marked the end of the road for one of the world s most iconic cars, and who better to celebrate the beetle than long-time v.w. owner don dahler. reporter: it wasn t just any car that rolled off the assembly line in puebla, mexico, today, it was the last of its kind. the beetle is an unlikely automotive classic, spanning eight decades with sales totaling more than $23 million. it was conceived by adolf hitler and designed by ferdinand porsche as the volkswagen or people s car to reinvigorate nazi germany s economy and make the country mobile. the type-1, its official name, became famous for its durability, ease of maintenance, and, well, there s no other way to put it, cuteness. this is a beauty. yeah, 1962 convertible. reporter: chris vallone of congress, new york, runs perhaps the last shop in the world dedicated solely to restoring bugs. what is it about the bug that appealed to you?
that happy look on its face. it s got a face when you look at it, right? it s got the little smile, that bumper there. reporter: in the 60s the beetle became a symbol for the counter-culture. over the years volkswagen embraced the car s quirkiness in a series of ads touting its diminutive size. with only two redesigns in its lifetime, unheard of in the car industry, the beetle never lost its personality, starring in movies and even recent tv shows. but look at that turn signal. holy mackerel! reporter: the end of the beetle marks a turning point for volkswagen, which now sees its future in electric cars. so for many who grew up loving this car, including me i still own the 67 bug my parents bought new it is with a sense of melancholy to say they just don t make em like that anymore. don dahler, cbs news, new york. axelrod: and that s the cbs evening news. i m jim axelrod. see you back
the beetle recognized around the world, reaching peek popularity in the 1960s. the company is retiring its iconic car after eight decades. and queen elizabeth going strong tonight. just ask her. the queen surprising everyone during a tree planting ceremony. first, handing off her purse, then taking the shove and going to work. her majesty at 93 years old telling them, quote, i ll still perfectly capable of planting a tree. she deserves that glass of wine. when we come back tonight, one incredible moment on an american mountain. american mountain. it s america strong. later in life. tain cancers from an infection, human papillomavirus i knew that hpv could lead to certain cancers. i knew her risk for hpv increases as she gets older. i knew there was a vaccine available that could help protect her before she could be exposed to hpv. i knew. so i talked to my child s doctor. now that you know that hpv can lead to certain cancers, don t wait. talk to your child s doctor today.