Say It Ain't So - Volkswagen Halting U.S. Cabrio Sales

DETROIT, Aug 7 Reuters is reporting that Volkswagen said today that it was ending U.S. sales of the Cabrio, the boxy but beloved two-door ragtop known as the Rabbit Convertible when it made its U.S. debut nearly 25 years ago.

A statement from the U.S. arm of Europe's largest carmaker said the last Cabrio built for sale in the United States rolled off the assembly line at VW's plant in Puebla, Mexico, earlier this summer.

The car, which replaced the original Beetle convertible when its first went on sale in the United States in 1979, will now be replaced by the 2003 model New Beetle convertible, the statement said.

More than 13,000 Cabrios, also known as Cabriolets, were sold in the United States last year, making the car America's fifth most popular convertible behind the No. 1 selling Mustang made by Ford Motor, according to industry tracking firm R.L. Polk & Co.

"It is a car that crossed all status borders," Frank Maguire, Volkswagen of America's head of sales and marketing, said of the Cabrio. "It was fun but elegant at the same time."

VW reported earlier this month that its sales for the first seven months of the year in the United States were 1.4 percent lower than in 2001, at 202,119 units.