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I don't understand. Wasn't Herbie just one car? How
many movies were there, exactly?
For those not totally familiar with the Herbie films or with the making
of them, allow this to be a very brief crash course. Between 1969 and
2005, there have been five theatrical release Herbie films, a
five-episode television miniseries, and a made-for-television movie. In
every one of these films, the character we call Herbie is played by a
variety of identical Volkswagen Beetles. Multiple vehicles are required
because each one performs a different stunt(s). The cars are typically
given identification numbers so that the film crew can easily identify
which car does which stunt. In some cases, the same individual car was
used in more than one feature film. The cars represented in this collection were used in a total of four of the six
movies. They are:
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) The third film in the series
has Herbie and racing team Jim Douglas and Wheelie Applegate (Dean Jones
and Don Knotts) race from Paris to Monte Carlo, all while battling a
diamond heist and centering around Herbie falling in love with another
car. One Herbie from Mr. Kaufmann’s collection is used in this film as
well as the 1976 Lancia Scorpion, which played the part of Giselle
(Herbie’s love interest).
Herbie Goes Bananas (1980) Herbie finds himself in Mexico and
befriends a small runaway named Paco in this film, the fourth of the
series. Mr. Kaufmann’s Herbie that was used in Monte Carlo was also
used in this film.
The Love Bug (1997) A made-for-television movie about
mechanic/driver Hank Cooper (Bruce Campbell) who ends up the new owner
of the lovable Herbie as the pair race to defend their honor against
Herbie’s evil brother, Horace. A Herbie from this film as well as the
sinister, black Horace are featured in Mr. Kaufmann’s collection.
Herbie Fully Loaded (2005) The most recent Herbie film about a
young girl named Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan) struggling with what she
wants to do with her life, deciding on being a NASCAR race champion with
some encouragement from her new friend, Herbie. This film is unique in
that there are four Herbie variants seen throughout. These are often
referred to as the Junkyard Herbie, Street Herbie, Demolition Derby
Herbie, and NASCAR Herbie. Three of these variants are represented in
Mr. Kaufmann’s collection.