Herbie the Love Bug - The enchanted Volkswagen Beetle automobile imbued with a spirit and mind of its own on the sitcom HERBIE, THE LOVE BUG/CBS/1982. Dean Jones who previously starred in the Walt Disney movies Love Bug (1969) and Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo (1977) reprised his role as Jim Douglas, the car's reluctant owner who was adopted by Herbie the Love Bug. To support his new wife, Julie MacLane (Patricia Harty) and her three children, Jim (and Herbie) ran a driving school and taught a class in drivers education for a local high school. The outcome of such endeavors (with Herbie along for the ride) led to predictable hilarious results.

In 2005, Disney re-engineered one of its old movie franchises and premiered Herbie (The Love Bug): Fully Loaded starring Lindsay Lohan and Michael Keaton. In the film Lindsay plays Maggie Peyton, the daughter of Ray Peyton, Sr., a former racing giant whose family had once been part of a NASCAR dynasty. With renewed hope that his daughter (Lohan) can return the family to its former status in the racing world, Ray enlists Herbie's old friend Kevin (Justin Long) to prepare Maggie and Herbie for competition in the NASCAR circuit.

Maggie's initially found Herbie in a local junkyard while she looked for a car to restore. When she opened up the Herbie's glove box, she found a letter that read ""Please take care of Herbie. Whatever your problems, he will help you solve them." Maggie sarcastically commented "Great, a fortune cookie on wheels."

TRIVIA NOTE: Historically, the Volkswagen car was created in Germany during the rise of Adolph Hitler in the 1930s who recognized the Volkswagen  (or "People's Car") as one of the iconic symbols of his new Nazi Regime. The car (now called "The Beetle") featured an aerodynamic shape (designed by Austrian car-body-designer Erwin Komenda) and an air-cooled, four cylinder, rear-mounted engine to provide the German people with affordable, economical transportation. Ironically, the Nazi Regime has faded away but the popularity it's People's Car (developed by German automotive engineer, Ferdinand Porsche) continues to grow despite its association with such a truly despicable dictator.

The original Disney's Herbie the Love Bug can be found on display at the Swigart Antique Auto Museum in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Herbie's license plate number is OFP 857. (California registry, black plate, yellow letters).