Kathleen Brooks has owned her Volkswagen Beetle since December 1967. Named Annie, the Beetle has done 350,000 miles and she still drives it to work daily.
Volkswagen USA sensing a good news story from her obvious affection for the vehicle offered to restore Brooks’ car at its factory in Puebla, Mexico, where the original and modern Beetles were built.
The company spent 11 months restoring the car with a team of 60 specialists and trainees.
They replaced the floorpan, which had rusted through in several spots, and matched the original body color from some paint inside the glovebox. 357 pieces were restore and 40% of the car’s parts were changed. VW even recreated some of the stickers Brooks had placed on Annie.
Some upgrades were also made, including front disc brakes, an AM/FM/Bluetooth stereo, new wiring, rebuilt engine and transmission, and new red leather seats installed with Annie and Kathleen embroidered on them.
Brooks is a three time breast cancer survivor, and works with patients and survivors. Annie’s 350,000 miles (563,700km) is enough to circle the Earth 14 times.
