Didn't they used to float ??

Yep, the old ones did float. So much so that I was able to cut/paste this blurb from jokes.hotplugins.com

In the early 70's, when VW still sold their beetle in the USA, they were fond of bragging about how air tight they were. One of their ads showed a beetle floating in the middle of a pond. National Lampoon ran the same picture with the caption: If Ted Kennedy had driven a Volkswagen, he'd be president today! When a law suit was threatened... by VW, National Lampoon ran the following retraction: Even if Ted Kennedy had driven a Volkswagen he wouldn't be president today.

Later.

The original beetles were well sealed, but not perfect. They would "float" a lot longer than most cars, but they would sink in time. The new ones may "float" a little while longer than average, but I doubt if there is much difference between them and other contemporary cars.

Jim B.

|> Bishop, who is in Palm Beach County visiting friends and family during a |> five-week vacation, was driving from her family's residence on Singer |Island to |> visit a friend in Cape Coral when she saw a car run off the road and start |> sinking in a canal. After jumping into the canal, Bishop said she received |some |> welcome help from Fred Leon of Belle Glade. The two swam to the Volkswagen |> Beetle, which was almost fully submerged except for part of the trunk, and |> pulled Edmondson out of the car. | |

Rex in Fort Worth