To celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday, her friends at Volkswagen parked a custom-made Beetle full-size Dream Car in the driveway of her real-life 3,500-square-foot Dream House in (where else?) Malibu, California.
The already-cute subcompact was Barbified with a motorized vanity in the trunk, a rearview mirror adorned with rhinestones and a Barbie "ponytail" silhouette embroidered on the Katzkin leather seats. Of course, if it's a Barbie Dream Car, it's gotta be pink -- and this thing looks like the undercooked chicken at a Ponderosa restaurant. VW whipped five shades of pink paint into a custom blend for the exterior and covered the engine with what appears to be Pepto-Bismol.
We may never know if Barbie likes her new ride, because girls who look like her don't talk to automotive bloggers. Helping Barbie celebrate were Heidi Klum - that's her in the pic above - Lauren Conrad and a kouple of Kardashians. Sadly for us, they don't talk to automotive bloggers either.
The New Beetle is the latest in a long line of Barbie Dream Cars. Our favorites include the Barbie Jeep and the Barbie Corvette (which, as kids, we always wanted to steal from our sisters and paint bright red). It's only fitting that a middle-aged Barbie get a retro remake of a '60s classic. We're glad to see her reducing her carbon footprint driving a smaller car.
Laura Soave, VW's marketing general manager, says Barbie wanted a VW because both she and the Beetle have "made a remarkable impact on pop culture history." We're glad to see that even at 50, Barbie hasn't gained any modesty.