The beetle's back.

DEMAND IN L.A. EXPECTED TO BE HIGH FOR THE NEW VOLKSWAGEN BUG

L.A. has suddenly gone buggy.

One month before the arrival of the 1999 Volkswagen Beetle in showrooms nationwide, Los Angeles-area VW dealers are already being inundated with requests from customers interested in buying one or more of the perky bug-eyed car.

"We have pre-sold the first month's allocation," said Ray Kinder, service manager for New Century Volkswagen Inc. in Glendale. "I haven't seen anything like this since the gas crisis 20 years ago when we introduced the diesel."

Jeff LaPlante, general manager of Volkswagen of Santa Monica, said he too has been overwhelmed by the interest in the new Bug ever since it was displayed at the recent Los Angeles Automobile Show. But he has purposely declined to write any orders.

"We are swamped," he said, "but we aren't taking any orders. We don't want to tick people off."

The U.S. market is so important to VW's future that the company has taken the unprecedented move of introducing its new Bug in America first, rather than in Germany. Several dealers said they expect many of their buyers to actually export their new Beetles to Germany.

"Los Angeles is important to Volkswagen," said C. Van Tune, editor of Motor Trend magazine. "It's the trend setter. If the car is accepted here, it will be accepted elsewhere. I think the new Bug will be the hot car on college campuses in the fall."

The Beetle has it origins in Nazi Germany, where Adolph Hitler ordered Ferdinand Porsche to develop a cheap automobile for countrymen. The word "volkswagen" is German for "people's car."

After World War II, the tiny, air-cooled car was imported to the United States, but was not an immediate hit. Only two were sold during the first year.

That changed dramatically because the Bug was cheap (just $1,200), good on gas mileage and easy to maintain. Stars like Brigitte Bardot bought one. Princess Margaret had one and Paul Newman raced through the gears of his, although he had a Porsche engine installed.

In 1977, VW stopped selling the car in the United States, although about 30,000 are still being built each year in Mexico and Brazil for Latin American markets. The new Beetle, of which there will be only 50,000 made during the first year, will also be built in Mexico. Production will be increased to 100,000 next year.

At the time the old Bug was phased out in the United States, more than 21 million had been built - more than Henry Ford's famed Model T. More than 120 million people have owned a Beetle, many having bought them used.

The ballyhoo surrounding the new Beetle is a far cry from the reception Volkswagen AG has been getting in the United States in recent years. The company has been languishing, suffering losses to Japanese and Korean automakers. As of last year, VW had slipped to ninth in the U.S. sales rankings. That's a long fall from its peak year of 1970, when the Beetle was the No. 1-selling U.S. import and VW ranked fourth in U.S. car sales, right behind the big three U.S. automakers.

The new Beetle could boost the German carmaker to seventh place - just behind the big three U.S. automakers and the top three Japanese imports. Last year, VW sold 135,000 cars (Jettas and Passats) in the United States. It expects to sell about 200,000 this year, including 50,000 Beetles, with Southern California accounting for a huge portion of those sales.

"The Beetle is a magnet for the brand," said Robert G. Dunn, southwest regional manager for Volkswagen of America Inc. "It will create solid interest and bring in old and new customers."

VW has set its "manufacturer's suggested retail price" quite low; the base sticker price will be $15,200. With all the frills added, it will sell for around $17,000.

Of course, the new Beetle is not the old Bug with a sleeker body. It is a completely redesigned car with its liquid - cooled engine in the front. Unlike the tiny Bug of the past, the new car comes complete with airbags, cruise control, a CD player, power door locks and windows, heated seats and leather upholstery. The new Bug has a top speed of 114 miles per hour - unlike its under-powered predecessor, which could barely reach 65. The only reminder of the car's appeal to the flower children of the '60s is a small bud vase for the dashboard.

And yet, much of the interest in the new car is nostalgia - older people who once drove them in their youth and younger people who have heard tales about them.

"If there is a common thread for people who see this car, it's that they all have smiles on their faces," said Dunn, who has driven one of the few factory cars available in the Los Angeles area. "The ear is cool-looking."