- Down-on-his-luck race car driver Jim Douglas teams up with a little VW Bug that has a mind of it's own, not realizing Herbie's worth until a sneaky rival plots to steal him.
- Meet Jim Douglas, a down-on-his-luck race car driver who lives in an old run-down fire house in San Francisco with his friend Tennessee Steinmetz, a occasional drunk mechanic. One day, Jim goes to a luxury car dealer and sees a strange Volkswagen Beetle with a unusual problem: it tends to drive on its own, as if it were sentient. The little Bug follows Jim home but Jim believes that the owner of the car dealership, Peter Thorndyke, is playing a trick on him. Jim decides to try out the car, and experiences its magical nature, fahrvergnügen, if you will, for himself. Jim repairs the little car and Tennessee names the him "Herbie". Behind the wheel of Herbie, Jim becomes more successful in racing. Thorndyke wants Herbie back, but Jim refuses and Thorndyke decides to race against him. Thorndyke sabotages Herbie before a big race known as the "El Dorado" - an obvious parody of the then-new "Baja 1000" race in Mexico. Jim and Tennessee along with Thorndyke's former assistant (and ex-girlfriend) Carol Bennett, repair Herbie before the El Dorado. The trio are determined to beat Thorndyke who will stop at nothing in order to gain a victory - and Herbie.—Andy Crews
- Jim Douglas, an experienced race car driver on a long losing streak, is confident that he needs a powerful car to get back to winning days. And just like that, fortune smiles upon him. But when Jim discovers a second-hand Volkswagen Beetle while looking for an affordable car downtown, he gets more than he bargained for. After all, baffling as it may sound, Jim's latest acquisition seems to have a mind of its own. And before long, Jim's temperamental race car wins one race after another. As a result, the haughty previous owner, Peter Thorndyke, wants his old car back. As ruthless Thorndyke gives his all to expose his rival's secret, Jim and his team prepare to win the demanding El Dorado road race. But the question remains. Can Jim and his incredible love bug make automotive history?—Nick Riganas
- In San Francisco, Jim Douglas is a has been as a professional driver, he only second rate at his peak as a track racer, and not much better in his recent sojourn as a demolition derby driver. While he is attracted to fast, sporty cars as are most professional drivers, he ends up, out of circumstance, reluctantly purchasing a Volkswagen Beetle. That reluctance is heightened when the car does things outside of his control, which makes him believe it defective. But what endures him to the car is the speed it exhibits in one of those out of control moments. Jim's friend, mechanic and roommate Tennessee Steinmetz, can see that Herbie, as he names the Beetle, does have a mind of its own and has emotions, it which helps those that are kind to it as Jim was in their initial encounter. Jim, with Tennessee by his side, does enter Herbie into races with success. In the process, Carole Bennett, the saleswoman at Thorndyke Import Motors, the upscale dealership where Jim bought the car, also comes to realize the magic that is Herbie. Who may or may not come to that realization - or arguably may not want to admit it - is Jim himself, who wants to believe that his recent racing success is all his own doing, he willing to get rid of Herbie for a more traditionally race appropriate vehicle. Who does not care what is behind Herbie being Herbie is Peter Thorndyke, Carole's snooty boss, a race car driver himself, who ends up being shown up time and time again by Herbie. As such, Thorndyke goes on a mission not only to beat Jim and Herbie, but, using whatever means possible, most underhanded, to destroy Herbie beyond repair.—Huggo
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