The Simpsons

(FOX; 1989-current)

Series creator Matt Groening seems to be partial to VeeDubs, as they show up frequently. Here are a few that we've found...
[Ed. note: References to 'the episode guide' were found at The Simpsons Archive. jo]

'Bart Gets Hit By A Car' (#7F10 - 01/10/1991)

When Mr. Burns hits Bart in an auto accident and is willing to pay only $100, Homer sues Mr. Burns for $1 million.

Look for a pink VW Bug with purple flowers.

'Separate Vocations' (#8F15 - 02/27/1992)

After taking the Career Aptitude Normalization Test (CANT), Lisa finds out she's more suited to be a homemaker, while Bart is more suited to be a police officer. While Bart enjoys his taste of authority, Lisa turns into a bad kid. Guest voice: Steve Allen.

A film crew shoots a Bullitt-style chase scene and just as in the original, a VW (this one green) shows up several times in the final cut.

'Homer Goes to College' (#1F02 - 10/14/1993)

In order to continue in his job at the Nuclear power plant, Homer must attend college.

Continuity goof: In the credit sequence, the VW bus changes from pink in the ground shot to red in window. Also in same shot: blue sedan.

'Homer The Vigilante' (#1F09 - 01/06/1994)

When a cat burglar hits Springfield, Homer vows to fight back. Guest voice: Sam Neill.

As the population of Springfield speeds off to find the 'big T' under which the cat burglar's loot is buried, we find a purple Type I.

'Homer Loves Flanders' (#1F14 - 03/17/1994)

After Ned Flanders give a ticket to Homer for a much-hyped football game, Homer becomes Ned's best friend.

Spotted by Winskool and in comments at www.vanagon.com: "There is a nice lime green poptop baywindow. It really stands out, since all the other cars are generic-looking."

'Lady Bouvier's Lover' (#1F21 - 05/12/1994)

Grampa Simpson falls in love with Marge's mother, Jackie, but Mr. Burns woos her away from him. Grampa is brokenhearted when learning Jackie is going to marry Burns.

After Lisa laments that the only songs the family knows are TV commercials, Jackie Bouvier and her spinster daughters, Selma and Patty, sit in their VW Thing in front of the house.

'Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy' (#2F07 - 12/04/1994)

Grampa Simpson's love tonic saves Homer and Marge's sex life, but breaks the bond between father and son. Meanwhile, Bart thinks Springfield is invaded by UFOs.

TV screen displays "Thou$and Dollar Movie". Announcer: We now return to the 1971 film, "Good-Time Slim, Uncle Doobie and the Great 'Frisco Freak-Out", starring Troy McClure. [Scene features a multicolored VW bug chased by police.]

'Homer The Great' (#2F09 - 01/08/1995)

Homer joins a secret society, where his greatness is revealed, but only after he destroys the secret parchment and stripped of his membership. Guest voice: Patrick Stewart.

Homer is stuck in traffic. Note the red sedan and the green Vanagon in the lane next to him, and a white Beetle on the freeway in the background.

Although the make of Homer's car is not definite, Groening often includes very identifiable cars. In the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant parking lot, for example, there are three Type I sedans, a '60 Cadillac Eldorado, an early '80s Toyota Corolla and nestled in a back row, a '60 Edsel.

'Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part One' (#2F16 - 05/21/1995)

It's bad enough that Mr. Burns steals the newly discovered oil under Springfield Elementary, but it's going too far when he steals the town's sunshine. He is shot and everyone wonders who did the dirty deed. Guest voice: Tito Puente.

Right after Burns activates the giant sun shield, a pan shot of a parking lot reveals an orange Thing.

'Mother Simpson' (#3F06 - 11/19/1995)

Through a misunderstanding, Homer discovers his mother is very much alive, but with a very shady past and the FBI are eager to find her. Glenn Close and Harry Morgan guest star.

Homer gets a tip that his house is about to be raided. He spirits his mom away, where she hooks up with a hippie driving a flower-power decorated Microbus. As Homer and Mom hug, the hippie cries out, "Hurry up, man! This electric van's only got 20 minutes of juice left!"

'The Simpsons' 138th Episode Spectacular' (#3F31 - 12/03/1995)

A clip show. Phil Hartman guest stars.

In the parody of 'The Flintstones' opening sequence, there's a splitty parked behind Homer's car.

'The Day The Violence Died' (#3F16 - 03/17/1996)

With the help of Lionel Hutz, Bart unwittingly bankrupts the studio that produces Itchy & Scratchy when he and Hutz successfully prove the idea for Itchy was stolen some 70-80 years ago. Guest voices: Alex Rocco, Jack Sheldon, Suzanne Somers and Kirk Douglas as Chester J. Lampwick, the original Itchy creator.

Bart goes into the comic book shop while waiting for the Itchy & Scratchy 75th Anniversary parade. The store owner is playing a clip from a bootleg copy of 'Itchy & Scratchy Meet Fritz The Cat'. The car used in the clip is a Type I sedan with a sunroof.

'A Fish Called Selma' (#3F15 - 03/24/1996)

Troy McClure's sagging film career is given a boost when he is seen in public with a woman... and to stay in the public eye, Troy must do more than merely date this woman, who happens to be Selma. Guest voice: Jeff Goldblum.

VW Bus in the UGLI parking lot.

'22 Short Films About Springfield' (#3F18 - 04/14/1996)

A dull, lazy afternoon, prompts Bart and Milhouse to wonder if anything interest ever happens in Springfield -- a cue for a series of clips about Springfield.

Episode guide makes reference to VW commercial featuring Wilt 'the Stilt' Chamberlain. John Pariseau elaborates. "Nelson (town bully) laughs at the 'Very Tall Man,' because he drives a small Volkswagen Bug. The 'Very Tall Man' gets out of his bug, and says something to this effect, 'Do you find something comical about my apperance when I am driving an automobile?' He then makes Nelson drop his pants, and walk down the street, driving behind him. I am not sure if he honks." [Ed. note: The original TV commercial starring Wilt Chamberlain was promoting the watercooled Rabbit. Wilt explained he prefers driving the VW because it provides more headroom than his Rolls-Royce. jo]

'El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer (The Mysterious Voyage of Our Homer)' (#3F24 - 01/05/1997)

Consuming too many hot peppers gives Homer visions, which tell him to seek out his "soulmate". Guest voice: Johnny Cash.

In an effort to keep Homer from going to a chili cookoff, Marge clips the item from the paper. As Homer holds up the paper, there's a Beetle pictured on the back cover.

'Mountain Of Madness' (#4F10 - 02/02/1997)

To promote team work amongst the power plant's employees, Burns makes them go on a corporate retreat up in the mountains: the goal to find a hidden cabin.

Lavender VW bug in the lower left corner of the parking lot. (The gray van near the bottom center of the screen may be a VW Microbus.)

'In Marge We Trust' (#4F18 - 04/27/1997)

Marge becomes the "Listen Lady" when the people of Springfield turn to her after Rev. Lovejoy loses interest in helping people. Meanwhile, Homer sets out to discover why his face is on a box of Japanese dish soap. Guest voices: Sab Shimono, Gedde Watanaabe and Frank Welker.

Rev. Lovejoy drives a Karmann Ghia convertible.

'Bart, The Mother' (#5F22 - 09/27/1998)

Bart accidentally kills a mother bird with Nelson Muntz's BB gun, and tries his best to raise the mother's eggs on his own -- but when the hatchlings turn out to be a pair of destructive lizards that harvest nests for their own survival, the town's bird population is placed at great risk. Guest voice: Phil Hartman.

When Bart is cornered on the roof, he looks down to see a red Beetle on the street.

[Ed. Note: This sighting is marginal -- note the 'notch' at the base of the rear window, which is not present on any Type I sedan. jo]

The episode guide also says: "It's not a real car, but I liked the green four-door fastback the family walked past after the scented candle presentation." Possibly a Type IV?

'Days of Wine and D'oh'ses' (#BABF14 - 04/09/2000)

After seeing a videotape of himself intoxicated, Barney turns over a new leaf and goes the sober route. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa learn the ups and downs of photography in a contest held by the local telephone company.

Red Beetle in the background as Barney approaches the helicopter instructor.

Green Beetle on bridge as Barney makes an unscheduled landing.

'Hungry, Hungry Homer' (#CABF09 - 03/04/2001)

After Homer discovers that the Springfield Isotopes are being moved to Albuquerque, he stages a hunger strike outside the stadium.

Pan shot as Milhouse and his father approach Homer (as he sits chained to a flagpole) reveals three Beetles in the parking lot across from the park.

'Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade' (#DABF20 - 11/17/2002)

Because of Lisa's high test score, she is being promoted to the 3rd grade and because of his low test score, Bart is being demoted to the 3rd grade. They'll be in class together, much to each other's horror.

Thom Fitzpatrick of http://vintagebus.com/ wrote: "The kids are on a field trip, and Bart spots a bug, and punches Lisa in the arm with 'Punch Buggy, blue!' She sees one and punches his back with 'Punch Buggy, white!' The teacher breaks it up, and Bart explains to the teacher and the rest of the kids what 'Punch Buggy' is. Just then, they pass 'Volkswagen World' and Punch Buggy mayhem ensues. Even Otto (the bus driver) chimes in with, 'Twice for flinching!'"

'The Great Louse Detective' (#EABF01 - 12/15/2002(

Somebody from Homer's past tries to murder him, and it's up to Sideshow Bob to help Homer find out who that person is. Kelsey Grammer guest stars.

Soon after Bob sets up the stuffed decoy Homer on the clothesline, the attacks of the effigy begin -- first Moe, then Patty and Selma pull up in their Thing to toss a cinder block, followed by groundskeeper Willy, Rev. Lovejoy and finally, Homer is seen beating the stuffing out of his likeness.

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