The Love Bug was the first (and most successful) in a series of movies made by Walt Disney Productions that starred a white Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie, a car with a mind of its own. It was based on a 1961 book Car, Boy, Girl by Gordon Buford. The movie follows the adventures of Herbie, his driver Jim Douglas (Dean Jones), and Jim's love interest, Carole Bennett (Michele Lee). It also featured Buddy Hackett as Jim's enlightened friend, Tennessee Steinmetz, who created 'art' from used car parts. English actor David Tomlinson portrayed the devilishly evil Peter Thorndyke, the owner of the auto showroom who sells Herbie to Jim and eventually becomes his racing rival. The movie itself inspired a franchise that is still popular even today. The movie also pushed along the Volkswagen Beetle craze, as people began to identify with the strange, rounded car that seemed just a bit different from most vehicles on the road.

Four theatrical sequels followed: Herbie Rides Again, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, Herbie Goes Bananas, and Herbie: Fully Loaded. A five-episode TV series, Herbie the Matchmaker, ran on CBS in the US in the spring of 1982. In 1997, there was a made-for-television sequel which included a Dean Jones cameo, tying it to the previous films. The latest sequel, Herbie: Fully Loaded, was released on June 22, 2005 by Walt Disney Pictures.

At Walt Disney World's All-Star Movies Resort in Orlando, Florida, Herbie has been immortalized on his very own "Love Bug" hotel complex.

According to Answers.com, The Love Bug was the highest-grossing film of 1969.

Tagline: It's a Love in for Herbie... the incredible little car who shifts for himself!

TV remake of the film The Love Bug (1969)

The Love Bug is made-for-television film starring Bruce Campbell and a sequel to the original The Love Bug film. The sequel included a Dean Jones cameo, tying it to the previous films. Also, this movie introduced an evil black Volkswagen named Horace, "the hate bug."

The film can be seen as a remake of the original, since the events of the original are repeated closely, as well as a sequel, since it is made clear that this film happens after Herbie Goes Bananas. It can also be thought of as a prototype or "first attempt" of Herbie: Fully Loaded, since the events of that film are also duplicated here, such as a modern racer finding Herbie in a junkyard and restoring him.

Herbie is a car - but no ordinary car. The story follows the Volkswagon Beetle with a mind of its own from the showroom to the race track, with various close escapes in between. Three further Herbie movies were to follow. Written by Colin Tinto

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 went to a luxury car dealer and surprisingly seen a strange Volkswagon Beetle with a unusual problem, it tends to drive on it's own almost having its own mind. Then this car drove all the way to Jim's home. Believing that the owner of the car dealership Peter Thorndyke, planted the car on him. Then, Jim wanted to try out the car for himself, then, he experienced the nature of the car for himself. Then, Jim fixed it and now is in more control. Tennessee dubbed the car "Herbie". Then, Jim used Heribe for races. Jim then, was rising to fame and becoming more successful in racing, Then, Thorndyke wants Herbie back, but Jim refuses and Thorndyke wanted to compete against Jim in the races, then Thorndyke sabotaged Herbie before a race so, he can win. then, a big race known as the "El Dorado" was coming up and Jim and Tennessee along with Thorndyke's former assistant (and ex-Girlfriend) Carrol Bennet, repaired Herbie before the El Dorado. The trio are determined to beat Thorndyke in the El Dorado, who will swindle and cheat to make sure that they do not win. Written by John Wiggins

Herbie, the magical Volkswagen Beetle, is passed on to a new owner. Together, they must battle a dastardly racer and his devil-car "Horace", an evil Herbie. Written by Michael Hutchison