Yes I have a 1972 VW Beetle, and a 2016 VW Beetle. I can safely say that the former is far simpler and also doesn't require a computer to diagnose or repair. It

Yes I have a 1972 VW Beetle, and a 2016 VW Beetle. I can safely say that the former is far simpler and also doesn't require a computer to diagnose or repair. It also doesn't have any firmwares that I can't update, eg. the bluetooth controller in the modern Bug, or the stereo. I can't enable the telephone button on my steering wheel without paying VW. I can't enable Android Auto without paying VW £200 here in the UK. (They couldn't even get it to work when I asked them to). As for the mechanical components of the car - the modern Bug is a diesel (non-PD) so has a common rail fuel system. I can read fault codes with the OBD2 mechanism but not everything is accessible. Both tremendous fun but the modern one is 100 times more complex and I would struggle to maintain it single-handedly. But I don't feel the need to reduce the modern car or "fix" the issue of its complexity simply because it is more complex. My wife has a Mini that has developed a fault but who knows what sensor has failed according to the OBD2 codes?! I don't feel the need to "fix" that and reduce it to the old 1991 Mini Cooper I had (which had its own set of baffling problems, like in-line fuses for important things like the injector but a fuse box for non-essential things like the interior light..... but that's another story).