March 13th; on this day in 1969, "The Love Bug," a Walt Disney movie about the adventures of a Volkswagen Beetle named Herbie, opens in theatres across the United States. The film, which was based on a 1961 book called "Car, Boy, Girl" by Gordon Buford, centred around down-on-his-luck auto racer Jim (played by Dean Jones) who goes on a winning streak after teaming up with Herbie. Other characters in the film include the evil Peter Thorndyke (David Tomlinson), Jim's rival on the racetrack; Tennessee Steinmetz (Buddy Hackett), Jim's friend who makes art from used auto parts and Jim's girlfriend Carole (Michele Lee). "The Love Bug" was a box-office success and spawned the cinematic spinoffs "Herbie Rides Again" (1974), "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo" (1977), "Herbie Goes Bananas" (1980) and "Herbie: Fully Loaded" (2005).