The Love Bug was released in 1968 and was directed by Robert Stevenson. The film follows a down-on-his-luck race car driver named Jim Douglas (played by Dean Jones) who meets Herbie, a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own. Jim purchases Herbie and soon discovers that the car has a tendency to win races on its own without any human intervention. Together, Jim and Herbie enter a series of races and become the talk of the racing world.
Along the way, Jim and Herbie encounter various obstacles and adversaries, including a snobbish rival driver named Peter Thorndyke (played by David Tomlinson) and a group of car thieves who want to steal Herbie for their own selfish purposes.
Despite the challenges, Jim and Herbie develop a strong bond and become inseparable. They go on to win the big race and become champions. The movie was a huge success and led to three more films in the Herbie franchise.