The Volkswagen Beetle

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The Volkswagen Beetle
The Love Bug
How Porsche's 'people's car' became the best selling motor in the world.
The motorcar trundled into the economic depression of the 30's as a luxury commodity reserved for the rich. But an Austrian engineer named Ferdinand Porsche had other ideas. In 1931 he started work on his vision to mobilise the masses with a radical new vehicle that was both affordable and practical.

By 1933, Hitler was working on a plan to construct a massive autobahn that would offer faster and more direct travel to the public and his troops. He needed a vehicle that could be produced in vast numbers for very little cash, so he summoned Ferdinand Porsche and demanded an economical four-seater family car that could do 100 kmph and cost less than 900 Reichsmarks. It was intended to be a car for the people, the very first ‘Volkswagen’.

Hitler ordered Germany’s motoring industry to aid Porsche’s development of the state-funded 'KdF wagen' ('strength through joy car'). A brand-new factory was built for Porsche on land surrounding Wolfsburg castle.

Eager people signed up to an innovative stamp purchase scheme, paying five Reichsmarks a week for a car that would be delivered upon the completion of payment. Little did the 300,000 savers know that World War II would prevent this ever happening.

The Wolfsburg factory suffered terribly at the hands of the RAF and was earmarked for demolition after the war had ended. It seemed that the British motor industry had no interest in Porsche’s quirky people’s car. Ironically, salvation came in the form of a British army officer named Major Ivan Hurst, who started the production lines rolling again. By the end of 1945, 58 Volkswagens had been produced.

The people’s car was powered by a 25 bhp air-cooled engine; rear-mounted for increased traction and simplicity. It had a good ride and cabin space thanks to compact torsion bar suspension and featured a crash gearbox and cable-operated brakes. Its large round headlamps gave it bug-like looks which later earned it its ‘Beetle’ nickname.





The Beetle’s popularity began to spread and in 1946 the factory was ordered to produce 1000 cars per month. Demand increased and the following year it was exported to Holland. 1948’s German currency reform prompted a spending spree and even more Beetles were snapped up. By the end of the year, demand had spread world-wide, with production starting in Ireland and Brazil.

The Bug had minor makeovers during the ’50s. The first was swapping the split rear-window for an oval version, which was later replaced with a square one. Added luxuries included flashing rear taillights and a fuel gauge.

America’s love of the Bug overtook that of the Fatherland’s after a hugely successful ironic ad campaign, which mocked the quirky car. By the end of the decade, there were over 500,000 Beetles on US roads.

The ’60s were a decade of huge change. While man walked on the moon, the Beetle got square bumpers, vertical headlights, larger taillights and double-jointed axles. As free love and anti-capitalism spread, the Beetle became the must-have motor for hippies everywhere, despite its Nazi origins. By the end of the ’60s it was being built in 16 countries.

Volkswagen tried to expand its successes in 1961 with the Beetle-based Type 3. This was followed in 1968 with the Type 4, which was too heavy, slow, expensive and was consequently unsuccessful.

While the Beetle found fame as Herbie, the star of Disney’s The Love Bug, Volkswagen was losing 800 million Deutschmarks a year. The German manufacturer may have created the world’s most popular car, but its successive attempts were failures.

Fresh hopes with the launch of the K70 were soon dashed after the water-cooled front-engined car gained a reputation for being overpriced and unreliable. On February 17, 1972 the 15,007,034th Beetle was built, stealing the Ford Model T’s record for the longest production run ever.

In desperation Volkswagen called upon Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro for help. His solution was a water-cooled, front-engined hatchback named Golf. In 1974 the Golf was released to instant success. The same year the last Beetle rolled off the Wolfsburg production line.

1975 marked the Beetle’s death, although it was still built in Mexico and Brazil. In 1985 a special edition 50th anniversary Jubilee Beetle was the last model to be exported to Germany. Production in Brazil was halted in 1986, but public demand got things going again in 1993.

1994 saw the unveiling of Volkswagen’s Concept One, a Golf based show car, which reinvented the Beetle’s classic curves for a new breed of customer. The new Beetle was, front-engined, luxurious, comfortable and expensive. It may have revived the memories of the original, but not its spirit or sales.

------------------------------------- Done by me back in School for School Magazine!!

[rawfin]

very nice!

[goneheLL]

wow!

[sakin_uttara]

thanX