This Day

May 28, 1937 – VW is founded

VW Type 1 prototype

Volkswagen was officially founded by the German Labor Front under Nazi rule on this day in 1937 at the command of Adolf Hitler. Work on the car had already began in the years prior, as Hitler as stern in his effort to mobilize his countrymen. Hitler aimed to produce an extremely affordable, highly reliable automobile; Volkswagen translates to “people’s car.” The result would ultimately be the Volkswagen Type 1, often referred to as the Bug or Beetle.

The Nazis hired Austrian automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche to head the endeavor in 1934. He had previously indicated he had a keen interest in small cars with air-cooled engines, which is what Hitler desired. Following the release of several prototypes, a small quantity of production vehicles began off the assembly line in 1938 before WWII broke out the next year. The Volkswagen Type 1 would begin mass production following the end of the war. The VW plant at Wolfsburg became central to rebuilding Germany in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Early VW Type 1 parade in Berlin

 

The Beetle would eventually surpass the Model T as the most produced car ever, all while remaining relatively unchanged until the final one rolled off the assembly line in 2003. Though it no longer holds the title of most produced, newer vehicles that have certainly did not maintain the same body style and engineering for multiple decades.

Brian Corey

Recent Posts

April 24, 1957 – Origins of the Nissan Skyline

Prince Skyline. By I, 天然ガス, CC BY-SA 3.0 When it comes to JDM cars, one…

1 day ago

April 23, 1947 – The 1,000,000th Packard is built

1947 Packard Super Custom (Not the actual 1,000,000th Packard. By Rex Gray- fvr2, CC BY…

2 days ago

April 22, 1996 – Mercedes SLK class debuts at Turin

Since its inception, the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class (R170) has epitomized the essence of a compact luxury…

3 days ago

April 21, 1983 – C4 Corvette is introduced

The C4 Chevrolet Corvette, which debuted nationally on this day in 1983, marked a significant…

4 days ago

April 16, 2014: Mazda Honors a Quarter-Century of Driving Joy with the 25th Anniversary MX-5 Miata

By Alexander-93 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132180377 On April 16, 2014, the vibrant…

1 week ago

April 15, 1964 – Who bought the first Mustang?

On this day in 1964, two days before the official Ford Mustang on-sale date, one…

1 week ago