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Tag: volkswagen

February 17, 1972 – VW Beetle outsells Ford Model T
17Feb By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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February 17, 1972 – VW Beetle outsells Ford Model T

Introduced in 1908, the Ford Model T would set the record for the highest produced automotive model by the time production ended in 1927. Some 15,007,033 left the factory over those years. It'd be 45 years before another car matched, and then surpassed, that number. On this day in 1972 Volkswagen beat that record when the 15,007,034th Type 1 Beetle left the factory. Developed in Nazi Germany by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche and his team in the 1930s, the Beetle would go into full scale production following WWII. Dismal US sales in the early 1950s led to a massive marketing campaign launched in 1959 by advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach. The series of ads took playful jabs at VW while promoting the advantages owning a small car. The Bug, as it is informally known, underwent very ...
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October 22, 1936 – The first VW test drive
22Oct By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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October 22, 1936 – The first VW test drive

1936 Volkswagen Prototype On this day in 1936 drivers road tested the Volkswagen Type 1 prototype for the first time. The car, proposed, designed and engineered by Ferdinand Porsche and his team under contract of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party, was labeled Volkswagen, which translates in German to "People's Car." It was developed to be affordable, reliable and simple to work on, making it attainable and manageable for the country’s working-class population. The original Type 1s were to hit a top speed of 62 mph, perfect for Germany's new Autobahn.  VWs on the assembly line in 1947, via Volkswagen The Beetle, as it came to be widely known, began mass production following WWII after the Wolfsburg factory landed back in German hands. Once the factory was up and running the little cars wo...
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August 5, 1955 – The one millionth VW Beetle
5Aug By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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August 5, 1955 – The one millionth VW Beetle

The one millionth VW comes off the assembly line. By August of 1955 Volkswagen produced the Type 1 Beetle, the Type 2 Bus and it had recently introduced the Karmann Ghia. While the latter two would help capture new buyers, it was the original VW that firmly planted the success of the automaker. While it took years to bring the People's Car to life in Nazi Germany, the war nearly ended production before it truly began. Yet, when the dust settled, the plant was standing just enough to begin operations. Soon after the white flags flew, workers of the Wolfsburg plant drug machinery they hid in the woods to save it from bombs back to the plant. They started hand building cars with bits and pieces by June 1945. The 1,000,000th VW Beetle (VW) Occupying forces did direct the workers to ...
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May 28, 1937 – VW is founded
28May By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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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 assem...
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March 13, 1969 – The Love Bug debuts
13Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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March 13, 1969 – The Love Bug debuts

An original Herbie from the movie. By Vmanjr - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 The Love Bug movie made its official debut on this day in 1969. Starring a pearl white 1963 Volkswagen Beetle named Herbie, the movie follows the adventures of Jim Douglas (Dean Jones), a racing driver who can’t catch a break. When Jim finds himself in need of a new car he heads into town and is caught off guard by an attractive mechanic and sales associate, Carole Bennett (Michelle Lee), working inside a European auto showroom.  There he also meets the showroom owner, Peter Thorndyke (David Tomlinson), who is rude to Herbie. After defending the car it winds up in Jim’s driveway the next morning, seemingly without the help of anyone. To prevent Thorndyke from pressing charges against him, Jim agrees to buy it....
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March 8, 1950 – VW Type 2 goes on sale
8Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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March 8, 1950 – VW Type 2 goes on sale

Ben Pon may not not a familiar name, but he earns credit for the introduction of the Volkswagen Type 2, first offered for sale this day in 1950. Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946 intending to import the Beetle to the Netherlands after production restarted following WWII. Realizing a need for a larger vehicle, Pon sketched a small bus that used the same pan as the Beetle. He brought his idea to leadership at Volkswagen, sparking intrigue. VW engineers further developed the idea and the Type 2 was born. Ben Pon sketch of what would become the Type 2. The Type 2 ended up on its own pan, but it would host numerous body styles, including panel vans and trucks. The Type 2, also known as the Transporter, affectionately became known as the VW Bus, Camper and a myriad of other names. The fin...
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January 19, 1978 – The last German VW Beetle
19Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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January 19, 1978 – The last German VW Beetle

Cover: 1978 Volkswagen Beetle. By Niels de Wit from Lunteren, The Netherlands - 1978 Volkswagen Beetle, CC BY 2.0. Introduced in Germany during the Nazi regime as the The People's Car, the Volkswagen Type 1, commonly referred to as the Beetle, started rolling off the assembly line in mass quantities following World War II. The small car would eventually become the best selling vehicle of all time to date, surpassing the Model T in total volume in 1972. However, the fun wouldn't last forever. It was on this day in 1978 that the last VW Type 1 rolled off a German assembly line. Production would continue outside of Germany until July 30, 2003 when the very last Type 1, number 21,529,464 in total, rolled out of a production facility in Puebla, Mexico. VW Bug Volkswagen had been foun...
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November 29, 1996 – Facing industrial espionage charges from GM, VW executive Jose Ignacio Lopez resigns
29Nov By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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November 29, 1996 – Facing industrial espionage charges from GM, VW executive Jose Ignacio Lopez resigns

VW Jetta Volkswagen purchasing chief executive Jose Ignacio Lopez resigned on this day in 1996 amid charges of corporate espionage against General Motors. According to an November 30, 1996 LA Times article, "GM contends that Lopez and three of the seven GM executives he lured away to Volkswagen with him systematically stole boxes full of factory plans, component price lists, detailed new-car plans and other valuable documents and gave them to their new employer." The following article originally appeared in the New York Times on Jan 10, 1997. VW AGREES TO PAY G.M. $100 MILLION IN ESPIONAGE SUIT Bringing to an end a four-year feud between two of the world's largest companies, Volkswagen A.G. agreed to pay $100 million to the General Motors Corporation to settle accusations that ...
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September 6, 1949 – VW is returned to German control
6Sep By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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September 6, 1949 – VW is returned to German control

On August 22, 1945, the British ordered Volkswagen to produce 20,000 cars for the British military administration. Here you see the very first limousines built after the war, sitting high on a bucket car chassis After being taken over by British forces following the end of World War II in Europe, Volkswagen was handed back to the Federal Republic of Germany on this day in 1949. Volkswagen was a project started by Adolf Hitler to put Germany on wheels. His plan was to manufacture an affordable and economical “People’s Car” that could be attained by all. In 1934 Ferdinand Porsche, who recently started an automotive consulting firm, was hired by the Nazis to design the vehicle. The result became one of the best selling cars of all time. Following WWII the allies were determined to put...
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July 14, 1955 – VW Karmann Ghia debuts
14Jul By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
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July 14, 1955 – VW Karmann Ghia debuts

Volkswagen publicly introduced the production version of its new Karmann Ghia on this day in 1955 at the Kasino Hotel in Westphalia, Germany. The KG hit the market as a 2+2 sports car coupe, or after 1957, available as a convertible. It combined the mechanicals and chassis of the Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle with styling by Italy's Carrozzeria Ghia and hand-built bodywork by German coachbuilding house Karmann. Above & Top: Images from the Kasino Hotel Karmann Ghia introduction The Type 14 prototype, the KG's internal label, originally debuted at the 1953 Paris Auto Show as a styling experiment. It garnered enough attention that executives moved it toward production. When the final design, as a 2+2, debuted at the Kasino Hotel, it received a grand welcoming. (Just look at these ...
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