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The Volkswagen Beetle |
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1960 VW Beetle Sunroof |
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History Of The Volkswagen Beetle Author: Irving Robbin
(Article orginally published 1960)
At the beginning of the second half of the twentieth century,
Americans drove rapidly and complacently along their manicured
highways. The cars were impressively large, with huge areas of
sheet metal and glass. Fins of various shapes sprouted from the
rear accompanied by the flowering sheen of dazzling chrome.
Horsepower was rampant in the land, and the huge engines
devoured fuel in insatiable gulps. Parking spaces became longer
and wider, garages were remodeled, and the repair bills, though
rarer, became higher when they did come. Inside these traveling
living rooms, the passengers rode on soft foam rubber, surrounded
by magic pushbuttons. It seemed as if we had reached the very
epitome of transportation. |
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Suddenly a tiny speck
appeared on this glittering
landscape, a beetle
among the butterflies. It
was a very small car, so
small as to be almost
ludicrous. It started a
new fad among the
cartoonists and provided
new jokes for the
television comedians. |
1959 VW Beetle Deluxe Sedan |
This car couldn't go very fast or climb steep hills too readily, but
it nearly always got to where it was going. On snow and ice, it
out-drove the big cars. The gas tank took a very long time to
empty, and the repairman became a stranger. This unadorned
beetle-shaped little machine seated only four, was not entirely
comfortable, but it was good transportation. A major innovation
was the rear mounted engine and, in addition, no antifreeze was
ever needed because the engine was air-cooled. |
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The car, of course, was the Volkswagen. It is still with us, in
multiplying numbers each year. In spite of the luxury of our
traveling palaces, many Americans really wanted a low-priced
utility car. The little beetle started a trend which has changed
the face of the American automobile industry, and opened the
country to many similar imports. The American soldier, returning
from the occupation in Europe, introduced us to the Volkswagen
and we suddenly realized that our own cars were out-pricing
themselves. The homely Volkswagen made transportation
available to people who could not afford a larger machine, and
has become a "second car" for families that require its
convenience. It is putting thousands of Americans on wheels.
This car which is fulfilling, in a sense, a great democratic
concept, was the idea and political pawn of the dictator, Adolph
Hitler. |
1957 VW Beetle Deluxe Sedan |
It all began at the end of the summer of 1933 when Ferdinand
Porsche was summoned to the Hotel Kaiserhof in Berlin for a
meeting with the dictator. Porsche had an outstanding reputation
as an engineer. He had been chief designer for Daimler-Benz,
Auto-Union, and now had his own engineering consultation firm.
In a private conference, Hitler told the engineer his plans for a
car. History more<< click here >> |
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