History of the Volkswagen Beetle
It should be small, perhaps a four-seater, have a good durable engine, get 40 miles to the gallon, and be air-cooled since most Germans did not have garages. In 1933, Hitler had described the modern Volkswagen! He even called it a Volkswagen - the people's car - and stipulated that it sell at a low price. Porsche then asked for an idea of the price. With laughter the dictator answered, "At any price, Herr Doktor Porsche. Any price below 1,000 Marks!"
Less than a year later at the opening of the Berlin International Automobile Show, Hitler, in a purple-faced, impassioned speech, promised the German public a small, low-priced car. Then Porsche received an official order to have three prototype models ready within ten months!
The section of the order that still seemed impossible was the price. It was not to exceed 900 Marks. Porsche was extremely upset. He knew the cost figures of the greatest mass-produced car in the world at that time - the Ford. However, Henry Ford rarely turned out less than one million machines of a particular model, and their equivalent cost was about 2,600 Marks. But no one dared say no to the dangerous dictator, and work began.
What Hitler did not know was that Porsche had already designed and built a small car. In 1932 he had gone to NSU and produced three machines which closely resemble the modern Volkswagen. Rear engined, air-cooled, with a squared-off body, these machines were just what the dictator wanted. Porsche had had the same idea years earlier. Even the name was similar - Volksauto. But they never came near the desired production price.
NSU dropped the idea. So did Porsche, that is, until Hitler came along. Resurrecting the Volksauto, he began to redesign it. It took time. Porsche had established his workshop in his own private garage and meticulous engineer that he was, refused to rush the project.
At the same time, he was building racing cars for Auto-Union and was really much more concerned with beating the Italians than satisfying Hitler's whim.
Hitler did not consider it a whim. In speech after speech he kept promising the public their Volkswagen, and behind the scenes he kept a relentless pressure on Porsche and the German Automobile Manufacturers Society. Actually Porsche was being squeezed from both sides. Hitler was not to, be denied, but the manufacturers were holding back. They did not want to participate in a project that would eventually offer them serious competition.
In 1935, Porsche visited America. He toured the General Motors, Packard, and Ford assembly lines with a stopwatch in his hand. He made notes of the specialized machine tools and body dies. It was all so different from European production methods. The American system turned out cars in great quantity, something no European had ever done. When Porsche returned he realized that German private capital could never finance this kind of operation. It would have to be done by the government.
Finally in 1936 the three prototypes were ready: After severe road tests, Porsche was satisfied and at the 1937 Automobile Show Hitler announced that production would soon start.
With the war fully under way, the now completed factory at Wolfsburg was called upon to produce a military vehicle. Porsche redesigned the Volkswagen, enlarging the engine, strengthening the transmission and suspension, and using an open four-seater body.
Except for the rear engine it was not unlike the American Jeep. The great advantage of the wartime VW was its weight of only 1,100 pounds and two men could stand it on its wheels if it overturned. It served on all fronts - the mud in Poland; the freezing winters of Russia; the hot sands of Africa. Field Marshal Rommel once pointed out that a
Volkswagen would operate where a camel bogged down! A special model of the car was amphibious. With a propeller and rudder added it swam at 15 miles per hour, with a steady 50 miles per hour available on the roads.
It was only after the war that the V W finally fulfilled Hitler's promise, but on a world-wide basis. The Wolfsburg plant was located in the British zone of occupation and became a repair depot. Hundreds of workers and refugees came there for jobs, and the British authorities put them to work just to keep them busy. Using the discovered blueprints, they put the Volkswagen into production. That was in 1946, thirteen years after Hitler's promise. But this time it was really for the people. The cars went on sale, first in Germany, then throughout Europe.
In 1948, the British appointed Dr. Ing. Heinz Nordhoff, a former designer for BMW, as director of the Volkswagen. He began his job with a statement of policy. Remembering the history of the car under Hitler, he said, "The future begins when you cut every tie with the past." Nordhoff remained in charge when the plant was given to the West German government. It prospered. Production went up beyond all expectations, and by 1955 over one million cars had been made. That was the first time in European automobile history that a single car had passed the magic million mark. Nordhoff then established one of the largest service organizations in the world. With replacement parts and service available, the little Volkswagen began to be seen everywhere.
It was seen under exceptional circumstances recently, in California. A service man missed a driveway on a large estate and drove the car into the swimming pool. When the owner dashed out to see what the commotion was all about, he discovered the little beetle-bodied car serenely bobbing on the waves. A Volkswagen will even float!
Volkswagen Beetles were built in Germany but after the German production was stopped to be replaced by the VW Golf , the beetle was continued in Mexico and Brazil. The last beetle rolled out of production lines of the VW plant in Mexico in the summer of 2003.
In total, 21,529,464 Beetles were built The beetle population in Hua Hin is about 6 vehicles including the one of yours truly. GM
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