A
superb and rare photo of
the shipping department in 1955 of the Volkswagen Beetle , officially called Volkswagen Type 1 , and in Germany
known as the Volkswagen Käfer
( VW Bug in English).
The photo was taken in the German Volkswagen
factory in Wolfsburg
in 1955.
The
image shows the production process of one of the greatest cars ever made in the
Wolfsburg VW factory.
The
Volkswagen Beetle, officially
known as the type 1, and originally called in German ‘Käfer’, is an economy car
produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003.
Although the names "Beetle" and "Bug" were quickly adopted
by the public, it was not until August 1967 that VW itself began using the name
Beetle in marketing materials in the US.
In most countries the Beetle is known as either the "Type I" or as
the 1100, 1200, 1300, 1500, or 1600 which had been the names under which the
vehicle was marketed in Europe; the numbers denoted the vehicle's approximate engine size in cubic centimetres.
In 1998, many years after the original model had been dropped from the lineup
in most of the world (production continued in Mexico
until 2003), VW introduced the "New Beetle" (built on a Volkswagen
Golf Mk4 platform) which bore a cosmetic resemblance to the original. Starting
in 1931, Ferdinand Porsche and Zündapp developed the "Auto für
Jedermann" (car for the everyman). This was the first time the name
"Volkswagen" was used. Porsche already preferred the flat-4 cylinder
engine, but Zündapp used a watercooled 5-cylinder radial engine. In 1932, three
prototypes were running. All of those cars were lost during the war, the last
in a bombing raid over Stuttgart in 1945.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler gave
the order to Ferdinand Porsche to develope a "Volks-Wagen" (the name
means "people's car" in German, in which it is pronounced, a basic
vehicle that should be capable of transporting two adults and three children at
a speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). The People's Car would be made available to citizens of the Third
Reich through a savings scheme at 990 Reichsmark, about the price of a small
motorcycle at the time (an average income being around 32RM/week). Erwin
Komenda, Porsche's chief designer, was responsible for the design and styling
of the car. Production only became financially viable, however, when it was
backed by the Third Reich. War broke out before the large-scale production of
the "People's Car" could commence, and manufacturing capacity was
shifted to producing military vehicles. Production of civilian VW automobiles
did not start until after the post-war occupation began. Initially called the
Porsche 60 by Ferdinand Porsche, it was officially named the KdF-Wagen when the
project was launched. The name refers to Kraft durch Freude (Strength Through
Joy), the official leisure organization in the Third Reich. It was later known
as the Type 1, but became more commonly known as the Beetle after World War II.
Prototypes appeared from 1931 onwards. Much of the Beetle's design was inspired
by the advanced Tatra cars of Hans Ledwinka, particularly the T97. This car
also had a streamlined body and a rear-mounted 4 cylinder horizontally-opposed
air-cooled engine. The Tatra V570, a prototype for a smaller car, also shows
quite a resemblance to the later Volkswagens. Tatra launched a lawsuit, but
this was stopped when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. At the same time, Tatra was forced to stop producing the T97. The
matter was re-opened after WW2 and in 1961 Volkswagen paid Tatra 3,000,000
Deutsche Marks in compensation. These damages meant that Volkswagen had little
money for the development of new models and the Beetle's production life was
necessarily extended. In occupied Germany,
the Allies followed the Morgenthau plan to remove all German war potential by
complete or partial pastoralization. As part of this, in the Industrial plans
for Germany, the rules for which industry Germany
was to be allowed to retain were set out. German car production was set at a
maximum of 10% of the 1936 car production numbers. The Volkswagen factory at Wolfsburg
was handed over by the Americans to British control in 1945; it was to be
dismantled and shipped to Britain.
Thankfully for Volkswagen, no British car manufacturer was interested in the factory;
"the vehicle does not meet the fundamental technical requirement of a motor-car
... it is quite unattractive to the average buyer ... To build the car
commercially would be a completely uneconomic enterprise." The factory
survived by producing cars for the British Army instead. The re-opening of the
factory is largely accredited to British Army officer Major Ivan Hirst
(1916–2000). Hirst was ordered to take control of the heavily bombed factory,
which the Americans had captured. His first task was to remove an unexploded
bomb which had fallen through the roof and lodged itself between some pieces of
irreplaceable production equipment; if the bomb had exploded, the Beetle's fate
would have been sealed. Hirst persuaded the British military to order 20,000 of
the cars, and by 1946 the factory was producing 1,000 cars a month. During this
period the car and its town changed their Nazi-era names to Volkswagen
(people's car) and Wolfsburg, respectively. The first 1,785 Beetles were made in a factory near Wolfsburg
in 1945. Following the Army-led restart of production, Heinz Nordhoff was
appointed director of the Volkswagen factory, under whom production increased
dramatically over the following decade, with the one-millionth car coming off
the assembly line by 1955. During this Post-war period, the Beetle had superior
performance in its category with a top speed of 115 km/h (71 mph) and 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph)
in 27.5 seconds on 7.6 l/100 km (31mpg) for the standard 25 kilowatts
(34 hp) engine. This was far superior to the Citroën 2CV and Morris Minor,
and even competitive with more modern small cars like the Mini of the 1960s and
later. The engine fired up immediately without a choke. It had tolerable
road-handling and was economical to maintain. Although a small car, the engine
has great elasticity and gave the feeling of better output than its small
nominal size. During the 1950s, the car was modified progressively: the obvious
visual changes mostly concerned the windows. In March 1953, the small oval two
piece rear window was replaced by a slightly larger single piece oval rear
window. More dramatically, in August 1957 a
much larger full width rear window replaced the oval one. 1964 saw the
introduction of a widened cover for the light over the rear license plate.
Towards the end of 1964, the height of the side windows and windscreen was slightly
increased giving the cabin a less pinched look: this coincided with the
introduction of a very slightly curved windscreen, though the curve was barely
noticeable. The same body appeared during 1966, with a 1300 cc engine in place
of the 1200 cc engine: it was only in the 1973 model Super Beetle that the
beetle acquired an obviously curved windscreen. The flat windshield remained on
the standard beetle. During the 1960s and early 1970s, innovative advertising
campaigns and a reputation for reliability and sturdiness helped production
figures to surpass the levels of the previous record holder, the Ford Model T,
when Beetle No. 15,007,034 was produced on 17 February 1972.
By 1973, total production was over 16 million, and by 23 June 1992, there had been over 21 million produced. In 1971, while production of
the "standard" Beetle continued, a Type 1 variant called the Super
Beetle, produced from model year 1971 to 1979 (1302s from 1971 to 1972, and
1303s from 1973 onwards), offered MacPherson strut front suspension, which
required a significant redesign of the front end. This resulted not only in a
better turning radius (despite having a 20 mm
(3/4 in) longer wheelbase), but because of the replacement of the bulky dual parallel
torsion bar beams which had intruded upward into a large area within the trunk,
and the stretched "nose" of the vehicle which permitted the
relocation of the spare tire from a near vertical to a low horizontal position,
this opened up approximately double the usable luggage space in the front
compartment. 1972 Super Beetles had a slightly larger rear window, larger front
brakes, and four rows of vents (vice two rows previously) on the engine deck
lid. The tail lights now incorporated reversing lights. The "four
spoke" steering wheel and steering column were re-enginneered to the
"energy absorbing" design for better crash safety. A socket for the
VW Dealer Diagnosis was fitted inside the engine compartment. In 1973, the introduction
of a more aerodynamically curved windscreen pushed it forward and away from the
passengers, purportedly due to US Department of Transportation safety
requirements. This allowed for a redesigned, "padded" dashboard (all
pre-73 Beetles had virtually no horizontal dash area). A 2-speed heater fan, higher
rear mudguards, and larger tail lights (nicknamed 'elephant's feet') were
added. The changes to the heater/windshield wiper housing and curved windshield
resulted in slight redesign of the front hood, making the 1971 and 1972 Super
Beetle hoods unique. For 1974 the previous flat steel bumper mounting brackets
were replaced with tubular "self restoring energy absorbing"
attachments, effectively shock absorbers for the bumpers. The steering knuckle
and consequently the lower attach point of the strut was redesigned to improve
handling and stability in the event of a tire blowout. This makes the struts
from pre-74 Supers not interchangable with 1974-79 makes. 1975 brought the
replacement of carburetors with Air Flow Control (AFC) Fuel Injection on U. S.
and Canadian Beetles, a derivative of the more complex Bosch fuel injection
system used in the Volkswagen Type III. The fuel injected engine also received
a new muffler and the option of an upstream catalytic converter required on
some models (e.g. California), necessitating a bulge in the rear apron sheet
metal directly under the rear bumper, and replacing the distinctive dual
"pea shooter" pipes with a single offset tailpipe, all of which make
the fuel injected models easy to identify at a glance. Other changes were rack
and pinion steering vs. the traditional worm and roller gearbox, and a larger
license plate lamp housing below the engine lid. The front turn indicators were
moved from the top of the fenders into the bumper bars on European models, a
portend of the "Euro look" style years later by Beetle restorers. In
1976, the hard top Super Beetle and 1300 were discontinued (though convertibles
remained Super Beetles through 1979) and replaced with an 'improved' standard
Beetle with 1600 cc engine, IRS rear suspension, front disc brakes, blinkers in
the front bumpers, elephant's foot tail lights and rubber inserts in the bumper
bars. The "Auto-stick" transmission was dropped. 1976-on Super
Beetles saw no significant engineering changes, only a few cosmetic touches and
new paint options, including the "Champagne Edition" models (white on
white was one example) to the final 1979 "Epiloge Edition" black on
black, in salute to the first beetles ever produced from 1930s. Though
extremely successful in the 1960s, the Beetle was faced with stiff competition
from more modern designs. The over-reliance on the Beetle meant that Volkswagen
was in financial crisis by 1974. It needed German government funding to produce
the Beetle's replacement. Only when production lines at Wolfsburg switched to
the new watercooled, front-engined, front-wheel drive Golf designed by
Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1974, (sold in North America as the " Rabbit ")
did Volkswagen produce a car as successful as the Beetle. The Golf would be
periodically redesigned over its lifetime with only a few components carried
over between models, while the Beetle used only minor refinements of its
original design. The Golf did not kill Beetle production, which continued in
smaller numbers at other German factories until January 19, 1978,
when mainstream production shifted to Brazil
and Mexico, markets where low operating cost was more important. It is important
to note that the Beetle Cabriolet was still produced for the North American
market in Germany until January
10, 1980. The last Beetle was produced in Puebla, Mexico,
in mid-2003. The final batch of 3,000 Beetles were sold as 2004 models and
badged as the Última Edición, with whitewall tires, a host of
previously-discontinued chrome trim, and the choice of two special paint colors
taken from the New Beetle. Production in Brazil
ended in 1986, then restarted in 1993 and continued until 1996. Volkswagen sold
Beetle sedans in the United States until August 1977 (the Beetle convertible
a.k.a. Cabriolet was sold until January 1980) and in Europe until 1985, with
private companies continuing to import cars produced in Mexico even after
production of the beetle had ended. By 2002, over 21 million Type 1s had been
produced. On 30
July 2003, the last Type 1 rolled
off the production line in Puebla, Mexico. It was car number 21,529,464, and was immediately shipped off to the
company's museum in Wolfsburg, Germany. In true Mexican fashion, a big celebration and a mariachi band
serenaded the last car in the 68-year-old history. The last car was nicknamed
El Rey, which is Spanish for "The King", named after a legendary Mexican
song by José Alfredo Jiménez. The last 3000 type 1s were called the
"Última Edición" or the final edition.
Volkswagen
(abbreviated VW ) is one of
the world's largest automobile manufacturers. The company is headquartered in Wolfsburg,
Lower Saxony, Germany. Volkswagen is the original marque within the Volkswagen
Group, which includes the car marques Audi, Bentley Motors, Bugatti
Automobiles, Automobili Lamborghini, SEAT, Škoda Auto and heavy goods vehicle
manufacturer Scania. Volkswagen means "people's car" in German.
Volkswagen was originally founded in 1937. In the early 1930s German auto industry was still largely composed of
luxury models, and the average German rarely could afford anything more than a
motorcycle. Seeking a potential new market, some car makers began independent
"peoples' car" projects - Mercedes' 170H, Adler's AutoBahn, Steyr 55,
Hanomag 1,3L, among others. The trend was not new, as Béla Barényi is credited
with having conceived the basic design in the middle 1920's. Josef Ganz
developed the Standard Superior (going as far as advertising it as the
"German Volkswagen"). Also, in Czechoslovakia, the Hans Ledwinka's penned Tatra T77, a very popular car amongst the
German elite, was becoming smaller and more affordable at each revision. In
1933, with many of the above projects still in development or early stages of
production, Adolf Hitler declared his intentions for a state-sponsored
"Volkswagen" program. Hitler required a basic vehicle capable of
transporting two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62
mph). The "People's
Car" would be available to citizens of the Third Reich through a savings
scheme at 990 Reichsmark, about the price of a small motorcycle (an average income
being around 32RM a week). Despite heavy lobbying in favour of one of the
existing projects, Hitler chose to sponsor an all new, state owned factory. The
engineer chosen for the task was Ferdinand Porsche. By then an already famed
engineer, Porsche was the designer of the Mercedes 170H, and worked at Steyr
for quite some time in the late 1920s. When he opened his own design studio he
landed two separate "Auto für Jedermann" (car for everybody) projects
with NSU and Zündapp, both motorcycle manufacturers. Neither project come to
fruition, stalling at prototype phase, but the basic concept remained in Porsche's
mind time enough, so on 22 June 1934, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche agreed to create
the "People's Car". Changes included better fuel efficiency,
reliability, ease of use, and economically efficient repairs and parts. The
intention was that ordinary Europeans would buy the car by means of a savings
scheme ("Fünf Mark die Woche musst Du sparen, willst Du im eigenen Wagen
fahren" — "Five Marks a week you must save, If to drive your own car
you crave"), which around 336,000 people eventually paid into. Volkswagen
honoured its savings agreements in West Germany
(but not in East
Germany)
after World War II. Prototypes of the car called the "KdF-Wagen"
(German: Kraft durch Freude — "strength through joy"), appeared from
1936 onwards (the first cars had been produced in Stuttgart).
The car already had its distinctive round shape and air-cooled, flat-four,
rear-mounted engine. The VW car was just one of many KdF programs which
included things such as tours and outings. The prefix Volks—
("People's") was not just applied to cars, but also to other products
in Europe;
the "Volksempfänger" radio receiver for instance. On 28 May 1937, the Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH
(sometimes abbreviated to Gezuvor) was established by the Deutsche
Arbeitsfront. It was later renamed "Volkswagenwerk GmbH" on 16 September 1938. Erwin Komenda, the longstanding Auto Union chief designer, developed
the car body of the prototype, which was recognizably the Beetle known today.
It was one of the first to be evolved with the aid of a wind tunnel, in use in Germany
since the early 1920s. The building of the new factory started 26 May 1938 in the new town of KdF-Stadt, now called Wolfsburg, which had been purpose-built for the factory workers. This factory had
only produced a handful of cars by the time war started in 1939. None was
actually delivered to any holder of the completed saving stamp books, though
one Type 1 Cabriolet was presented to Hitler on 20 April 1938
(his 49th birthday). War meant production changed to military vehicles, the
Type 82 Kübelwagen ("Bucket car") utility vehicle (VW's most common
wartime model), and the amphibious Schwimmwagen which were used to equip the German
forces. The company owes its post-war existence largely to one man, British
Army officer Major Ivan Hirst, REME. In April 1945, KdF-Stadt, and its heavily
bombed factory were captured by the Americans, and subsequently handed over to
the British, within whose occupation zone the town and factory fell. The
factories were placed under the control of Oldham-born Hirst. At first, the
plan was to use it for military vehicle maintenance. Since it had been used for
military production, and had been in Hirst's words a "political animal"
rather than a commercial enterprise, the equipment was in time intended to be
salvaged as war reparations. Hirst painted one of the factory's cars green and
demonstrated it to British Army headquarters. Short of light transport, in
September 1945 the British Army was persuaded to place a vital order for
20,000. The first few hundred cars went to personnel from the occupying forces,
and to the German Post Office. Some British Service personnel were allowed to
take their VW Beetles back to the United Kingdom when they were demobilised,
and one of the very first Beetles brought back in that way (UK registration
number JLT 420) is still owned by Peter Colborne-Baber, the son of the original
proprietor of the UK's first official Volkswagen Importer, Colborne Garages of
Ripley, Surrey. By 1946 the factory was producing 1,000 cars a month, a
remarkable feat considering it was still in disrepair. Owing to roof and window
damage, rain stopped production and new vehicles were bartered for steel
required for more production. The car, and its town changed their Second World
War-era names to "Volkswagen", and "Wolfsburg"
respectively, and production was increasing. It was still unclear what was to
become of the factory. It was offered to representatives from the British,
American and French motor industries. Famously, all rejected it. After an inspection
of the plant, Sir William Rootes, head of the British Rootes Group, told Hirst
the project would fail within two years, and that the car "is quite
unattractive to the average motorcar buyer, is too ugly and too noisy … If you
think you're going to build cars in this place, you're a bloody fool, young
man". In an ironic twist of fate, Volkswagen would manufacture a locally
built version of Rootes's Hillman Avenger in Argentina
in the 1980s, long after Rootes had gone bankrupt at the hands of Chrysler in
1978—the Beetle outliving the Avenger by over 30 years. Ford representatives
were equally critical: the car was "not worth a damn," according to
Henry Ford II, the son of Edsel Ford, although he did reportedly look at the possibility
of taking over the VW factory, but dismissed the idea as soon as he looked up
Wolfsburg on the map and found it to be too close for comfort to the East
German border. In France, Citroën started the 2CV on a similar marketing concept. Meanwhile, in Italy,
the Fiat 500 "Topolino" was developed In Occupied Germany, the Allies
followed the Morgenthau Plan, to remove all German war potential, by complete
or partial pastoralisation. As part of this, in the Industrial plans for Germany,
the rules for which industry Germany
was to be allowed to retain were set out. German car production was set at a
maximum of 10% of the 1936 car production numbers. As mentioned above, the Volkswagen
factory at Wolfsburg came under British control in 1945; it was to be dismantled and shipped
to Britain. Thankfully for Volkswagen, no British car manufacturer was interested
in the factory; "the vehicle does not meet the fundamental technical
requirement of a motor-car … it is quite unattractive to the average buyer … To
build the car commercially would be a completely uneconomic enterprise".
The factory survived by producing cars for the British Army instead. Allied
dismantling policy changed in late 1946 to mid 1947, although heavy industry
continued to be dismantled until 1951. In March 1947 Herbert Hoover helped change policy by stating: "There
is the illusion that the New Germany left after the annexations can be reduced
to a 'pastoral state'. It cannot be done unless we exterminate or move
25,000,000 people out of it". Thanks to the protection of British Army
Major Ivan Hirst, Volkswagen survived the perilous times, and became part of
the German economic recovery. From 1948, Volkswagen became a very important
element, symbolically and economically, of West German regeneration. Heinrich
Nordhoff (1899–1968), a former senior manager at Opel who had overseen civilian
and military vehicle production in the 1930s and 1940s, was recruited to run
the factory in 1948. In 1949 Major Hirst
left association with the company, as it had now been re-formed as a trust,
controlled by the West German government, and the government of the State of Lower Saxony.
Apart from the introduction of the Volkswagen Type 2 commercial vehicle (van,
pick-up and camper), and the VW Karmann Ghia sports car, Nordhoff pursued the
one-model policy until shortly before his death in 1968. Volkswagens were first
exhibited and sold in the United States
in 1949, but only sold two units in America
that first year. On its entry to the U.S.
market, the VW was briefly sold as a "Victory Wagon". Volkswagen of
America was formed in April 1955 to standardise sales and service in the United States.
Production of the Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle increased dramatically over the
years, the total reaching one million in 1955. Volkswagens in Canada
- VW Canada ordered their first cars on 10 July 1952.
(shipping order 143075) The order consisted of 12 vehicles, (3) model 11C,
a black, green, and sandcolor (3) 11GS, a chestnut brown and two azure blue,
(2) 24A-M51 in red, (1)21A in blue, (1) 23A in blue, (1) 22A beige color, and
one Ambulance. Volkswagen Products were seen in Canada
for the first time at the Canadian National Exhibition in August 1952 and were
accepted enthusiastically. The first shipment of cars reached Toronto
in December 1952. By 1955 sales were on a basis that warranted the building of
the fine Volkswagen plant on a 32-acre (130,000 m2) site on Scarboro's Golden Mile. To this, a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) building with administration, showrooms, service, repairs and parts,
an addition of 60,000 feet (18,000 m) was built in 1957, with storage for $4,000,000 of parts. (See 1959
Canadian Register of Commerce & Industry held in the Western Libraries at
the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.) Sales soared—thanks in
part to the famous advertising campaigns by New York
advertising agency Doyle, Dane Bernbach. Led by art director Helmut Krone, and
copywriters Julian Koenig and Bob Levinson, Volkswagen advertisements became as
popular as the car, using crisp layouts and witty copy to lure the younger,
sophisticated consumers with whom the car became associated. Even though it was
almost universally known as the Beetle (or the Bug), it was never officially
labelled as such by the manufacturer, instead referred to as the Type 1. The
first reference to the name Beetle occurred in U.S.
advertising in 1968, but not until 1998 and the Golf-based New Beetle would the
name be adopted by Volkswagen. Although the car was becoming outdated, during
the 1960s and early 1970s, American exports, innovative advertising, and a
growing reputation for reliability helped production figures surpass the levels
of the previous record holder, the Ford Model T. On 17 February 1972
the 15,007,034th Beetle was sold. Volkswagen could now claim the world
production record for the most-produced, single make of car in history. By
1973, total production was over 16 million. To commemorate its passing the
Ford Model T's record sales mark and its victories in the Baja 1000 Mexican
races from 1967 to 1971, Volkswagen produced its first limited-edition Beetle.
It was marketed as the "Baja Champion SE" in the United States
and the "Marathon" Superbeetle in the rest of the world. It featured unique
"Marathon Blau" metallic blue paint, steel-pressed 10-spoke 15-inch (38 cm) magnesium-alloy wheels, a commemorative metal plate mounted on the
glovebox and a certificate of authenticity presented to the original purchaser.
Dealer-installed options for this limited-edition Superbeetle included the
following: white stripes running the length of the rocker-panel, a special
shifter knob, bumper overriders, tapered exhaust tips, fake walnut inserts in the
dashboard (behind the steering wheel and the glovebox cover) as well as Bosch
fog lights mounted on the front bumper. VW expanded its product line in 1961
with the introduction of several Type 3 models, which were essentially body
style variations (Fastback, Notchback, Squareback) based on Type 1 mechanical
underpinnings, and again in 1969 with the larger Type 4 (also known as the 411
and 412) models. These differed substantially from previous vehicles, with the
notable introduction of monocoque/unibody construction, the option of a fully
automatic transmission, electronic fuel injection, and a sturdier powerplant.
Volkswagen added a "Super Beetle" (the Type 113) to its lineup in
1971. The Type 113 differed from the standard Beetle in its use of a MacPherson
strut front suspension instead of the usual torsion bars. Also the nose of the
car was stretched 2 inches
(51
mm) to allow the spare
tire to lie flat, and the combination of these two features significantly
increased the usable front luggage space. Despite the Super Beetle's (marketed
outside North America as the VW 1302, later 1303) popularity with Volkswagen customers, purists
preferred the standard Beetle with its less pronounced nose and its original
torsion bar suspension. In 1973, Volkswagen introduced the military-themed Type
181, or "Trekker" in Europe and the UK, "Thing" in America,
recalling the wartime Type 81. The military version was produced for the
NATO-era German Army during the Cold War years of 1970 to 1979. The US Thing
version only sold for two years, 1973 and 1974, thanks at least in part to
Ralph Nader's automobile safety campaigns. In 1964, Volkswagen succeeded in
purchasing Auto Union, and in 1969, NSU Motorenwerke AG (NSU). The former
company owned the historic Audi brand, which had disappeared after the Second
World War. VW ultimately merged Auto Union and NSU to create the modern day
Audi company, and would go on to develop it as its luxury vehicle marque.
However, the purchase of Auto Union and NSU proved to be a pivotal point in
Volkswagen's history, as both companies yielded the technological expertise
that proved necessary for VW to survive when demand for its air-cooled models
went into terminal decline as the 1970s dawned. Volkswagen was in serious
trouble by 1973. The Type 3 and Type 4 models had sold in much smaller numbers
than the Beetle and the NSU-based K70 also failed to woo buyers. Beetle sales
had started to decline rapidly in European and North American markets. The
company knew that Beetle production had to end one day, but the conundrum of
replacing it had been a never-ending nightmare. VW's ownership of Audi / Auto
Union proved to be the key to the solution - with its expertise in front-wheel
drive, and water-cooled engines which Volkswagen so desperately needed to
produce a credible Beetle successor. Audi influences paved the way for this new
generation of Volkswagens, known as the Passat, Scirocco, Golf and Polo. First
in the series was the Volkswagen Passat (Dasher in the U.S.),
introduced in 1973,
a fastback version of the
Audi 80, using many identical body and mechanical parts. Estate/wagon versions
were available in many markets. In Europe, the estate/wagon version dominated in market share for many years. In
spring 1974, the Scirocco followed. The coupe was designed by Giorgetto
Giugiaro. Based on the platform of the not yet released Golf, it was built at
Karmann due to capacity constraints at Volkswagen. The pivotal model emerged as
the Volkswagen Golf in 1974, marketed in the United States
and Canada as the Rabbit for the 1st generation (1975–1985) and 5th generation
(2006–2009). Its angular styling was designed by the Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro).
Its design followed trends for small family cars set by the 1959 Mini — the
Golf had a transversely mounted, water-cooled engine in the front, driving the
front wheels, and had a hatchback, a format that has dominated the market
segment ever since. Beetle production at Wolfsburg
ended upon the Golf's introduction. It continued in smaller numbers at other
German factories (Hanover and Emden) until 1978, but mainstream production shifted to Brazil
and Mexico. In 1975, the Volkswagen Polo followed. It was a re-badged Audi 50,
which was soon discontinued in 1978. The Polo became the base of the Volkswagen
Derby, which was introduced 1977. The Derby was for all
intents and purposes a three-box design of the Polo. After a second model
generation, the Derby was discontinued in 1985. Passat, Scirocco, Golf and Polo shared many
character defining features, as well as parts and engines. They built the basis
for Volkswagen's turn-around. While Volkswagen's range of cars soon became
similar to that of other large European automakers, the Golf has been the
mainstay of the Volkswagen lineup since its introduction, and the mechanical basis
for several other cars of the company. There have been six generations of the
Volkswagen Golf, the first of which was produced from the summer of 1974 until
the end of 1983 (sold as the Rabbit in the United States
and Canada and as the Caribe in Latin
America). Its chassis also spawned the
Volkswagen Scirocco sport coupe, Volkswagen Jetta saloon/sedan, Volkswagen Golf
Cabriolet convertible, and Volkswagen Caddy pick-up. North American production
of the Rabbit commenced at a factory in New Stanton, Pennsylvania in 1978. It
would be produced in the United States
as the Rabbit until the spring of 1984. The second-generation Golf
hatchback/Jetta sedan ran from late 1983 to late 1991, and a North American
version produced in Pennsylvania went on sale at the start of the 1985 model year. The production
numbers of the first-generation Golf has continued to grow annually in South Africa
as the Citi Golf, with only minor modifications to the interior, engine and
chassis, using tooling relocated from the New Stanton, Pennsylvania plant when
that site began to build the Second Generation car. In the 1980s, Volkswagen's
sales in the United
States
and Canada fell dramatically, despite the success of models like the Golf
elsewhere. The Japanese and the Americans were able to compete with similar
products at lower prices. Sales in the United States
were 293,595
in 1980, but by 1984 they
were down to 177,709. The introduction of the second-generation Golf, GTI and
Jetta models helped Volkswagen briefly in North
America. Motor Trend named the GTI its Car
of the Year for 1985, and Volkswagen rose in the J.D. Power buyer satisfaction
ratings to eighth place in 1985, up from 22nd a year earlier. VW's American
sales broke 200,000 in
1985 and 1986 before resuming the downward trend from earlier in the decade.
Chairman Carl Hahn decided to expand the company elsewhere, and the New
Stanton, Pennsylvania factory closed on 14 July 1988.
Meanwhile, four years after signing a cooperation agreement with the Spanish
car maker SEAT in 1982, Hahn expanded the company by purchasing a majority
share of SEAT up to 75% by the end of 1986, which VW bought outright in 1990.
Volkswagen had entered the supermini market in 1975 with the Volkswagen Polo, a
stylish and spacious three-door hatchback designed by Bertone. It was a strong
seller in West
Germany
and most of the rest of Western Europe, being one of the first foreign small cars to prove popular in Britain.
The second-generation model, launched in 1981 and sold as a hatchback and
"coupe" (with the hatchback resembling a small estate car and the
coupe being similar to a conventional hatchback), was an even greater success
for Volkswagen. It was face-lifted in 1990 and was still selling well after 13
years, when it was replaced by the third-generation Polo in 1994. In 1991, Volkswagen launched the third-generation Golf, which was European
Car of the Year for 1992. The Golf Mk3 and Jetta arrived in North America just before the start
of 1994 model year, first appearing in southern California
in the late spring of 1993. The sedan version of the Golf was badged Vento in Europe, but remained Jetta in
the U.S. The late 1990s saw a gradual change in perception of the company's
products - with Audi having elevated itself into same league as BMW and Mercedes-Benz,
Volkswagen moved upmarket to fill the void left by Audi; with SEAT and the
further addition of the Czech car maker Škoda being acquired in the late 1990s,
now occupying what was once VW's core market. This move upmarket was continued
with the Golf Mk4, introduced at the end of 1997 (and in North America in
1999), its chassis spawned a host of other cars within the Volkswagen Group—the
Volkswagen Bora (the sedan called Jetta in the U.S.), New Beetle, SEAT Toledo,
SEAT León, Audi A3, Audi TT, and Škoda Octavia. The other main models have been
the Polo, a smaller car than the Golf, and the larger Passat for the segment
above the Golf. The Scirocco and the later Corrado were both Golf-based coupés.
In 1994, Volkswagen unveiled the J Mays-designed Concept One, a
"retro"-themed concept car with a resemblance to the original Beetle,
based on the platform of the Polo. Due to a positive response to the concept, a
production version was developed as the New Beetle, based on the Golf's larger
platform. Volkswagen's fortunes in North
America improved once the third-generation
Golf and Jetta models became available there. Marketing efforts included Trek
bicycles with accompanying bicycle racks on the 1996 Jetta sedan. The
introductions of the New Beetle and the fifth-generation Passat were a major
boost to the brand. In the UK,
Volkswagen's market share grew throughout the 1990s. In 1990, the Golf was Britain's
12th most popular car with nearly 50,000 units sold. The Mk3 Polo achieved
similar success in the mid 1990s, but in 1999 the Mk4 Golf was Volkswagen's
first ever entrant in Britain's top 10 list of most popular new cars. In the late 1990s Volkswagen
acquired the three luxury brands Lamborghini (through Audi), Bentley, and
Bugatti due to Ferdinand Piëch" strategy. Audi's plans for Lamborghini
included a small supercar later to be named the Gallardo, and a new halo vehicle,
the Murciélago, and later the Reventon limited edition halo car. In late 2008, a
4-door saloon for the Lamborghini brand was shown in the form of the
Lamborghini Estoque concept. For Bentley, its future within the Volkswagen
Group seemed bright as the launch of the Bentley Continental range helped
Bentley post record-breaking sales of 10,000. Bugatti, after Volkswagen purchased
the rights to use the name, showed three concept cars, the Bugatti EB110 (coupe
and saloon) and the Bugatti Chiron. Bugatti then launched the Veyron hypercar,
with a top speed of 252 mph
(406
km/h). Volkswagen began
introducing an array of new models after Bernd Pischetsrieder became Volkswagen
Group CEO (responsible for all Group brands) in 2002. The sixth-generation VW
Golf was launched in 2008, came runner-up to the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia in the
2009 European Car of the Year, and has spawned several cousins: VW Jetta, VW
Scirocco, SEAT León, SEAT Toledo, Škoda Octavia and Audi A3 hatchback ranges, as well as a new mini-MPV,
the SEAT Altea. The GTI, a "hot hatchback" performance version of the
Golf, boasts a 2.0 L Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) direct
injection engine. VW began marketing the Golf under the Rabbit name once again
in the U.S. and Canada in June 2006. (The GTI had arrived to North America four months earlier).
The fifth-generation Jetta, and the performance version, the GLI, are also
available in the United
States
and Canada. The sixth-generation Passat and the fifth-generation Jetta both
debuted in 2005, and VW has announced plans to expand its lineup further by
bringing back the Scirocco by 2008. Other models in Wolfgang Bernhard's
(Volkswagen brand CEO) "product offensive" include the Tiguan
mid-sized SUV in 2008 and a Passat Coupé. In November 2006 Bernd Pischetsrieder
announced his resignation as Volkswagen Group CEO, and was replaced by Audi
worldwide CEO Martin Winterkorn at the beginning of 2007. Winterkorn is credited
with making Audi a challenger to the dominance of BMW and Mercedes, and his
design-led strategy has led to Audi being considered one of the most important
brands in the world. In North America, VW faced many challenges. After rising significantly between 1998 and
2001, VW's North American sales began to fall sharply leading to a 2005 loss of
roughly US$1 billion for its operations in the U.S.
and Canada. Profitability has not been strong, and the lack of reliability of the
company's cars appears to bear some of the responsibility for this situation.
By 2005, its models sat near the bottom of Consumer Reports reliability
ratings, and J.D. Power and Associates ranked VW 35th out of 37 bands in its
initial quality survey. Attempts to enter a new market segment also compromised
Volkswagen's standing in North America. In 2002, Volkswagen announced the debut of its Phaeton luxury car,
which was critically acclaimed but not well received in the marketplace. VW
announced its discontinuance in the U.S.
market for the 2007 model year due to the disappointing sales. Volkswagen in
2005, despite challenges, still maintained North American sales of 224,195—a
dramatic increase from the low in 1993 when US
sales totalled only 49,533 vehicles. Momentum continued for fiscal 2006, as
VW's North American sales for the year were 235,140 vehicles, a 4.9 percent
increase over 2005, despite a slump in domestic North American manufacturer's
sales. VW plans to close out the decade with the release on several new
vehicles worldwide and a barrage of advertising. In conjunction with the
introduction of new models, production location of Volkswagen vehicles also
underwent great change. The 2007 Eos, a hardtop convertible, is produced in a
new facility in Portugal. All Golfs/Rabbits and GTIs as of 2006 are manufactured in Wolfsburg,
Germany, rather than VW's Mexican factory in Puebla, where Golfs and GTIs for
the North American market were produced from 1989 to 1998, and the Brazilian
factory in Curitiba, where Golfs and GTIs were produced from 1999 to 2006. (The
Jetta has primarily been made in Mexico since 1989). VW is also in the process
of reconfiguring an automotive assembly plant in Belgium.
The new models and investments in manufacturing improvements were noticed
immediately by automotive critics. Favorable reviews for VW's newest cars include
the GTI being named by Consumer Reports as the top sporty car under $25,000,
one of Car and Driver magazine's "10 Best" for 2007, Automobile
Magazine's 2007 Car of the Year, as well as a 2008 Motor Trend comparison
ranking the mid-size Passat first in its class. Today, Volkswagen is one of the
most successful car manufacturers in the world.
You
can always contact us for more Volkswagen and other automotive photos!
This
is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Volkswagen
‘s automotive history in a wonderful way. This is your rare chance to
own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca.
8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm). It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.
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