There is a good book about the Volkswagen company called “Small Wonder” by Walter Nelson. Good read if you are interested in the history of the company.
“...Ferdinand Porsche, who was hired to fulfill German dictator Adolf Hitler’s project for a “people’s car” that would spread auto ownership the way the Ford Model T had in the U.S.”
IIRC, Porsche had been working in the idea for a while before Hitler attached himself to the effort and promoted the car as a symbol of the Nazi rebirth of Germany. The article makes it sound like Porsche was a hired hand.
Hecho en Mexico. Good riddance.
They were fun to play with.
Built a couple of off road buggies in my youth.
My cousin had a ‘68 Bus for years after he got back from Vietnam. The only right wing hippie I ever knew LOL.
I'm trying to come up with an American export to Germany that rivals this in scope and $$?
I have a 2015 TDI Beetle.
They paid me $7.5K to ‘fix it’
Then I put a Malone stage 2 tune which brought it up to German specs (178 HP), lots of torque and gets nearly 40 MPG. I can fit my upright bass in it.
Sweet car.
I had a ‘71 VW 411 Square-back wagon in college. Had great traction with the engine in the rear.
We actually owned 1 of the 2 ‘49 split window beetles that were imported that year. Bought it dead from behind a repair ship near Ft Worth TX. Re-sold it to the guy that did our machine work in Houston.
Wonder what that’s worth today?
The Volkswagen Beetle was an automotive energizer bunny that kept going and going...
My sister drove one through college, grad school, several jobs. I remember hearing her faded red Beetle (firing up with a broken muffler) blocks way as she made her way home to our apartment from work.
That car would drive through rain, sleet, blizzards... It never quit on her.
(I had Volkswagen Beetle envy - always wanted one.)
Volkswagen has developed an all-electric version that looks somewhat like the original.
https://newsroom.vw.com/vehicles/future-cars/official-the-vw-bus-is-back-and-its-electric/
I owned one in 1977 and had one memorable road trip to Toronto. We arrived on Good Friday and the city was closed.
My friend and I drove that bug from Savannah GA to Notre Dame South Bend IN for a convention.
One thing I remember about Notre Dame was "Touchdown Jesus" at the stadium
Owned the original Beatles for years. Had a ‘58, 62, 68 and also VW Bus, 1960 or 1961 model, I forget which.
Very simple, easy to work on cars. Truly a peoples car.
My late mom drove one for a number of years in Hong Kong. She bought brand-new a 1961 model with the 40 bhp 1192 cc engine, which was a lot for a Beetle in those days. She’d pass everyone driving Morris Minors (a common car in Hong Kong in those days) like they were all standing still, especially going up to Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island.
Pretty good video that explains the early history of the Beetle.
I owned a ‘57 Beetle, a ‘66 Squareback and a ‘66 Beetle. I rebuilt the ‘57 with a Sears kit for $90. Lol. Great cars if you were mechanically inclined. The new ones bear no relationship to the old ones and were pretty terrible if you got the automatic tranny.
We'd probably still have it if my brother hadn't wrecked it.
I’m not suprized that Beatles are still made in Mexico. There must be a million of them still used as taxies in Mexico City, painted green with the front passenger’s seat knocked out.