The Volkswagen Beetle can be considered one of the most inarguable icons of the automotive world. It’s not fast, it’s not powerful, it’s not even stylish or elegant, but it sure is fun. No matter what age group you belong to this car has been around and in some way been a part of the society you have lived in. It was offered at times when cars were larger and more powerful to be a smaller and more economic option for many and many of the classic aged Beetles are still being updated and remade to be cars we want to love and drive. Let’s take a tour down memory lane and see how the Beetle has touched history and what it has been.
1945 The Beginning – The Volkswagen factory lay in ruins because of the war and has left Germany trying to pick up the pieces. The factory had been transformed to create munitions and vehicles for the war, now it’s made to build cars for Americans that are occupying Germany.
1946 Finally a Charge- Americans put British Major Ivan Hirst in charge of the factory which is still struggling to get back on its feet. The charge for Hirst was to produce 20,000 VWs that were the first shape of the Bug that carried on for many years.
1947 Still Turmoil – The company is named Wolfsburg Motor Works and is being run by ex-Opel executive Heinz Nordhoff. He tried to find ownership to invest in the factory, even offering the company to Henry Ford II as a gift but after rejection focuses on exporting to Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and Switzerland to eventual are able to fit the factory with machinery from America.
1949 Not Getting Better – Nordhoff sends a Danish salesman, Ben Pon, to the US to try and sell the VW in the US market because Pon was able to sell 56 cars successfully. The trip was a disaster with the continued anti-German sentiment, even though several of these cars have come to the US with servicemen.
1950 Finally a Break – The Beetle is officially exported to America to be sold by Max Hoffman who makes them attachment sales of Porsche and Jaguar models. Dealers find it’s easy to sell these inexpensive cars and Hoffman sells 330 throughout the US.
1952 A change – This was the final year of the split rear window of this car, models with this feature have become collectors’ items today.
1953 More Power – the new model with the single pane window also receive a charge of power and displacement to bring the power to 36 horsepower.
1955 Big Year – This is the year that marks the one-millionth Beetle built in Wolfsburg. Even though only 9,000 have made their way to the US at this time, Volkswagen of America is formed with a dealership network.
1960 Advertising – The Advertising increases at this time using mostly self-deprecating messages and the horsepower is increased to 40. The transmission is fully synchronized and an automatic choke is installed along with a pump style windshield washer system.
1966 More Horsepower – Power increased to 50 horsepower and the displacement is increased to 1285 cc.
1967 Myers Manx – The Manx was the dune buggy version of the beetle that was developed by Bruce Meyers. The engine is increased in displacement and horsepower once again.
1968 Technology Increase – The Beetle added a semi-automatic transmission which did not require a clutch pedal but disengaged when the shifter was toughed. This was a feature shared with Porsche at the time. The Love Bug also made its debut creating instant popularity for the Beetle named Herbie.
1970 More Power – Displacement increased to 1585 cc and horsepower to 57 creating the “1600” badge for every US spec Beetle.
1971 Super Beetle –The Super Beetle was simply a larger car that gave owner a larger trunk and more tech to make the car even better. The horsepower is increased to sixty and the car is the fastest yet, but still takes 16.1 seconds to reach sixty mph.
1972 Breaking Records – At this time the Model T had the record for sales, but the Beetle broke it with the 15,007,034 Beetle to be built to now be the king of sales for the world.
1970s Racing Success- The Beetle was one of the toughest builds and it served well for the car on the Baja style races eventually creating a new modified “Baja Beetle” for many of these races.
1974 Beetle Moves On- Wolfsburg built its last Beetle in 1974 and Volkswagen moved the production to other facilities in Europe and in Mexico.
1975 Another Step – The Beetle adds electronic fuel injection to the car and the Super Beetle goes away. Unfortunately the horsepower drops to a meager 46.
1976 Leaving the US – This is the last year the Beetle was sold in the US (for the time being) and the Golf began to be produced as the Rabbit in America.
1998 Its Baaack – The Popularity brought the Beetle back in now form and fashion to be a car that offered a 115 horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine or a 1.9-liter TDI diesel four-cylinder. A year later the turbo Beetle was created to up the horsepower to 150 and give us a time to sixty mph of 7.3 seconds.
2001 Cute Speed – This is the year the RSi model is built for Europe that fitted the Beetle with a 3.2-liter V6 that gave it 221 horsepower, AWD and a six-speed manual transmission and a ground effects package.
2003 The Last Model 1 – Even though the new models have been on our roads for fifteen years, seventy years after the first one left the factory in Wolfsburg, the final model leaves the factory in Puebla, Mexico after more than 21,000,000 were sold worldwide. This is also the year the convertible returns on the new model.
2006 No More Diesel – With a refresh and redesign the diesel engine is discontinued on the Beetle in this year.
2012 Another Resurgence- The Beetle took the year off in 2011 and emerged again in 2012 as a redesigned car that was built on the Jetta underpinnings. The initial engines offered are the 2.5-liter inline five-cylinder that offered 170 horsepower and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder that had 200 horsepower. The TDI comes back the next year as a 2.0-liter displacement. The transmissions are a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic.
2013 Convertible Anyone? – The convertible is back on the redesigned Beetle for this year.
2016 Factory Dune Beetle – Volkswagen now offers the Beetle Dune, but it’s really just for looks and not for heading out on the sand. This is a nod to the time gone by and a fitting tribute for this classic car.
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