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VW Bug: An Endurance Test
The longest running passenger vehicle ever produced is the affectionately named VW Bug, more formally known as the Volkswagen Beetle. Created by Ferdinand Porsche under the auspices of Adolf Hitler in the early 1930s, the Bug went into production in 1938 and continued to be produced until 2003 when its last remaining assembly plant in Mexico stopped building the car.
Third Reich
Hitler's murderous quest for world domination meant that the people had to be served by a car that was cheap as well as reliable. The Type 1 as the VW Bug was initially called, was a true people's (folk's) car, designed for the autobahn and trusty enough to get people where they were going. A rear engined, rear wheel drive car, the VW Bug was simple in design too: just the right kind of car to transport the German citizenry who could afford the car.
Out of the ashes of World War II, Volkswagen rose and soon began to export its Beetle to new markets. At its zenith in the 1960s, the Beetle became the most popular car in the world and the only small car to effectively penetrate the then big car US market. Some 21.5 million units were produced over its 65 year history, with the bulk of those sales realized from the late 1950s to mid-1970s.
Throughout the second world war, production of the VW Beetle was restricted to military vehicles and cars set aside for the Nazi elite. Gas shortages made it difficult to provide the needed fuel, thus some were converted to run with wood pyrolysis gas producers.
Expanding Production
Once the war ended, production slowly shifted to supplying vehicles for ally forces occupying a devastated Germany. Air-cooled engines, used from the outset, were still in use although larger engines were developed as the car began to be sold across Europe. Various cabriolet and two-seater models were also produced, with better grades of steel, improved drivetrains, while the two piece rear window was replaced with a singular oval window.
Although the VW Bug kept the same body style for its entire 65 year run, the car did undergo a number of other transformations over its lifetime. In 1967, the VW Bug received a larger and more powerful engine and drivetrain upgrades. The electrical generator was doubled in capacity while the rear axle, braking system, wipers and changes to the back up lights and door handles were also made. And, for the first time, air-conditioning was offered through US dealers
Later Changes
In the early 1970s, just as Volkswagen decided to begin replacing the VW Bug with the VW Rabbit (Golf), a new Super Beetle was rolled out. Slightly longer than the original model, that later Beetle featured a larger engine, sportier suspension, additional cargo space and more interior room. Fuel injection soon followed but these changes weren't enough to sustain the car which was discontinued for the US market by the end of the 1970s.
By the 1980s, VW Bug production in Germany ground to a halt, but for nearly a quarter century more factories in Brazil and Mexico were tapped to produce the Beetle until production was finally terminated in July 2003. Though no longer produced, the VW Bug continues to soldier on, the longest running mass produced car ever built.
Third Reich
Hitler's murderous quest for world domination meant that the people had to be served by a car that was cheap as well as reliable. The Type 1 as the VW Bug was initially called, was a true people's (folk's) car, designed for the autobahn and trusty enough to get people where they were going. A rear engined, rear wheel drive car, the VW Bug was simple in design too: just the right kind of car to transport the German citizenry who could afford the car.
Out of the ashes of World War II, Volkswagen rose and soon began to export its Beetle to new markets. At its zenith in the 1960s, the Beetle became the most popular car in the world and the only small car to effectively penetrate the then big car US market. Some 21.5 million units were produced over its 65 year history, with the bulk of those sales realized from the late 1950s to mid-1970s.
Throughout the second world war, production of the VW Beetle was restricted to military vehicles and cars set aside for the Nazi elite. Gas shortages made it difficult to provide the needed fuel, thus some were converted to run with wood pyrolysis gas producers.
Expanding Production
Once the war ended, production slowly shifted to supplying vehicles for ally forces occupying a devastated Germany. Air-cooled engines, used from the outset, were still in use although larger engines were developed as the car began to be sold across Europe. Various cabriolet and two-seater models were also produced, with better grades of steel, improved drivetrains, while the two piece rear window was replaced with a singular oval window.
Although the VW Bug kept the same body style for its entire 65 year run, the car did undergo a number of other transformations over its lifetime. In 1967, the VW Bug received a larger and more powerful engine and drivetrain upgrades. The electrical generator was doubled in capacity while the rear axle, braking system, wipers and changes to the back up lights and door handles were also made. And, for the first time, air-conditioning was offered through US dealers
Later Changes
In the early 1970s, just as Volkswagen decided to begin replacing the VW Bug with the VW Rabbit (Golf), a new Super Beetle was rolled out. Slightly longer than the original model, that later Beetle featured a larger engine, sportier suspension, additional cargo space and more interior room. Fuel injection soon followed but these changes weren't enough to sustain the car which was discontinued for the US market by the end of the 1970s.
By the 1980s, VW Bug production in Germany ground to a halt, but for nearly a quarter century more factories in Brazil and Mexico were tapped to produce the Beetle until production was finally terminated in July 2003. Though no longer produced, the VW Bug continues to soldier on, the longest running mass produced car ever built.
