Vw Insurance - Volkswagen Books

Vw Insurance > Privilege | Churchill

The Volkswagen Beetle was born from an idea by Adolf Hitler's to provide affordable motoring for the masses. During the deepening recession in mid-30's Germany, Hitler decided that a huge road building scheme would cure Germany's immediate unemployment problems and then a car would be produced that Germany's ordinary citizens could afford.

Ferdinand Porsche was asked to design such a car but under the strict guidelines Hitler proposed. Porsche designed the first rear-engined, air-cooled car, Hitler gave the go-ahead for production to begin and a factory was built in Wolfsburg. However, very few cars were produced, W.W.II was about to begin, the company's attention turned to aero engine production.

Production began again in 1945 with a very basic 1100cc model with a none-synchromesh gearbox, and cable brakes. In the USA, the model started a small-car revolution as millions of drivers; looking for a cheap second car, fell in love with the Beetle's good build quality, practicality and thrifty running costs. The size of the flat-four pushrod engine increased from 1131 to 1200cc in the 50's. Demands for a speedier, more modern Beetle were replied to in the 60's with the 1300 and 1500cc models, which now had gained an all-synchromesh gearbox and was available with disc brakes and even a semi-auto transmission. Ultimately, however, VW's faith in one basic model had a serious effect on sales in the late 60's. Buyers began to tire of the noisy, slow Beetle. Today the Beetle has cult status and the older cars, especially the split window model from the early 50's command high prices, while the 60's and 70's models are still abundant and cheap. Between 1945 and 1977 VW sold approximately 21 MILLION Beetles.

Vw Books>

Beetle Owners Club>

RAC Vehicle Check>

Green Car Insurance>

Vw Insurance Privilege | Churchill

Car Index Page