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The Volkswagen Type 1, more commonly known as the ''' Beetle''', is an Economy Car produced by the German automaker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003. Although the names "Beetle" and "Bug" were quickly adopted by the public, it was not until August of 1967 that VW itself began using the name Beetle in marketing materials. It had previously been known only as either the "Type I" or as the 1200 (twelve-hundred), 1300 (thirteen-hundred) or 1500 (fifteen-hundred), which had been the names under which the vehicle was marketed in Europe prior to 1967; the numbers denoted the vehicle's engine size in cubic centimeters. In 1998, many years after the original model had been dropped from the lineup in most of the world (it continued in Mexico and a handful of other countries until 2003) VW introduced the " New Beetle " (built on a Volkswagen Golf platform), bearing a cosmetic resemblance to the original. Although widely disdained for its peculiar styling, weak Power , rough ride, and high noise levels, it was ultimately the longest and most produced automobile for a single design. It remained a top seller even as rear-wheel drive conventional subcompacts were refined until ultimately replaced by front-wheel drive models. Most other nameplates are applied to succeeding generations of redesigned platforms, including its replacement, the Golf / Rabbit. The Beetle car was the benchmark for both generations of American Compact Car s such as the Chevrolet Corvair and Subcompact Car s such as the Ford Pinto and Chevrolet Vega . In the international poll for the award of the world's most influential Car Of The Twentieth Century the Beetle came fourth after the Ford Model T , the Mini and the Citroën DS . HISTORY "The People's Car" a week you must put aside - If in your own car you want to ride!"]] In 1933, of a proposed "Volks-Wagen" ("People's Car"), 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, which set the price of the car at an impressively low 990 Reichsmark , which was about the price of a small Motorcycle at the time, an average income being around 32RM/week. Volkswagen Beetle History 1938 to 2003 (abridged) Hitler's commissioning of the "People's Car" did not necessitate a clean-sheet car design. Ferdinand Porsche had already formulated the original parameters of a car design similar to the final production version of the Beetle several years before it was commissioned, and had already built working prototypes by 1931. Erwin Komenda , Porsche's chief designer, was responsible for the design and styling of the car. However its production only became financially viable when it was backed by the Third Reich . Before the large-scale production of the "People's Car" could commence, war broke out, and available manufacturing capacity was shifted to producing military-use vehicles. Production of civilian VW automobiles did not start until after the post-war occupation began. The military Beetle & production up to 1945 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 , or "Strength through Joy", the official leisure organization. It was later known as the Type 1, but became more commonly known as the Beetle after World War II. Prototypes appeared from 1935 onwards; the first prototypes were produced by seated behind, in a Kdf-Wagen (Beetle) in 1944, near the Wolfsschanze , East Prussia .]] --> The car was designed to be as simple as possible mechanically, so that there was less to go wrong; the aircooled 985 cc 25 hp (19 kW) motors proved especially effective in actions of the German Afrika Korps in Africa's Desert Heat . This was due to the built-in oil-cooler and the superior performance of the Flat-four engine configuration. The innovative suspension design used compact Torsion Beams instead of Coil or Leaf Spring s. The city of Stadt Des KdF-Wagens was created in Lower Saxony in 1938 for the benefit of the workers at the factory. A handful of Civilian -specific Beetles were produced, primarily for the Nazi Elite , in the years 1940–1945, but production figures were small. In response to Gasoline shortages, a few wartime "Holzbrenner" Beetles were fueled by wood Pyrolysis Gas Producers under the hood. In addition to the ''Kübelwagen'', ''Schwimmwagen'', and handful of others, the factory managed another wartime vehicle: the ''Kommandeurwagen''; a Beetle body mounted on the Kübelwagen chassis. A total of 669 Kommandeurwagens were produced until 1945, when all production was halted due to heavy damage sustained in Allied air raids on the factory. Much of the essential equipment had already been moved to underground Bunkers for protection, allowing production to resume quickly once hostilities had ended. Post-war Production & Boom After the end of World War II, a shortage of local jobs led to the Wolfsburg factory being re-opened by Allied forces and production of the Type 1 recommencing. The re-opening of the factory is largely accredited to (''people's car'') and Wolfsburg , respectively. The first 1,785 Beetles were made in a factory near Wolfsburg in 1945. Following the Army-lead restart of production, by 1955. During this Post-war period, the Beetle had superior performance in its category with a top speed of 115 km/h (72 mph) and 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph) in 27.5 seconds on 7.6 l/100 km (31mpg) for the standard 25 kW (34 hp) engine. This was far superior to the Citroen 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 and could only be heard in the car when idling. It had excellent 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 (see Power below). However, the opinion of some in the United States was not as flattering out of frustration that it was the top-selling foreign car in the US market. Henry Ford II once described the car as 'A little box.' 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 February 17 , 1972 . By 1973 total production was over 16 million, and by June 23, 1992 there had been over 21 million produced. The Beetle is the world's best-selling car design; though more units of the Toyota Corolla brand have been sold, there have been many total redesigns of the Corolla, each amounting to a new car design with the same name.
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