Volkswagon, The history of the Volkswagon Beetle |
The Volkswagon Beetle is a fun car that everyone loves to watch pass by. Especially the rambunctious kids who play bunch buggie! They are cute and convenient cars that let you park anywhere you want to due to their compact size. However, the Volkswagon Beetle has an interesting story that will be presented to you today.
The Volkswagon Beetle dates all the way back to the thirties in Germany. During the making of the Volkswagon Beetle its sister car was in the works as well, the Autobahns. Volkswagon and Porsche always had a close relationship and soon, the Porsche company will actually own Volkswagon. In 1933, Adolf Hitler knew that a compact car made for the family was being planned by Ferdinand Porsche and Hitler decided to have a meeting with him. This small car was to be the famous Volkswagon Beetle. Hitler wanted the car made and therefore Porsche began to make the car which was designed to fit two adults and three children while hitting a max speed of 62 miles per hour. With the construction of the Volkswagon Beetle on the way, this made way for Germany to build better road infrastructures. In 1937, Daimler Benz built a decent number of Beetle cars that would influence and actually become the great familiar look that we associate today with the Volkswagon Beetle.
During the war era, the Beetle was actually known as a military type vehicle. The Commanding Officer Beetle was a four wheel drive Beetle especially made for the German Army. An all terrain beetle was made called the Kubelwagen and so was the VW type 166 which was able to float.
The Volkswagon Beetle even has a cultural history because when the war ended, England took over the production of the Beetle cars. Therefore, the car was becoming internationally known and was beginning to give it some English charm. In the 50s there were many improvements made to the little car. Hydrolic brakes replaced the old breaking system, ventilation was increased by the recesses of the side windows, and there was even a sliding roof on the 250 DM. The wheel size was decreased by an inch to 15, break lights were installed into the rear lights unit. The engine output was later increased to 30 bhp and a dual exhaust was added. In the later fifties, a major change in the design was made by enlarging the front and rear windshields.
In 1967, the appearance was slightly altered with vertically placed headlights, a box section bumper and an upgrade from 6 volts to a 12 volt electrical system. In the 70s when there was an oil shortage, the Beetle grew in demand due to its economic use of gasoline. In 1978, the beetles stopped production in hometown Emden, Germany and outsourced the factor to Mexico.
Since then, the Volkswagon Beetle has remained the same. With technological advancements, the Beetle moves forward keeping itself updated yet the physical appearance remains unaltered. |
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