Volkswagen: The Peoples Car, Then and Now

In 1938, shortly after taking over as the leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler teamed up with Ferdinand Porsche to design the now world renowned Volkswagen Beetle. Originally designed in 1933, the Peoples Car, translated from Volkswagen in German, was changed to include better fuel efficiency, reliability and economical parts for repair.

The car had a rear housed engine and rounded body. Unfortunately World War II delayed the production of the Volkswagen Beetle until September 1945 when the Wolfsburg factory was reopened to produce cars rather than military vehicles. In 1946 the factory was producing 1000 cars a month.

In 1949, Volkswagen began selling cars in the United States several years later in 1955 Volkswagen of America was formed, to standardize the sales and service in the U.S. Sales began to increase steadily due in part to the advertising campaigns that targeted young sophisticated consumers.

The Beetle or Bug as it was affectionately named surpassed all records for production car sales in 1972 after global sales exceeded 15 million vehicles. By 1973 sales were well over 16 million, Volkswagen celebrated by releasing a limited edition SE version of the car.

By the end of 1973 sales in the US and Europe had dropped off. In 1974 Volkswagen introduced the Rabbit replacing the Beetle with an angular design and transverse mounted front wheel drive engine. The Rabbits popularity underwent six generations of changes over the years switching names in 1985 to Golf and back to the Rabbit in 2006. Variations of the Rabbits design are attributed to the Scirocco, Cabriolet, and Jetta.

In 1990 sales slumped in the United States and Volkswagen reverted to the original design of the Beetle. Based on the Golf platform Volkswagen introduced a modified version of the Beetle in 1994. Combined with the Jetta and Passat the New Beetle boosted Volkswagens sales in the U.S.

The future of Volkswagen sees Porsche owning the majority shares of the German manufacturer with plans to release an updated version of the Scirocco and the addition of the Toureg SUV in 2002 and the 2009 addition of the Routan minivan Volkswagen is again positioned to top the U.S. market as a reliable, economical, fuel efficient brand.

In 2008 Volkswagen announced a new manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee where the auto manufacturer will be producing a new midsized sedan to compete with the Japanese products of Toyota and Honda. The first of these vehicles designed specifically for the U.S. market is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in 2011.

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