Beetle ‘The People’s Car’
Before World War II broke out, Car used to represent the class of the people. Only the rich were able to afford four wheelers. During that time, Ferdinand Porsche dreamed a car called ‘Beetle’ for common people. He wanted to do the same in Europe as Henry Ford did in America. This effort from Ferdinand Porsche made the dream of owning a car come true.
The cars during those times were taller and aerodynamically ineffective. Porsche wanted to develop something more sleek and robust. Hence, came the design of a Beetle. He was turned down by many investors until he met Hitler. In 1934 Hitler became ready to invest in his project when he designed a Grand Prix winning car for the Germany. In May 1934, at a meeting at Berlin’s Kaiserhof Hotel, Chancellor Hitler insisted on a basic vehicle that could transport two adults and three children at 62 mph while not using more than 7 liters of fuel per 100 km. The engine had to be powerful for sustained cruising. Everything had to be designed to ensure parts could be quickly and inexpensively exchanged. The engine had to be air-cooled because, as Hitler explained, not every country doctor had his own garage. It wasn’t built for speed. The only it was built for was, moving people economically and reliably. The cost of Beetle was fixed at 990 RM same as that of a small motorcycle.
When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, World War II broke out which lead to a serious economic crisis which diverted all the effort towards war. Because of this, VW started to develop military vehicles halting the project of manufacturing the cars for common people. Because of this VW factory became the main bombing target for rival countries. After the completion of World War II, Porsche was imprisoned in France. After his release at the age of 72, he worked with British Army officer Major Ivan Hirst to set up the VW Company once again and the first beetles rolled out of the production line which was then used by Germany postal services. By 1955, VW Company produced 1 million Beetles which showed the craze of this car among people. During that time, people had to wait 12-18 months to get their order. After 1960’s, Beetle was increasingly faced with stiff competition from more modern designs globally. Japanese started manufacturing more refined rear wheel drive small cars which were getting attention all around the globe. By 2002, over 21 million Type 1s had been produced, but by 2003, annual production had dropped to 30,000 from a peak of 1.3 million in 1971. VW announced the end of production in June 2003, citing decreasing demand, and the final original Type 1 VW Beetle (No. 21,529,464) rolled off the production line at Puebla, Mexico, on 30 July 2003, 65 years after its original launch. This last Beetle, nicknamed El Rey was delivered to the company's museum in Wolfsburg, Germany.
The cars during those times were taller and aerodynamically ineffective. Porsche wanted to develop something more sleek and robust. Hence, came the design of a Beetle. He was turned down by many investors until he met Hitler. In 1934 Hitler became ready to invest in his project when he designed a Grand Prix winning car for the Germany. In May 1934, at a meeting at Berlin’s Kaiserhof Hotel, Chancellor Hitler insisted on a basic vehicle that could transport two adults and three children at 62 mph while not using more than 7 liters of fuel per 100 km. The engine had to be powerful for sustained cruising. Everything had to be designed to ensure parts could be quickly and inexpensively exchanged. The engine had to be air-cooled because, as Hitler explained, not every country doctor had his own garage. It wasn’t built for speed. The only it was built for was, moving people economically and reliably. The cost of Beetle was fixed at 990 RM same as that of a small motorcycle.
When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, World War II broke out which lead to a serious economic crisis which diverted all the effort towards war. Because of this, VW started to develop military vehicles halting the project of manufacturing the cars for common people. Because of this VW factory became the main bombing target for rival countries. After the completion of World War II, Porsche was imprisoned in France. After his release at the age of 72, he worked with British Army officer Major Ivan Hirst to set up the VW Company once again and the first beetles rolled out of the production line which was then used by Germany postal services. By 1955, VW Company produced 1 million Beetles which showed the craze of this car among people. During that time, people had to wait 12-18 months to get their order. After 1960’s, Beetle was increasingly faced with stiff competition from more modern designs globally. Japanese started manufacturing more refined rear wheel drive small cars which were getting attention all around the globe. By 2002, over 21 million Type 1s had been produced, but by 2003, annual production had dropped to 30,000 from a peak of 1.3 million in 1971. VW announced the end of production in June 2003, citing decreasing demand, and the final original Type 1 VW Beetle (No. 21,529,464) rolled off the production line at Puebla, Mexico, on 30 July 2003, 65 years after its original launch. This last Beetle, nicknamed El Rey was delivered to the company's museum in Wolfsburg, Germany.
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