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The Car that
Conquered the World
MIND MAGAZINE | “What a
beautiful car, it looks just like a beetle” was the surprised reaction
of a woman in the Volkswagen factory looking at a new model that would
thereafter be called by that name. That little thing certainly wasn’t
the fastest or the most spacious car around, but it still became a
landmark of efficiency and ingenuity. Using a very simple design, the
Beetle was used by millions to make it one of the world’s most popular
car. Its production started just before the Second World War and today,
the car is still manufactured in its original version. Not to mention
“The New Beetle” introduced in 1998. There are many remarkable things
about this little car, and there are a lot of stories hidden beneath its
hood.
Of course, everybody knows Volkswagen is a German carmaker, and that its
name means “the people’s car.” But something little people know about
it, is that the creator of the corporation was no other than Adolf
Hitler himself. He had the idea of making an affordable mass-produced
car, that would help to develop the country by eliminating unemployment
and creating the world’s first highway, called “The Autobahn.” Hitler
imagined this plan while he was in prison in the 1920s. When he claimed
power in 1933, he started to implement his idea to create a car for the
masses: The Beetle.
And so, in 1933, the best engineers in the country were appointed the
task of making a reliable car that could carry two adults and three
children and costing less than 86 Marks. Moreover, the car had to have a
top speed of 100 km/h and to have a fuel consumption of 42 miles per
gallon or less. The design of the Beetle was put under the direction of
Ferdinand Porsche, a brilliant engineer who made his name a timeless
synonym of performance. The design of the Beetle was remarkable by its
quality and simplicity, and the most notably: the blueprint was
completed in only 10 months. The plans of the engine were completed in
an all-time record of two days.
The first prototype, called the KdF (“Kraft durch Freude” meaning power
by joy), was finished in 1934. The design of the car was unique, and it
offered a lot of interior space relative to its compact size. The entire
car was designed around the driver’s seat; a small engine (only 22
horsepower) was mounted in the back to offer a better torque and to
enhance the space for passengers and luggage. The first model of the
Beetle was shown to the public at the Berlin auto show, in 1939. That
year marked the beginning of Beetle’s life and, unfortunately, it was
also the year World War II began. Shortly after, Volkswagen’s factories
were requisitioned by the air force, interrupting the production of the
Beetle for eight years.
After the war, Volkswagen was still true to its first mission: helping
the people of Germany. And, just like 20 years before, Volkswagen gave
hope to the people as well as giving them good cars. The Beetle rolled
out of factories worldwide and onto the roads of the four corners of the
planet. In the mid seventies 16,500,000 Beetles were made, surpassing
the old record of Ford’s Model T.
The car went through several versions: convertible, sports, coupe, 4x4
and even an amphibious model used in the mid 1940s. Volkswagen’s
financial problems forced the corporation to reposition in the beginning
of the seventies. In 1974, after forty years of existence, the Golf
officially replaced the Beetle. The German production of the ladybug
came to an end on January 10, 1980. The car is still produced in its
original format in Mexico, and to this day, more than 21 million Beetles
have been manufactured.
Nowadays, nostalgic people can always purchase the new Beetle, a car
inspired from Volkswagen’s first model. Today, the legacy of the Beetle
lives on: many Beetles are still on the road and tons of clubs are
dedicated to its legend.
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