Why Did Volkswagen Kill The Beetle?

In July 2019, production of perhaps one of the most iconic and important cars of all time ended. Volkswagen is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. It houses brands such as Audi, Porsche and Bentley. But perhaps its best-known vehicle is this little thing: the Volkswagen Beetle. There are few vehicles in the history of the world that have been as important as a Volkswagen Beetle. This car rose from the ashes of Nazi Germany, became a symbol of the 1960s counterculture, and has been immortalized time and time again in film and popular culture. It may have been in production longer than any other car in history during its entire lifespan.

Volkswagen sold more than 21.5 million original Beatles. That makes it the most successful car design of all time. In terms of popularity, the three versions of the Beatles have surpassed in popularity even the famous Ford Model T, which it eclipsed in total sales on February 17, 1970 with more than 22.5 million units. The name of the Beatles is only behind the Volkswagen Golf and the Toyota Corolla among passenger cars. And now it could be gone forever. To understand the

beetle

, it helps to know its strange and sometimes baffling history. Specifically, the car that became a hippie icon and Hollywood star actually has its roots in Hitler's Third Reich.

The name Volkswagen is German for people's car and the Volkswagen Beetle was originally intended to be exactly that: a car for the people in the early days of the automobile industry. Cars were a luxury that only the richest could afford. Of course, this began to change when manufacturers like Henry Ford pioneered production methods that made automobiles accessible to everyone. At that time, the term Volkswagen was not yet a brand, but a term used in the automotive field to describe a relatively new concept of a popular car, a vehicle affordable for the masses. The idea of ​​mass motoring also appealed to Adolf Hitler, who had come to power in Germany in 1933 and was reputed to be a great automobile enthusiast.

An engineer named Ferdinand Porsche? Yes, Porsche submitted a proposal to the new German government to design a small and light popular car. In 1934, Ferdinand Porsche was commissioned to create a popular car for Germans to travel to New Orleans and also to use as a military vehicle. Although several other automakers had also submitted designs for a popular automobile, Hitler accepted Porsche's idea largely because of Porsche's reputation in racing. It was this design that would later become the Volkswagen Beetle. In 1938, the National Socialist Union called the German Labor Front founded the Volkswagen Work Company and began building a factory to produce automobiles.

The group planned to manufacture 150,000 cars for individuals during the first year of the factory, inaugurated in 1939, 300,000 in the second year and 450,000 in the third. In 1938, the Porsche car was introduced and Hitler called it KdF-Wagon. The letters K,D,F represent the German phrase "strength through joy." A propaganda slogan from the Nazi era. When the war broke out, the factory meant to make cars was remodeled to make weapons and, eventually, military vehicles. All customer orders for the planned car were cancelled. Even for those who had paid their salaries for them, use of the weapons factory ended on April 11, 1945, with the arrival of American forces.

The Americans handed over management of the region to the British, who recognized the usefulness of the factory and provided a livelihood for local Germans. They changed the factory to manufacture civilian vehicles. There were shortages of raw materials and other obstacles. But thus began the modern era of the automobile, officially called the Volkswagen type one and known throughout much of the world as the Beatles. The British occupation forces in charge of the factory made several decisions that were crucial to Volkswagen's future. They created a sales team, a vehicle maintenance department and a mechanics training school. The British even trained mechanics themselves, using members of the British Army's own Corps of Royal Mechanical and Electrical Engineers.

They also made the decision to start exporting automobiles, beginning the transformation of the Volkswagen Beetle and the company itself into the international icons they are known for today. Volkswagen sold throughout Europe, the United States, and even Africa in the 1950s. Both Volkswagen and its Beetle became symbols of what people called Germany's economic miracle. Name given to the rapid reconstruction and reactivation of the country in the years after World War II. Well, you know, the

beetle

had two types of life. I mean, his beginnings in Europe were during the reconstruction after the war. That is why many people in Europe saw it as cheap and affordable transportation.

And it didn't become a cultural icon like it is now in the US, in the US, when when kids bought them in the '60s, it was kind of a rebellion against their parents. Big American cars were the norm. They were cheap, affordable and exotic, really, because you're from Europe. And I think that's what helped establish them as a great cultural icon. The car also gained a unique reputation in some of the markets where it was sold, especially the United States. It was a car that stood out. It enjoyed a rare kind of class laxity in that it was loved by a wide range of buyers from all backgrounds.

It attracted both wealthy and working-class buyers. It also gained a reputation as one of the emblems of the 1960s counterculture. The small car was cheap to buy and easy to repair and, along with the VW bus, symbolized the rejection of the large American cars of the time, which consumed a lot of fuel. By the 1970s, the Beatles' decades-old design was losing ground to a new generation of cars with water-cooled engines and front-wheel drive, which featured more interior space and larger trunks. The car also began to fall behind its competitors in safety and fuel economy. The revaluation of the German currency also posed competitive problems for Volkswagen, forcing the company to raise prices in markets such as the United States.

Between 1970 and 1976, Volkswagen of America's sales fell from about five hundred and sixty-five thousand vehicles to just over 230,000, and its market share was just two point three percent. Volkswagen began to expand its vehicle range by producing Golf, Polo and Passat over the next three decades. The Beetle faded into the background and the company became better known for its successors. In 1998, Volkswagen decided to bring back the Beetle in a new form: a bubbly front-engine vehicle. The new Beetle was one of the leaders of the later trend of retro-styled cars, which included models such as the Chrysler P.T.

Cruiser and Ford Thunderbird redesigned with its bright colors and its small vase on the dashboard. The car attracted a new generation of customers looking for a unique and fun vehicle. There were some fans of the old Bill who appreciated the car's revival, but others complained that the new Beetle had a kitschy appearance and that its price was relatively high compared to its predecessor. So I think there was a big boom of looking back and that's sort of died out now that we're in the new and the new millennium. And I think people are starting to look forward again.

The car was a disappointment to long-time fans and purists who hoped to return to the original air-cooled rear-engined vehicle. However, it was a hit with a new generation of drivers. And Volkswagen sold more than one million two million new Beetles worldwide between 1998 and 2010, while Volkswagen promoted its new Beetle in major markets like the United States, the original Beetle was still sold in other markets around the world, especially in America. Latina, for at least three years. Volkswagen sold two different versions of the Beetle to different customer groups. Production of the original Beetle continued until 2003 at the Volkswagen factory in Puebla, Mexico.

A mariachi band followed the last car as it moved down the production line. Beetle production at the Pueblo facility did not end with the original VW mistake. In fact, it would house all Beetle production for the 1998 and 2011 versions of the car that was sold in 91 markets around the world. But sales of the second-generation Beetle declined as its novelty wore off and the trend in retro car design waned. So in 2011, Volkswagen redesigned the vehicle again, this time with a more restrained aesthetic that looked more like the original and was more grown-up than its predecessor. It failed to capture the attention of buyers and never reached the sales figures of the second generation.

Part of the problem was that Volkswagen was refining the Beetle's design at a time when people were starting to abandon cars. It ran for a few years and sold over one hundred and seventy-five thousand in the US during its run. But then it disappeared. On July 10, 2019, Volkswagen announced the end of production of the iconic Beetle. The second generation, if you look at the design of that thing, is actually closer to the original and is a little bit flatter. I think it looks great. I would like what they've done to make it a more adult design. But the problem is that you are stuck there.

You're stuck with a two-door coupe in a market that's gone SUV-crazy. Could the beetle one day return to the world? Never say Never. said a Volkswagen executive. But the automaker also said there were no immediate plans to replace it. Volkswagen has focused its push toward developing family vehicles and electrified cars, but its influence lives on and in other cars the company has made. Perhaps most surprising is the planned revival of the Volkswagen bus. Volkswagen said it plans to start producing a version of the I.D. in 2022. The Buzz bus concept was introduced a few years ago.

The original bus, which was first produced in 1950, was built on the original Beatles platform. Thus, even after their death, the Beatles could continue to leave their mark on the automotive world.