In 1950, the Volkswagen Type 2 adapted a bus-shaped body to the compact Volkswagen Beetle.

Only two 1949 models were sold in America that year, convincing Volkswagen chairman Heinrich Nordhoff the car had no future in the U. S. ( The Type 1 went on to become an automotive phenomenon.

* July 30 – The last Volkswagen Type 1 rolls off its production line in Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.

* a Volkswagen Type 2 van generation

A 1967 Volkswagen Type 2 | VW Kombi bus decorated with hand-painting

The Volkswagen Beetle, officially called the Volkswagen Type 1 ( or informally the Volkswagen Bug ), is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen ( VW ) from 1938 until 2003.

Although designed in the 1930s, the Beetle was only produced in significant numbers from 1945 on, when the model was internally designated the Volkswagen Type 1, and marketed simply as the " Volkswagen ".

It remained a top seller in the U. S., owing much of its success to high build-quality and innovative advertising, ultimately giving rise to variants, including the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and the Volkswagen Type 2 bus.

In 1994, Volkswagen unveiled the Concept One, a " retro "- themed concept car with a resemblance to the original Beetle, and in 1998 introduced the " New Beetle ", built on the Golf platform with styling recalling the original Type 1.

After World War II, it was known as the Volkswagen Type 1, but became more commonly known as the Beetle.

1949 Volkswagen Type 1

1949 Volkswagen Type 1 interior

Volkswagen made only two of these air-cooled boxer diesel engines ( not turbocharged ), and installed one engine in a Type 1 and another in a Type 2.

1975 models featured Air Flow Control ( AFC ) Fuel Injection on U. S., Canadian, and Japanese Beetles, a derivative of the more complex Bosch fuel injection system used in the Volkswagen Type III – and equivalent to Bosch L-Jetronic.

In the 1970s, Volkswagen made the SP-2 ( derived from the Type 1 pan and the Type 3 powertrain ) with a 1, 700 cc engine ( a bored-out 1, 600 cc ).

The Volkswagen Type 1 chassis was used as the basis for an mine-protected APC called the Leopard security vehicle and the Pookie demining vehicle, fielded by the Republic of Rhodesia during the Rhodesian Bush War.

The original design used an Audi-sourced four-speed manual transmission for the 924 mated to VW's EA831 2. 0 L I4 engine, subsequently used in the Audi 100 and the Volkswagen LT van ( common belief is that the engine originated in the LT van, but it first appeared in the Audi car ), as well as in the AMC Gremlin, Concord, and Spirit.

Once in production, the 912E was powered by an 86 bhp 2. 0 L Volkswagen air-cooled engine, refined with a new Bosch L-Jetronic ( Air Flow Controlled ) fuel injection system.

Recent forced induction V6 engines have delivered horsepower and torque output comparable to contemporary larger displacement, naturally aspirated V8 engines, while reducing fuel consumption and emissions, such as the Volkswagen Group's 3. 0 TFSI which is supercharged and directly injected, and Ford Motor Company's turbocharged and directly injected EcoBoost V6, both of which have been compared to Volkswagen's 4. 2 V8 engine.

The Beetle had marked a significant trend led by Volkswagen, Fiat, and Renault whereby the rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout had increased from 2. 6 percent of continental Western Europe's car production in 1946 to 26. 6 percent in 1956.

In 1954, Volkswagen added 2 mm to the cylinder bore, increasing the displacement from 1, 131 cc to 1, 192 cc.

* Volkswagen Type 2 ( T3 ), the third generation of the Volkswagen Bus

The Volkswagen 1-litre car and Aptera 2 Series are examples of ultra-low-drag vehicles.

< sup > 1 </ sup > AMC contracted with Volkswagen to buy tooling for the Audi 2. 0 L OHC I4.

New high-performance models included the 3. 2 L VR6-engined four-wheel-drive Golf " R32 " introduced in 2004, its predecessor the 2. 8 L VR6-engined " Golf V6 4Motion " ( succeeding the 2. 9 L Mk3 " Golf VR6 Syncro "), as well as use of the famous 1. 8T ( turbo ) 4-cylinder used in various Volkswagen Group models.

The plug-in hybrid drive of the Golf Variant twinDRIVE is equipped with either an 11. 2 kWh or a 13. 2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, as Volkswagen is testing packs from two vendors.

* The Volkswagen air-cooled flat-four engine used in the Volkswagen Beetle, SP2 and Karmann Ghia, and later developed further for the Volkswagen Type 2 ( Bus ) transporters and Volkswagen Type 3 cars.

Auto Union came under Daimler-Benz ownership in 1957, and was then purchased by the Volkswagen Group in 1964.

In March 1964 a Volkswagen Pick Up ( 432 ) was introduced to the range which came complete with a plastic canopy, and in December 1966 the pick up was converted to become the Volkswagen Breakdown Truck ( 490 ).

Following the Volkswagen Group's acquisition of Audi in 1964, Volkswagen used new engineering expertise to develop a modern front-wheel drive car with a water-cooled engine, and thus the Passat and Golf ( the latter being introduced in 1974 ) were the first of a new generation of Volkswagen cars.

Although this has been a practice when Volkswagen first acquired Audi in 1964, through the last fifteen years the brand was shifted more up-market to compete with more luxurious Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

* Tire pressure differential: The Renault Dauphine, Volkswagen Beetle and first generation Chevrolet Corvair ( 1960 – 1964 ) used a tire pressure differential strategy to eliminate oversteer characteristics of their swing axle suspensions — specifically low front and high rear tire pressure — which induced understeer.

1964 T1 Volkswagen Transporter panel van

Luxury vehicle production did not resume until Auto Union was purchased in 1964 by the Volkswagen Group in West Germany, which introduced the old Audi again.

File: Volkswagen Parati GL 1990 ( 1 ). jpg | First Generation Parati ( facelift ) 1987-1991

File: Volkswagen Gol 2da geração. jpg | Second Generation Gol 1994-2005

From 1933 onwards, Ledwinka and Porsche met regularly to discuss their designs, and Porsche admitted " Well, sometimes I looked over his shoulder and sometimes he looked over mine " while designing the Volkswagen.

From 1933 onwards, Ledwinka and Porsche met regularly to discuss their designs, and Porsche admitted " Well, sometimes I looked over his shoulder and sometimes he looked over mine " while designing the Volkswagen.

which is German for " Volkswagen, I ask you ".

Steven Watts wrote that Hitler " revered " Ford, proclaiming that " I shall do my best to put his theories into practice in Germany ," and modeling the Volkswagen, the people's car, on the model T. Several themes from the Dearborn Independent articles appear in Mein Kampf.

Now I have a TV, a fridge, a Volkswagen.

The Mark I and Mark II versions of the Polo were then standalone models in the Volkswagen range.

* Kdf-Wagen – official name of the Type I Volkswagen Beetle, a project of the Kraft durch Freude program.

It is also used in the Toyota Supra and Toyota Soarer ( or Lexus SC430 ), the B5 platform revision of the Volkswagen Passat 4motion ( based upon the Audi A4 ), Mazda MX-5 / Miata 1994 to 1995 have a Torsen Type I and late 1995 to 2002 models have a Torsen Type II, the 2002-2003 model year of the Nissan Maxima SE 6 speed manual and the Honda S2000.

" We feel that Volkswagen salesmen will be able to interest the purchaser of a Sapphire I player in a complementary model for his home ," Stanton said.

A variation of this is a " reskin " where an automaker creates a " new " model by creating completely new outer panelwork for the car but leaves the inner core structure and mechanical configuration from the previous generation largely unchanged-good examples of this include the Renault 19 and later Mégane I, or the Mark II and Mark III versions of the Volkswagen Golf.

Mercedes soon pulls up in a Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, while Les says " I already have a Mercedes " and then runs over and hops into it.