When you think about how productive Volkswagen Beetle globally, and how much its impact on American car culture is, it is difficult to remember that “pregnant roller skate” is prohibited in the United States. The “adolph Hitler folk cars first came to America in 1949, and at the time he was banned in 1977, VW had sold 21,529,464 units, more than other cars in history.
Part of Hitler’s big plan to unite Germany and show the world how difficult their country became post-war I to build a network of free obstacles that stretched more than 3,700 miles. He called them “Pyramid Reich” and wanted this Autobahns to be filled with affordable small cars built for the masses (through Hagerty). With Ferdinand Porsche as the main designer, the new Volkswagen factory opened on May 26, 1938.Interestingly, the New York Times report on the opening is considered a place for the first use of the word “beetle” to occur when they say “thousands of thousands of small beetles” will soon run about German Autobahns (through Hagerty).
The small beetle is really a folklur car
According to Hagerty, Henry Ford – who was highly admired by Hitler – did not think the beetle was “valuable,” and the British car maker William Rootes thought it was “too bad and noisy” and was not commensurate with the money. But apart from the stigma of Hitler and Nazi, small insects with machines mounted behind and air -cooled air becomes very popular wherever it is sold.
Advertising agent Manhattan Doyle Dane Bernbach was employed in 1959 to market brands in the United States. The “Think Small” campaign which is now legendary and self -defamed helps bring beetles to the American masses. In 1963, Sports Illustrated called it “The most easily recognized car on earth” (via Hagerty). According to Bloomberg, between 1968 and 1973, Volkswagen sells more than one million beetles every year. In 1972 the shot passed 15 million units sold globally, overtaking the T Ford model as the number one sales car in the world. In 1968, Disney released “The Love Bug,” in the same year became the best -selling car in the world (through Hagerty).
However, the popularity of beetles cannot prevent a combination of global recession, the 1973 oil crisis, or a decline in dollars in 1978. Sales declined throughout the 1970s, and in 1977 Volkswagen was hit with a ban in America because it failed to meet safety and emission standards.
