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As promised, here are the interesting facts about volkswagen beetle. I'm interested with these information because we own a white volkswagen. From bridal car to a company service vehicle of Bugbusters IPM, a pest control operator in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines.


10 Shocking Facts About Volkswagen

01: The roots...

Do you know the roots of Volkswagen?

KdF Wagen Volkswagen Beetle HistoryIronically, the idea for the Volkswagen, 'People's car', came from Adolf Hitler. He chose Ferdinand Porsche to engineer a car that could carry 2 adults and 3 children, and that could do 100km/h (62mph). And the idea was, that people could buy it trough an affordable savings scheme. That's how the base for the VW Beetle was born.

The first prototypes were called KdF-Wagen. (German: Kraft durch Freude - "strength through joy")


02: Mass production

Do you know how long did VW produced the legendary Bettle?

1955 Volkswagen Beetle 500The legendary beetle was produced from 1938 up to 2003. That's astonishing 65 years! We all know how fast car manufacturers switch and/or update their models today.

There were 21,529,464 built beetles, of which 15,444,858 in Germany, incl. 330,251 Cabriolets, and about 3,350,000 in Brazil.


03: The Hot Hatch...

Is it a first hot hatch? How did the GTI come to life?

Red Volkswagen Golf GTI mark Mk IA lot of people think that Golf GTI (Mk I) is the first hot hatch. It's not true. The first hot hatch was the Renault 5 Gordini.

And, the even more exciting thing is, that, the 'Sport Golf', as the engineers called it, was an 'evening and weekends' project, developed in secret outside normal working hours, because Marketing and Management just didn't see that there was a market for it. Boy, were they wrong! :)


04. Bus stop...

Do you know how the famous Bus aka. Transporter was born?

Volkswagen Bus Transporter First PrototypeAfter the War in 1944, the Wolfsburg factory where the VW Beetle's were being made had no means of internal transport.

So the people who worked in the experimental department came up with the idea of a flat bed truck utilizing parts from another vehicle - the kubelwagen. Ben Pon came up with the idea of moving the cab forward and covering the flatbed over. The first prototype for the now world famous VW camper was born.

05. Twins...

What other car manufacturers use the Volkswagen base for their cars?

Volkswagen group - VW - Seat - Skoda - LogosYes, there's a list of car manufacturers that use VW's base for their cars. They have their own distinctive design, and their own targeted customers...

Here is the list:
Audi - classy, luxurious
Seat - emotional, sporty
Skoda - rational, best buy

Oh, back in the days, you could easily see the similarities between these manufacturers... Nowadays, their design is much more distinctive from one brand to another.

There's one more case of VW twins:
The Volkswagen Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne. Nothing new here... Well, we don't want to forget the Audi Q7. So, I guess, this is a case of VW triplets. :)

06. The Swan...

Did you know that VW makes the fastest car on Earth?!

Bugatti VeyronYes it does. But, It's sold under the 'Bugatti' badge.

The Bugatti Veyron, was designed and engineered by Volkswagen. (VW owns Bugatti). And, it's a Swan Song for dr. Ferdinand Piëch.
The interesting part here, is, that VW's production costs exceed the price of the car. That means, that, VW looses money with each Veyron sold.

07. Records... (!)

Did you know that Volkswagen set seven 24-hour world speed records at the Nardò Ring?

Volkswagen W12 Nardo Coupe Roadster ConceptWell, it did. With the Volkswagen W12 (aka. Nardo) concept.

The car produced from 420 to 600 horse power, and it was used to test the W12 engine that was, later on, used in the Phaeton and Touareg.

There was a coupe, and a roadster version of the W12 concept. It featured Volkswagen's 4x4 synchro four-wheel-drive system.

Mastermind behind the story, was, once again, dr. Ferdinand Piech.

08. Racing... BIG TIME!

Did you know that VW participates in TRUCK racing?

Volkswagen truck Constellation Pace car racingThe first shock is, to find out that Volkswagen makes big trucks, and the other one, is to find out that, VW races with them!

VW is one of the leading truck/bus manufacturers in southern America, and racing their trucks in the Brazilian Formula Truck championship, seems like a good marketing move.

The picture shows VW Constellation PACE truck.

09. Mixup

What's with the body panel mix-up at Volkswagen?

1996 Volkswagen Golf III HarlequinIt's not an mixup.

In 1995, Volkswagen Europe, launched a series of Polo's with body panels in different colors. Shortly after that, in 1996 - they launched the same series of Golf III. But, this time, in the US and Canada. It's one of the most limited editions of Volkswagens ever.

There's a lot more interesting information about harlequins on RossVW.com - give it a look!

PS. Not all Harlequins have the same color combinations. :) They built single-color cars, and then swapped body panels.

Cool... but, not pretty... but, still - very COOL! :)

10. The Love Bug Movie...

Starring: Herbie the VW Beetle



Volkswagen beetles bug 53 herbie carsOne of the most popular VW Bug paint schemes, white #53, comes from the movies about Herbie.

Quote from Wikipedia:
Herbie is an anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle, a character that is featured in several Disney motion pictures starting with the 1969 feature film The Love Bug. He has a mind of his own and is capable of driving himself, and is a serious contender in auto racing competitions.

Herbie starred in six movies... Here's the list:

The Love Bug (1969) - Directed by Robert Stevenson
Herbie Rides Again (1974) - Directed by Robert Stevenson
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) - Directed by Vincent McEveety
Herbie Goes Bananas (1980) - Directed by Vincent McEveety
The Love Bug (1997) made-for-TV movie - Directed by Peyton Reed
Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) - Directed by Angela Robinson

source:
http://www.squidoo.com/10-fun-facts-volkswagen

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