Everything about Volkswagen cars


 

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Volkswagen history

Today VW is one of the biggest cardemonstrational cars of the model VW39 came
manufacturers in Europe. However this was notto  the  world.
like  that  from  the  beginning.
That was made just to point out that the
The word "volkswagen" literally meansfactory is working and to show what the
"people's car" and this was the whole ideafuture cars would look like. These models
behind it. From the beginning VW tried tocame with a difference - the front hinged
make a car that is simple enough so that thedoors. When V38s models were finally
average  people  could  afford  it.introduced Hitler abruptly changed the name
to KdF Wagen. KdF stayed for "Kraft durch
It was not exactly a new idea. Before 1930'sFreude" or "Strength through Joy". That made
there have been many attempts to create aPorsche pretty upset because he was not a
simple car model. The problem however wasmember of the Nazi party and the use of
that no matter how simple the car was made itpropaganda of this kind was not his
still ended up costing more than the yearlyunderstanding  of  advertisement.
wage  of  a  normal  worker.
Special stamps were made by the government.
History tells that while many affords wasThey were sold to people and on theory if
made from VW to create the perfect workersomeone got 200 stamps they could immediately
class car a new company was created. In 1930be changed with a KdF Wagen. That however was
Ferdinand Porsche made his company. Rightnot meant to be and the model didn't proceed
after the creation Porsche patented a prettyfurther. In fact it stayed only as a
complex suspension system. In this system theprototype.
transversely mounted torsion bars are
connected to two trailing arms on each side.Many people made it to court seeking some
That made the whole model very light. In factcompensation because of the stamps they had
it was lighter than every common suspensionwhich was not going to be redeemed with a
type.car. During that time the Type 82 was on the
way. It was a simple military vehicle. It
In 1931 another company asked Porsche if theypractically used the parts from KdF Wagen and
could make a model close to the last one forits flat-sided body and increased ground
them. The 2 door sedan was made as a resultclearance  were  some of the few differences.
of this project. It was very similar to
Beetle and it had the suitability that wasDuring WWII Type 128 and Type 166 were
required.created. The last was powered by a 25 hp
engine. There were over 50 000 cars produced
The company who bought the model is calledof the Type 82 and only less than 16 000 of
Zundapp and right after they bought the sedanthe  Schwimmwagen  (Type  166).
model they wanted to put 1.2 liter radial
engine from one of their own motorcycles.After the war the KdF Wagen factory was taken
That didn't happen and this was the end ofover by the British army. Under the
the  line.leadership of Major Ivan Hirsts over 2000
cars were made. Most of these cars were made
In 1933 NSU purchased a design from Porsche.by spare parts left by the old manufacturing
It was known by the name Type 32. This newprocess.
model was even closer to the upcoming KdF
Wagen than its predecessor Type 12. It wasAfter 1945 the company was named Volkswagen
pretty close to Tatra V570 too especiallyand the whole town took the name "Wolfsburg"
with  some  mechanically  similarities.which was the name of a castle nearby. The
British were looking to whom to give the
After the World War II was over Tatra gotcontrol over the factory. It was very
some compensations from Volkswagen becausedifficult because Ford though it to be a
they think that their model was pirated fromwaste of money and the French government
KdF Wagen because of the similar technology.refused. Soon after that Heinrich Nordhoff
The KdF Wagen was made during that time andtook the opportunity which came to be a good
the similarities pointed that during thestep  in  the  Volkswagen  development.
development major mechanical components were
copied from it and used in the Tatra designIn 1949 the production rapidly increased.
model. Soon after that NSU dropped the TypeSoon after that in 1950 the VW transporter
32  project.was born. Many vehicles were transported to
Denmark, Sweden, Luxemburg, Belgium, and
In 1933 Porsche together with Hitler madeSwitzerland. In South Africa the Beetles were
possible for the citizen car project toproduced  during  the  same  year.
continue. The Type 60 was soon created and
its name soon changed to V1 (experiment 1).In 1952 dealership opened doors in England
After a proposition made by Hitler V2 waswhich was the first there. In 1951 deluxe
designed to met the new convertible versionversion of the Beetle was exported. In 1952
criteria  that  was  introduced.the American deluxe Beetles got hydraulic
brakes.
In 1936 these models together with VW3 were
put to major testing. After enough data wasBeetles made before and some during the 1953
collected the next version - the VW30 waslooked a lot like the old KdF Wagen. In 1955
made. For the VW30 testing a new governmentthe Karmann Ghia was introduced. It was made
company was responsible - the DAF. This wasby many of the Beetle parts to keep the
because  of  the  Hitler's  regime.production line cheaper. In 1977 the
production of the Beetle sedan ended. Two
Members of SS were told to drive the new VW30years after that cabriolet production stopped
model and to confirm that all the problemstoo.
are fixed. Soon after that in 1938 in the KdF
Wagen factory the manufacturing processHowever it is pretty interesting that Beetles
began. In 1939 some VW38 and a feware used and produced in Mexico even today.



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