Volkswagen Beetle – Driven To Write

The Bucket Seats, 82nd Variety

Bellicose bug.

The Volkswagen Beetle was never intentionally designed with conflict in mind, but that didn’t stop the military taking an interest. Early 1938 saw the bellicose German Chancellor commission Ferdinand Porsche to produce a Beetle for the battlefield, with results appearing within a month. Given the Type 62 moniker^[1], this version was essentially a Beetle chassis with rudimentary body, along with 19” wheels for improved ground clearance.

The German army stipulated a vehicle weighing no more than 950 Kg, laden with four infantrymen. Unladen, the vehicle was required to weigh 550 Kg and with its practically flat floor was intended to slide easily over almost any surface. Porsche sub-contracted the bodywork to Trutz, a long established coachbuilder, based in Coburg.

These hastily prepared vehicles were pressed into action with creditable results but such urgency soon exposed the inevitable shortcomings — the most serious being of all things, too much speed. Seen as a ubiquitous support vehicle, devoid of armour or weapons, the four speed manual Type 62 was deemed too fast for supporting infantry. Porsche returned to the workshop to Continue reading “The Bucket Seats, 82nd Variety”

Wolfsburg Wanderings

A rogue sporty Beetle, a not entirely successful Asian alliance and an aborted attempt at conquering the WRC crown: meet three Volkswagen oddities.

Mach 1: the word will produce a glint in the eye of muscle car aficionados, reminded as they are of manly Mustangs in lively hues powered by a good old fashioned big V8 burbling on premium leaded fuel instead of the watered down stuff that passes for gasoline nowadays.

There was however another Mach 1 which preceded the first so-badged Mustang by four years, and the vehicle first adorned with the moniker could almost not have been further removed from the Mustang in any knowable dimension; meet the Volkswagen Beetle Mach 1.

The Volkswagen distributor for Belgium since 1948, D’Ieteren Frères S.A., wanted to Continue reading “Wolfsburg Wanderings”

Are You Sure You Know What You’re Doing?

Is fettling a lost art?

In a recent piece on the Austin Healey ‘Fright’, DTW Author, Robertas Parazitas made an interesting observation. “In the post-war period, and long after, Britain was a nation of tweakers, tinkerers, fixers and improvers …. I would contend that it was a practical manifestation of the democratic intellect of the nation’s people, most particularly young working men who would enthusiastically Continue reading “Are You Sure You Know What You’re Doing?”

Stayin’ Alive (Part 1)

Automotive exiles. A two-part study.

Image: Nairaland.com/ Peugeot/ Favcars.com

The average shelf life of a newly introduced car before it is withdrawn and replaced by a new model has steadily shrunk over recent decades.^[1] Whether this is due to the exponential speed at which technology is now developing or simply marketing-driven is a matter of debate, but in a number of cases the cessation of production in its country of origin does not necessarily mean that the car’s production life is over, many car lines continuing to thrive elsewhere around the globe.

There are several well known cases but equally some that have continued their career in relative obscurity. The ubiquitous Volkswagen Beetle will probably jump to mind for many because it was in production for close to 70 years. However, if we Continue reading “Stayin’ Alive (Part 1)”

Herbie Dies Again

Death’s door revolves once more for VW’s retromobile. Perhaps we’ll miss it this time, but only if it promises to go away.

At the recent Geneva motor show, Volkswagen’s research and development chief, Frank Welsch confirmed the much rumoured demise of the Beetle. Many commenters had speculated since VW’s fortunes (both reputational and financial) took a dive in the wake of the firm’s emissions-revelations, that niche models like the Beetle were on deathwatch, so in many ways this news comes as no surprise.

Indeed, according to some sources, production could Continue reading “Herbie Dies Again”

Theme : Advertising – Who The Fun Do They Think We Are?

Richard’s fine introduction on this topic began with two quotes, both holding a high degree of truth to advertising in general, yet both I’d suggest are not always relevant to that branch of advertising that deals with cars.

Edwin Land, who brought us Polaroid, as well as other products of intelligent research, said “Marketing is what you do when your product is no good” but, although Edwin Land was a remarkable inventor, it was easy for him to say that since, for years, his instant film system was the best in a group of one. Car manufacturers don’t have that luxury – if only Karl Benz had employed patent lawyers as good as Land’s we’d all be peering through that silver star on the bonnet. Also the problem is that, essentially, all cars are good these days – it’s a fair time since VW could point to a Korean upstart and state, quantitatively and overtly, that it didn’t make the grade. So you can’t just sell on actual superiority. Continue reading “Theme : Advertising – Who The Fun Do They Think We Are?”