Volkswagen Beetle History

The Volkswagen Beetle was officially known as the 'Type 1', it was an economy class car. It was originally designed by Ferdinand Porsche as Hitler's "People's Car,". The idea was to have a car available at an affordable price for every German household.

Production officially began in 1938 and ended in 2003. During that time over 21 million Volkswagen Beetles were produced.

VW Beetle Design
The VW Beetle was designed to be simple as possible mechanically, so that there was less to go wrong The suspension design used compact torsion bars instead of coil or leaf springs. The VW Beetle is nearly airtight and will even float for a few minutes.

VW Beetle Modifications
The VW Beetle was modified progressively throughout the '50s. The most obvious changes were the rear windows when in 1953 the small oval two-piece rear window was replaced by a larger oval window. By 1955, the one millionth VW Beetle came off the production line.
In 1957, a much wider rear window replaced the oval one and 1964 saw the introduction of a wider cover for the rear number plate light. At the end of 1964 the side windows and windscreen were enlarged slightly. At the same time the lightly curved windscreen was introduced. When the Super Beetle was introduced in 1973, it had a more obviously curved windscreen.

VW Beetle Sales
Beetle sales boomed in the 1960s, thanks to clever advertising campaigns, and the Beetle's reputation for reliability and sturdiness. On 17 February 1972, when Beetle No. 15,007,034 was produced, Beetle production surpassed that of the previous record holder, the Ford Model T. By 1973, total production was over 16 million, and by 23 June 1992, over 21 million had been produced.
As of 2009, the Beetle is arguably the world's best-selling car design. More units of the Toyota Corolla brand have been sold, but there have been 10 total redesigns of the Corolla, each amounting to a new car design with the same name.

VW Beetles Around the World
The Volkswagen Beetle is known by various names in different countries, most, but not all are translations of the word "beetle". Among these are:
Käfer, Fusca, Kupla (bubble) Coccinelle (ladybug) and Peta (turtle)

Volkswagen Transporter History

Early VW Type 2
The Volkswagen Type 2, officially known as the Transporter or informally as Bus or Camper, was a panel van introduced in 1950 by Volkswagen as its second car model following the Type 1 (Beetle).

The Type 2 was available as a:
Panel Van: a delivery van without side windows or rear seats.
Walk-Through Panel Van: a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides.
High Roof Panel Van: a delivery van with raised roof.
Kombi: from the German, kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined.
Bus: also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars.
Samba-Bus: a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps.
Flatbed pickup truck: or Single Cab, both also available with wider load bed.
Crew cab pick-up: a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from the German: Doppelkabine (double cab).
Westfalia camping van: these were Type 2 conversions carried out by Westfalia who were subcontracted by Volkswagen.
Adventurewagen camping van: with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen, previously called Adventure Campers of California.
Semi-camping van: that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. 'Multivan' or 'Weekender'.
Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia. Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, such as the 'Microbus', 'Minibus', 'Kombi' and, due to its popularity during 60s, the 'Hippie Van'.