Some called it a “Beetle.” Others call it a “Bug.” But Adolf Hitler commissioned its manufacture in 1933 as a “people’s car.”
World War II delayed production of the Volkswagen Type 1, which Ferdinand Porsche designed.
Once hostilities ended, the little car with a big heart took off, ultimately becoming the longest produced automobile design; the final original type rolling off the line in Mexico in 2003.
“It has always been a very good car,” Russel VW Sales Manager Chip DeFries said.
His relationship with the car spans several decades; over the years, he’s driven “a bunch of Beetles.” And when Volkswagen introduced the new Beetle was 1998, he was among invited guests at the unveiling in Disney World. Interest in the car remains high.
“There are people who are diehards,” DeFries said, himself one of them.
He speaks wistfully of a 1974 Beetle that he recently sold, only to have its new owner total it within two days. A cross-country trip DeFries made in a ’67 model proved particularly memorable:
“I packed a screwdriver and fixed everything that went wrong with the car,” he said.
Harry Weber’s first VW was a blue 1958 sedan. He had seen Beetles at gymkhanas and had to have one, although he took a bit of razzing when he drove it about, he said.
“People would ask me where the rubber band was, and I’d tell them I just drafted off the car ahead of me,” the Baltimore County resident said.
In fact, his first Beetle lacked a gas gauge.
“They gave you a real nice plastic dipstick, and you’d check under the bonnet to see how much fuel you had left in the tank,” he said.
On the positive side, his was the first model to have a single rear window. He relished this improved visibility, he said.
“That car had tremendous stability,” Weber said. “It had 15-inch wheels, and with the weight of the engine over the rear axle, it had great traction.”
When his co-workers were stuck in snow, he would motor right along.
“I figure I sold more cars at work than a lot of the dealers,” he said. “And don’t forget, it could float.”
