The story goes as far back as 1931. In that year, Ferdinand Porsche started his own design office, which took on assignments from a number of car factories. It was the start of the development of the "bubble"
Difficult to launch
But the real adventure started for Volkswagen when Heinrich Nordhoff became boss in 1948. It was still a small, unknown factory with cars the experts gave little market opportunities. Nordhoff wanted to make the brand a major car brand, and made completely new plans for production and marketing. He wanted to bet on 2 basic models. There were to be products of high quality and good follow-up by the car buyers. In order to achieve the ambitious goals, he also had to invest in exports to other parts of the world – including the USA. The launch was difficult. The first car they took across the Atlantic had to be sold to cover the hotel bill. Interest in the car was frighteningly low. A series of impressively good marketing campaigns meant that the people's car later managed to capture large market shares on the American continent.
Volkswagen Type 1
Why was "Bobla" such a great success over such large parts of the world? It was relatively cheap to buy, was very reliable and made little demands on its owner. The car had a long life and therefore became a very popular used car, and there are probably many young people who have owned a Bubble during their university years. The fact that it was also delivered as a convertible from the start did not make it any less popular. The little people's wagon also became a star in the films about "Herbie". The first film came out in 1969 and the car gained cult status all over the world. It also did well as a sports car, winning a number of car races. The bubble was improved rather than changed throughout the 50s and 60s until the Volkswagen Golf came in as a successor in 1974.
High nostalgia factor
Today, there is still great interest in old folk wagons because they evoke good memories. Some cars take part in races for vintage cars and others line up at exhibitions or are simply used as - used cars.
Facts Volkswagen Type 1
Length: 407 cm
Width: 154 cm / height 150 cm
Top speed: 115 km/h
Engine: 1192 ccm, 34 hp
Do you see that?
See what's special about this ad?
In this advertisement from 1951, the Volkswagen Type 1 is presented as the "People's Car". It was planned to give the car a Norwegian designation with its own Norwegian logo.
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