Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1140832
11.07.19 14 AUTOMOTIVE The evolution of the Volkswagen Beetle One of the world's most Production of the famous Volkswagen Beetle is finally ending. e curvy compact car got its start in Nazi Germany, played a role in the economic resurgence of Germany aer World War II, and became a worldwide icon. Ferdinand Porsche presents a new convertible version of the KdF-Wagen to Nazi ájoy." Designed to be affordable and easy to operate for ordinary Germans, it was more popularly known as the "people's car," or "Volkswagen." Very few Volkswagens were actually produced for German citizens during World War II. Instead, the factory that had been built to make Volkswagens was used to produce military vehicles. After the war, though, the factory was restarted by the British military and production of Volkswagen cars began. By 1949, it was even exporting them. By 1955, more than one million Volkswagen cars had been produced. ("Beetle" didn't become the car's official name until the late 1960s.) It would go on to become, at least for a time, the best-selling car in the world. Female gas station employees on rollerskates attend to a Volkswagen in Deidesheim, Germany, in 1954. e original Beetle's engine was in the back, leaving the area under the hood for cargo and the spare tire. By the 1960s, Beetles could be found across the globe and they were being used for a variety of purposes. Many cities even used them as police cars. Other cars were considered, but a Beetle was cast in the starring role of the 1968 Disney movie "e Love Bug." e film helped cement the car's popular image as a lovable automotive companion. e Beetle, along with the Volkswagen bus, went on to become synonymous with the hippie movement in the 1960s and '70s. Here, a couple of attendees at the 1969 Woodstock music festival take a nap on a Beetle.