Volkswagen Beetle: a Glimpse Into the History of the People?s Classic Car

Classic Cars

The Volkswagen Beetle is one of the most popular classic cars that both collectors and the common people have. It is no wonder, since not only is it cheap and cute, it also carries with it a great deal of history. Here we will take a trip down memory lane and look at the Beetle’s great past.

The Birth of the People’s Car

It may not be known to many, but little Herbie started out as a Porsche. In the 1930s, Ferdinand Porsche was already designing economy cars, but could not find the proper funding fro research and production.

Then Adolf Hitler came, with several sketches of what he called as the “Volks-Wagen,” which literally means “the people’s car.”(Yes, you read that right: Adolf Hitler provided the concept for the Volkswagen.) The Fuhrer asked Mr. Porsche to make a car that could carry two adults and three children at a speed of 62mph. And so, the Volkswagen Beetle was born.

It was initially named as the Porsche 60, and was available at the very low price of 990 Reichsmark (less than 0 at that time). The Porsche 60 is very similar to what the Beetle looks like now. Perhaps the only difference is with the engine and the windows. It was the most popular car for the Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy), the leisure organization of the Nazi party.

Rejections and Success

A History Of Sports Cars

What defines the term sports car and why are we so fascinated with them. Is it simply the flowing curves of the body design, the massive power output of the high revving engines or could it even be the distinctive throaty musical note of the exhaust pipes. Everyone will have a different opinion on what they think makes sports cars special and for the reasons why we love them so much. Even people who say they are impractical or unnecessary cannot help but to turn and look when one drives past displaying its beautiful contours hinting at the power hidden under the perfectly painted panels.

Since the development of motorised vehicles a small select group of individuals have always had the undying fascination of designing and building them bigger, more powerful and faster than they either needed to be or really should be with any regard to safety. This was no different with the motor car industry, from its relative simple and sluggish beginnings the car quickly developed into a very useful mode of transport and working tool. For some this new way to transport us around turned into an obsession of power and speed and welcomed the age of the racing cars and sports cars.

To begin with motor vehicles were built for more functional than aesthetically pleasing reasons and their ability to carry both people and heavy loads is what drove the designers and manufacturers forward. Humans though have an eye for beauty and a thirst for power and speed, combining these attributes the birth of the sports cars was inevitable.

History of Sports Cars and Why is it Desired by Many

Sports Car may be defined as a car with a sporty look, meaning an automobile which is short in height as compared to other cars to the extent that it almost touches the ground, having a powerful engine and light weight. A typical sports car has two seats, two doors, rear-wheel drive and with high speed. It is in fact a speedy car that needs to be handled quite efficiently and accurately. There are a number of popular companies that manufacture a perfect sports car like Ferrari, BMW’s mid-sized sports car, Porsche, Lotus etc. However a sports car consists of a light-weight powerful engine with ultra modern suspension and a firm chassis due to these features the sports car that is light weight performs more accurately as compared to heavy sports cars. Initially the cars were just considered an important mode of transport for carrying people and goods from one place to the other, and were manufactured to provide its core utility of transporting the people with comfort. Later on these cars soon became a craze amongst the people and a great fascination to drive it with speed and race, apart from its basic usefulness. This was the new era to welcome the sports cars. The trend of sports car started after the Second World War when a new class of sports car was introduced. Initially a very expensive luxury car meant only for the rich and the famous personalities was seen on race tracks are now available with road functionalities and with reasonable pricing structure. There were just a few cars in the historical phase but now these cars are easily obtainable to a normal individual. Enzo Ferrari was the first person design the sports car, in 1929. Then he was followed by many other car designers who started a new age of Sports Car. Ferrari’s entire unit used advanced technologies and modifications and emerged out in the whole world to create a history by manufacturing the Formula One Racing Car, which is an obsession now and will remain in future. The most eligible and fantastic drivers for formula one are Michael Schumacher and Alberto Ascari, who promoted the Ferrari Sports Car to success. Then came the F430 became quite popular due to its performance and affordable pricing structure, after which Superamerica became the most desired of all the Sports Cars. Any individual is first attracted by outer looks and then by its performance, same applies for cars too, so the designers and the manufacturers with a lot of hardwork and efforts introduced a car for racing against its competitors, this further triggered the development of cars for the next generation. It was a great risk to manufacture a speedy car with powerful engine with advanced technologies to improve its speed performance. Highly powerful engine with great speed was fixed into the light weight body of the car which was a great risk to the drivers as it needed to be handled most efficiently. Then came the thought for its safety where the designers worked hard and adopted certain modifications to set limitations on the speed and things like emergency brakes and suspension restrictions were added. However with the advanced technologies and great techniques a perfect sports car was ready on tracks. Day-by-day the possession for Sports Car has become a rising trend in the market. It may be due to one or all of the following reasons to drive a person to posses a Sports Car. – Its Fabulous Looks: The trendiest design of the Sports Car may e one of the reasons that more and more buyers are going crazy for it. – Functionality: Functionality and the car performance should be the most vital aspect to be considered while purchasing a Sports model. Sports Car is designed to give the best performance with regards to speed. Thus the experience a driver gets while driving a Sports Car is beyond words. – Pleasure and Thrill: Driving a Sports Car is an amazing feeling as it gives you immense pleasure and the thrill you are craving for. The fun while racing a Sports Car is just incomparable with racing any other car. – Status Symbol: Possessing a Sports Car often gives you an image of a high class status symbol, as it looks more of a luxury item than an automobile for transport. You seem to look like an adventurous personality who likes to explore new things. – Depreciation Value: Any car when purchased decreases in its value with increasing time period but surprisingly for Sports Car this is completely opposite, the value of the Sports Car increases with increasing time period! In simple words owning a sports car reflects the car owner’s personality and also shows how adventurous and trendy you are.