History of Volkswagen Beetle – The Peoples Car – Pre-WWII To 2019

History of Volkswagen Beetle The fascinating history of the Volkswagen Beetle could take up far more than a 30-minute podcast.  It's one of the most-built, best-selling, most-modified, loved and nicknamed cars on the planet. What other vehicle has a childhood game named after it?  I can't think of one... if you can please let me know! All incredible things must come to an end.  Yes, 2019 marks the end of the road for the Slugbug, the Bug, the original Volkswagen, the Type 1 - the Beetle.  The last of the new Volkswagen Beetles are already hard to come by but if you can get your hands on one my bet is they are worth way more than whatever you pay for one in just a handful of years. Click play below and check out the massive number of Beetle pics while you listen to the long storied history of the Beetle.  Originals, restores, modifies, off-road, racers... even a see-through wrought iron Beetle for weddings! And if you want to buy one of the last of the new Beetles just contact our friends at Ontario Volkswagen.  This special podcast is brought to you - commercial free as always - by them! ***Transcription*** Recorded @ the LA Auto Show Press Days The People's Car - Type 1 - History of Volkswagen's Beetle Mark: Ferdinand Porsche was commissioned by the German government in the 30s to build a vehicle that would be usable by families on the new network of Autobahn. 1946 Volkswagen Beetle The government actually took deposits for these cars and built very, very few of them before the war. The first actual Volkswagens themselves were made in 1946. Volkswagen stands for "people's car". Originally it wasn't called the Beetle, it was the Type 1. An Introduction - History of Volkswagen Beetle Tom: Welcome to iDriveSoCal, the podcast all about mobility from the automotive capital of the United States, southern California. Tom Smith here and I am excited to be joined by Mark Gillies. iDSC's Tom Smith & VW of Americas Mark Gillies Am I getting the name right? Mark: You are indeed, yes. Tom: As you can hear by the accent, he's not from southern California. Mark is D.C. based now but from England. We are at Automobility LA, which is the press days of the LA Automotive Show. Mark is the Senior Manager of Product Communications for Volkswagen of America. I got that right as well, right? 1947 VW Beetle purchased new in England Mark: You did, yes you did. "The topic that we're talking about here is the history of the Volkswagen's Beetle, the iconic, the legendary, the special place in everybody's heart whether slug bug, Beetle bug, what have you." Tom: Fantastic. The topic that we're talking about here is the history of the Volkswagen Beetle, the iconic, the legendary, the special place in everybody's heart whether slug bug, Beetle bug, what have you. 1947 VW Beetle Mark, thanks for joining me. I know you got a very busy schedule. We're on the LA Auto Show floor and it's being set up right now, so we're literally in Volkswagen's inner sanctum thing of their booth and there's construction all around us getting ready for the LA Auto Show. It's an exciting place to be right now. VW's Beetle Readies to Drive Into History Mark: Yeah, it's cool. It's always fun when you're doing the setup. Although, you're a bit worried you're going to get run over by a forklift truck or trip over a piece of wood and break your neck. VW Beetle line-up @ AutoMobility LA Tom: Well thanks again for joining me. Let's talk about the history of the Volkswagen Beetle... By the way, I like to bring you behind the scenes with all things media as it pertains to mobility as well automotive,