Was Professor Porsche the Inventor of the Porche
Posted: Wednesday, May 04, 2011
by Terry S. Vostor
Eagle Ridge G.M.
The Volkswagen "Beetle " can be said to be the father of mass produced "economy" and "compact " cars / At a time when US made cars were large vehicles often nicknamed in the auto trades as "boats" the VWs - "Beetles" as they became to be known and loved - became a symbol of many US auto owners who wanted to shout "We don't drive" a Detroit "monster".
One of the design team's problems was to develop a cheap, fairly quiet engine. A new Austrian recruit named Franz Xavier Reimspiess presented a four-cylinder boxer type motor. Did the model have failings ? Yes indeed they did. First of all with the rear engine design the front end afforded little weight for crosswinds and protection as well in collisions above 30 miles an hour. With its air cooled ( as opposed to the standard water cooled radiator designs), engines Beetles engines were ultra reliable and always started in cold winter climates without being garaged. Canadians especially those in northern Manitoba,Ontario , Alberta and BC British Columbia loved them for that.
Yet the failing - of the reverse of having no radiator meant no hot water and antifreeze for the in car heater. This was remedied in cold climates ( important for safety concerns for the windshield defroster and frosted icy windows ) with a gas heater. Still gas heaters used a lot of gasoline and were not cheap to operate.
In 1937, the VW was made a government-funded project. Hitler said that the car should look like a beetle to be streamlined. Tests were run and changes were made. Once the car's design was settled, the German government started work on the factory. After the Second World War the VW plant was offered to both GM General Motors and even Ford as war reparations . The comment that always came back as a biting insult to the marketing intelligence and insight of the Ford Motor Company's patriarch Henry Ford was that an adviser had noted to him regarding the Volkswagen Beetle product "I would not give you a plugged nickle for it". Sadly ( for him and Ford" Henry Ford listened, agreed and payed heed to the consultant's sage advice. The first phase of the plant was finished in 1939. Manufacturing was however interrupted due to World War II.
After the war, the town was renamed Wolfsburg. Porsche and the design team had to follow the following specifications for the project: the selling price for the car was to be less than RM 1000 (86), reach 100 kph (62 mph) and travel 100 km on 7 liters of petrol (42 mpg). Hitler further insisted on an air-cooled engine. Porsche's design office had an existing design, Type 33, which came close to the specifications. Heinz Nordhoof became the General Manager in 1948. After the WW2 - a major earner of foreign currency to the West German economy was from the sale of Beetles overseas to North America - including Canada as well as the USA. Long before Toyota became a household name in the US and Canada the Beetle had made its record as the best ranking import car model and brand. By 1968, sales were highest at 423,008 cars sold. Plants were created from 1951 to 1964 in South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Mexico.
The Beetle beat out the record for a single car production of a given model - the previous record holder being the Ford Model T. Still it must be said that Ford benefited from the Beetle's production run and example. The Ford Falcon - America's first post War economy car was inspired by the VW Beetle's experiences and example in the US auto marketplace. The Ford Falcon ( known in other forms as Mercury Comet and the Ford Frontenac in the Canadian marketplace) was both a most profitable market niche product for Ford and also was the basis for the widely successful and profitable Ford Mustang Pony car. Indeed as a result of having the Falcon product on line , the Mustang was brought to the US auto market quickly and with a low purchase price. Few young Mustang owner's realized it but early Mustang models even sported the same dash and their parent's economy car - the little Ford Falcon. Amazingly by standards of 2011 this compact car - the Falcon or even the American Motors AMC cars the Ramblers - now look like large and substantial automobile products on roads and highways. Unfortunately, Heinz Nordoff died in 1968. For one minute, factory work was stopped to pay a silent tribute to the person who turned Volkswagen into Germany's biggest car company and one of Europe's largest.
In 1972, the Beetle overtook the Model T Ford as the best-selling car in history. But VW made the same mistake as Ford by keeping the Beetle in production far too long. What made the VW different than US cars of the car was that there were little model changes year to year. The car basically remained similar - with improvement each year. On top of that most parts ( for the most part) were fairly interchangeable. This as in sharp contrast to new and "better" model strategy followed by the Detroit auto industry where new and radically different models ( with differing parts) were introduced on clockwork ( with fanfare) each and every falls September season. Thus, the Beetle was replaced and the last Wolfsburg Beetle was produced in July 1974.
This rugged little car's charm has won the hearts of many, making it an all-time top-seller. Even with its aged design, it's still being manufactured after more than forty years. More than twenty million Beetles have been made and more continue to be produced in Mexico and Brazil.
Terry S. Vostor Pitt Meadows Langley BC Used Toyota
Vancouver Langley Used Corollas 2010
Matrix Lexus Rav4 Camrys
This Article has been viewed 45 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.