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The famous Volkswagen Beetle was first introduced in the United States in January 1949. It later became the most popular foreign-made car there.
After the end of World War II, General Motors took over the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg. Heinz Nordhoff, who had been one of the managers of Opel before the war, was appointed to the top position. He arrived in Wolfsburg at the end of 1947 - and work began in earnest.
The factory complex was in ruins after the Anglo-American air raid. But one assembly line was quickly set up there. And in 1947-1948, 20 VW cars were produced.
Interestingly, the largest group of buyers at first was… American military personnel from the occupation contingent. The fact is that Volkswagen was inexpensive and a simple sergeant could buy a car for his monthly salary. And after serving, he would take it to the USA.
The lack of spare parts and service overseas didn't bother anyone. After all, a car from Wolfsburg was just a funny mechanical toy for Americans. And they made business trips in familiar domestically produced cars.
These were only the first, so to speak, amateur attempts at import. And at the beginning of 1949, Nordhoff sent his most capable sales agent, Ben Paul, to the USA. On January 17, he brought the car with him from Wolfsburg and began to introduce it to the dealers of major American automakers. However, at first the mission was not very successful: they flatly refused to cooperate. But Ben did not lose heart and approached other companies - smaller ones, but which already had experience in importing foreign cars to the USA. And then things took off.
Ben Paul near the first VW Beetle that arrived in the United States on January 17, 1949
The most famous in this field was Max Hoffmann's company, with which they managed to conclude a deal. In 1950, it sold the first 150 cars, and by 1953 the number of cars registered in the country had already reached two thousand.
Early the following year, Volkswagen was named "the most fashionable car in Southern California," and it was there that many automotive fashion trends emerged that later spread throughout the country.
Volkswagen cars were increasingly popular in the United States. In 1959, their number there already amounted to 120 thousand. Consumers appreciated the high quality of components and assemblies, the economical engine and, moreover, the low cost of the car. For this, they forgave it for its very cramped interior, especially in the rear seats, and the noisy engine.
Fundamental to the success of Volkswagen cars in the United States was the organization of a full-fledged service. The energetic Dutchman Van der Kamp, who headed the Volkswagen operations in New York, obliged all dealers to keep a full set of spare parts for cars in stock, as well as to provide technical maintenance and repair. And so in 1954 - 1955. dozens of qualified technicians were sent to the United States.
It is especially worth mentioning the original design of the car, which played a role in its popularity. Externally, it was radically different from the American models of the second half of the 50s. They were quite bulky, had a lot of chrome-plated, purely decorative exterior parts, and in the tail section there were characteristic keels-fins. And the compact, 4,07 m long Volkswagen was distinguished by simple, rounded shapes.
The car was nicknamed the Beetle for its distinctive appearance, and it did indeed resemble such an insect. This was especially true of the early models, which were painted black.
Therefore, Volkswagen cars not only stood out sharply in the general traffic flow. When a competition was held in the USA for the most famous object in general, the Beetle took an honorable second place after the Coca-Cola bottle.
