The 1961 model VW Beetle represented a milestone for the little bug that was the conceived brainchild of Ferdinand Porsche almost 40 years before in the 1920s. It was then that Porsche envisioned and designed a 'people's car' - it was to be well-made, mechanically reliable, physically sound, but not costly. A car that would take its driver and passengers where they wanted and needed to go, without trouble, with little effort, with reliability, and with comfort. The beetle design was called "Project 12" at Porsche's design studio, and was perfected throughout the 20's and 30's. It was never put into production however, until after WWII ended, when the British Army started production in the ruins of Wolfsburg, Germany.
But after the British Rootes Group (Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam) and the American Ford Motor Company both rejected buying the virtually bombed-out VW factory at the end of WWII, the VW company (under Heinz Nordhoff) decided to do it all themselves. And on December 5th 1961, the year this car came off the line, that same factory produced its 5-millionth bug - this was an outstanding achievement for the little Beetle and those who worked at that war-torn factory.
During the 60's, using a humorous and highly-original ad-campaign for the times, which came to be known as 'honest advertising', VW sold millions of Beetles all around the world - in Europe, USA, South America, Australia.
Such success came from a design that had changed little in 60 years, and now remains a classic, with a timeless style that is so obviously distinct and retro, that it has now become a very desirable look.
Many people remember the news footage of the orange 70's bug floating around Rosalie in the 2011 flood - that's what bugs do - their sealed floor pans make them a unique and individual car - that even floats!
