Volkswagen
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Volkswagen is a car company from Germany. It was started in the 1930s, at the request of the country's leader, Adolf Hitler, who wanted a "people's car" which is what the word volkswagen means in German. Hitler asked Dr. Ferdinand Porsche to design a car that almost anyone could afford. Though Hitler never learned to drive, he had a keen interest in cars. Hitler wanted the car to have a rear mounted engine. It was to be cooled by air instead of water. The car needed to be able to travel at least 100 km/h, or about 60 mph. Also, Hitler wanted the car to be able to move easily through the air. He thought a car shaped like a beetle would do that. The first name given to the car was "KdF-Wagen." "KdF" stood for Kraft durch Freude, or "Strength through Joy." Some were made, but production ended after World War II started. The factory built cars for the German military instead. After the war, people from the United Kingdom and the United States reopened the factory and started production again. The cars, especially the Volkswagen Beetle or "Bug" became popular and well-known all over the world. The Beetle later became one of the best selling cars in history. It was built for many years afterward in factories in Germany, Brazil and Mexico. The last Volkswagen Beetle (called the Volkswagen Sedan by the company) to be built was built in Mexico. It was built in 2004. Volkswagen has a new car called the "New Beetle." It looks a bit like the old car, but is larger, faster and much more suited to today's modern world in terms of design.
Some of Volkswagen's popular cars are the Golf, Jetta, Polo,Beetle and the Passat. VW's as they are commonly known, have also entered the off road segment with cars like the Torag,and the commercial segment with the Toran. This year sees VW's 21st anniversary since the Golf1 entered our shores in the 1980's. With record sales every year the Golf1 remains the hottest hatch in the market. Since its birth VW has sold over 315 000 uits of the Golf1 alone. 2005 saw the entry of the fifth generation of the Golf. The flagbearer - the GTi - is powered by a 147Kw 2.0l 4 cylinder turbo charged engine,with VW DSG and FSI technology. The GolfGTi has evolved a long way since the 80's but the fifth generation GTi is critisised as it does not live up to the expectations and standards set by the legendary Mk1 GTi, which was fitted with an 1800, 8 valve motor. Test drive the new Golf today and see what you make of it.
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