In June of 1999 a small group of us VW enthusiasts from the United States got to meet and have dinner with Major Ivan Hirst in Central England during our long driving tour in our own VWs from Los Angeles to Wolfsburg and back. Ivan was then 84 years old and gave us much the same talk you see here in this video, except that it lasted almost 2 hours long after our dinner, with breaks of course to refresh our beverages in the adjoining pub. It was incredible to personally meet him and listen to him relay his history and experiences at Volkswagen with us, a group of very devout VW enthusiasts. Sadly he passed away in his sleep just four months later. What an incredible guy, and it was simply an experience that all of us in attendance that evening will never forget! At one point he wanted to see the nine pre-1956 American owned and driven VWs outside in the parking lot which he really seemed to enjoy. He was very gracious and even autographed my 1955 Beetles' owners manual and my Repair/Service manual too. Rest in peace Sir!
I believe this. I have met Gustav Meyer and Karl Nachbar, the men behind the Transporter. Impressive men and real nice stores, which are not written in any book.
Yes, that evening spent with Major Ivan Hirst was probably the highlight of that two-part, 28 day driving adventure in very old Vintage VWs from L.A to Wolfsburg and back again. A British VW buddy of ours had brought him to the dinner and talk, and had taken the Major back home afterward, or so we thought. Once he left, a small group of us gathered in the pub and collapsed into chairs at a table with our beers and "de-briefed" each other with what we had just been witness to, and how cool it was to hear early VW history right from the very guy who had such a huge part in VWs resurrection. Well, about 10 minutes later to our complete surprise we looked up and saw that Major Hirst had entered the pub again, and to our shock he walked over towards our table and joined us for "our debrief" session! The five of us vintage owner/enthusiasts/participants driving on the "Return to the Fatherland Tour" in 1999 were enthralled as we asked more questions and got fascinating answers from the Major. I think he sat with us for at least 30 minutes and then at "last call" our buddy took him to his home in a nearby village. Wow, what a night it was! Thank you Ivan!!!
So, your group had 9, pre-1956 Beetles shipped to England to tour there? Did you also tour Europe as well? I would say "Devout" would then be a slight understatement. I would think driving and shipping expenses would exceed $10k each. I have 3, restored, 1967 Bugs: Sedan, sunroof and convertible.
No, you rebuild a former enemy, which goes on to supplant your own domestic industries, leaving your nation as a medium for corporations to commit financial fraud.
Brilliant documentary, this episode in history, this man , Major Hirst and the British army should be more widely known around the world and I hope Volkswagen have a museum to celebrate this and how magnanimous the British as a whole were and are and always will be, this i why I love this country, best country in the world 🌎🇬🇧🤘☀️👏This is an important documentary very relevant to today, thank you for making it and showing it 🇬🇧🤘☀️👏
Salute to all the people involved in getting Volkswagenwerk GmbH up and running and to carry on production. This brand (VW) was and is such a huge part of my life. Brought home from the hospital at birth in a '65 bug to still owing an aircooled VW at 50 years old.
I have my own classic VW dealership in Bend Oregon. I have always loved the history of the origins of the VW company. I feel as though it is my life calling to continue to preserve classic VW's and keep them on the road. they are still relevant in todays standards. Yes they may not be as fast and yes they don't have all of the creature comforts like all of the new stuff. But they will survive another world war! And they are easy to fix. Great video!!!
I said that almost word for word today when my son asked why Type 2 transporters were #1 on my top ten list. They may measure 0-60 acceleration in minutes rather than seconds, but they start right up when it’s -10F outside. (-23C)
A cracking little car that not only got Germany back on track but was sold and exported worldwide simplicity itself mechanically with a loveable shape that's endearing to the eye
I've always loved the Beetle since '68 when my Dad bought a new one. I have a whole new appreciation of the Volkswagen Beetle, now that I've seen this film!
My father was in the postwar British control commission and we bought a VW beetle which we then took back to the UK and was our family car for several years. It was then so rare on british roads, beetle drivers would flash their lights at each other when passing! I have lots of photos of their travels around Europe from our home in Wuppertal
How could a couple of military men manage to recommission a fantastic factory and produce quality automobiles in 5 years, and in the UK we ended up with British Leyland ,
The cars were being built again a month after I was born. I’ve owned many and still drive one every day. My first was a1961 Karmann Ghia. My current is a 2013 Golf TDI. I’m watching the transition to electric with interest. I hope they’re as successful at it as they were with the Beetle. Enjoyed the video interview. 👍🏽
This is very cool and I actually did a project in highschool about the history of VW and my dad has always had beetles so because of his love of VWs I was almost born in a 68 beetle had my dad not got there swiftly I'd been born in that car. So I've always been in love with VWs.
They should make a film about Major Ivan Hirst and how he got KDF/Volkswagen back on its feet and how a small German car slowly come to dominate the world
You know in a time when the world is struggling under the weight on Covid-19, it's makes me very empathetic watching the struggle of post WWII Germany. There's was a very humbling experience...nay, existence. I view VW Bugs as a nostalgic weekend toy. For them it was a modern day utilitarian necessity and opportunity for survival. This post was fuel by Heineken. Hic :)
Not lost on anybody is that the Americans bombed the Wolfsburg factory and the British helped fledgling VW pick through the rubble and slowly get the production of their car production back on its feet. Fast forward 70 years and VW is a huge global conglomerate, whereas the British motor industry is basically non-existent (except for some brands like Land Rover, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce now owned by non-British entities including VW). It's quite a stunning turnaround, really. Like them or loathe them, the Beetle/Bug was a heck of a car, probably the most important car of the 20th century after the Ford Model T. VW's approach to refining the product rather than replacing it was what made VW famous for its quality and craftsmanship, yet this approach also almost bankrupted the company in the 1960s and 70s. For the record, I've had a few VWs in my life and they've always been good, comfortable and fun cars but the newer ones are seemingly let down by frustrating electronics and quality control issues.
Ironic isn't it that the VW was offered to the British, who turned down the offer essentially because the Morris Minor was on the way and they thought the Beetle would be competition for the MM. VW is now a world leader, and Morris is consigned to the trash bin of history. Typical British mismanagement and appalling lack of foresight...
In his book about the car industry, The Reckoning, David Halberstam, describes VW CEO Heinz Nordoff as a truly exceptional man. The maestro who would shepperd VW group into a corporate Goliath.
Great Stuff. I am glad this video was made for Historical Posterity. 9:37 "He sorted the fools out" Perhaps persons that didn't believe the VW would succeed or didn't want it to like the Morgenthau plan supporters.
I think the early production Bettles are one of the most beautiful cars ever designed. Just like I believe the Countach LP400 is far more beautiful than the LP5000 or 25th anniversary. A perfect design doesn't need embellishments to improve upon it. I feel that by the end of the Bettle when they were building the US-spec Super Bettles, and they had large bumpers, large taillights, sealed beam headlights, changes in the glass and shape of the panels, the whole design was damaged. That doesn't mean I don't like them, it is just they are not as pure to the concept.
most of these design changes were according to US-requirements - bumper hight, vertical light glass, crash survival ability, etc. - and it gave Volkswagen the possibility to offer every four years a "NEW" model...
@@uwewaibel9163 Absolutely correct. Same reason why the DeLorean front-end springs were raised up to make it look ridiculous just so they met the bumper height laws in the US. While arguably safer and conforming to US regulations, part of the design is lost. This is one of the reasons gray market Mercedes and BMW were so popular. Their slim bumpers, European headlights, and subtle touches show that they were designed to look that way and were only modified to fit the laws of the US.
@@christopher88719 my friend imported a 1983 R 107 Mercedes 280SL into the USA - to comply to USA requirements she had to spend another 12´000 DM for all the modifications, reinforced bumpers, additional steel beams within the doors, and some more whistlers for seat belts and lights as well as installing sealed beam lights and yellow driving lights...
@@uwewaibel9163 Yup, I believe that is what they called federalizing. However, the gray market was interesting because there were a lot of places that could import, title, and register cars in the US with their euro spec parts still in place. This became such a problem Mercedes lawyers were one of the main driving forces behind establishing the law in the US that require cars to be 25 years old or older to be imported. At one point you could buy a gray market brand new Mercedes for around 20% less than the same spec car at a US Mercedes dealership. That didn't mean a gray market car was really road-legal. You could be stopped by local law enforcement and if they knew the laws and they could ticket you and require you to make it comply with US spec. They could also fail annual state inspections for the states that had them. However, that didn't stop it. I personally owned a full euro spec 1985 Mercedes 190e in California in 2001. Also as a kid in the '80s in California, I saw numerous euro spec Mercedes and BMWs on the roads.
THIS Was an EPIC task. to bring the factory to production in 3 years. If people today only knew the rest of the world HATED Germany at that time. going from a HATED people to the most cars sold in the world was epic.
I live in south america, Uruguay 🇺🇾. I have a brand new vw up in my garage. Fantastic video!! It shows to me the very begining of my little up. Amazing up side down of the german economy. It showed the world what the inflation do to people that suffers it.
Same here. But our winters in So. California are nothing to write home about. This is the longest time I haven't been driving my 70 bug (had it since 84). This is primarily due to covid causing me to work at home.
16:11 random note the headlights in these cobbled together beetles are from kubelwagens because they couldn't find the standard lights. And I've heard these early ones are called trash beetles and I'm not sure if that's true or not but still cool tidbit
...the "standard lights" were not yet produced at that time as the factories were bombed - only war time lights were available as those were "standard lights" for all military vehicles...
@@minustaco42zero24 prior to the war only three types of front standard light were produced - after 1939 no civil vehicles were produced anymore, no need for civil front lights - till 1945 only lights for military vehicles were produced, I assume there were only 3 different types - after 1945 reconstruction was more important than making lights for civil cars and Volkswagen were the only one at that time...
@@uwewaibel9163 but they made Kommanderwagen (beetle with 4wd) that had the standard lights that were made during the war with a total number of 669 made so they had to have lights coming from somewhere. Thats the only reason I brought it up
In a few short years after the war all of Germany was back in production...and an economic world power. As for VW, it’s conglomerate is now the largest car manufacturer in the world. No matter what you think of Germans, they are an amazingly smart and productive culture.
I am glad Hitler told Dr Porsche to produce VW bugs. I own one. Its a rust bucket. Still runs and i am the second owner. My girlfriend is beautiful. Tall and blonde. She's from Denmark. It made Lamborghini and Ferrari owners jealous. She loves me the way i am.
@@hotvwsmagazine "war industry leader - Wehrwirtschaftsführer" I was kinda surprised by the narrators perfect pronunciation of German words and names but seeing her name is Emily Clarke-Brandt I guess she has some German heritage.
well done, only brits didnt realize what a new car technology was, hmmm , brits never catch up as ther own car industry was outdated already, sorry to say now VW own RR and Bentley
@tecdessus I think it was not the technology of the car itself, but the manufacturing technology, which was way ahead of all what was existing in the UK back then, and later on. The sheer size of the factory, lean production, strict quality control, continuous development of the product, investing in a worldwide dealer network, and, very important, the employee participation (Mitbestimmung): no British manufacturer was able to reproduce these things on this scale.
In June of 1999 a small group of us VW enthusiasts from the United States got to meet and have dinner with Major Ivan Hirst in Central England during our long driving tour in our own VWs from Los Angeles to Wolfsburg and back. Ivan was then 84 years old and gave us much the same talk you see here in this video, except that it lasted almost 2 hours long after our dinner, with breaks of course to refresh our beverages in the adjoining pub. It was incredible to personally meet him and listen to him relay his history and experiences at Volkswagen with us, a group of very devout VW enthusiasts. Sadly he passed away in his sleep just four months later. What an incredible guy, and it was simply an experience that all of us in attendance that evening will never forget! At one point he wanted to see the nine pre-1956 American owned and driven VWs outside in the parking lot which he really seemed to enjoy. He was very gracious and even autographed my 1955 Beetles' owners manual and my Repair/Service manual too. Rest in peace Sir!
A great experience I’m sure 👍🏴
I believe this. I have met Gustav Meyer and Karl Nachbar, the men behind the Transporter. Impressive men and real nice stores, which are not written in any book.
What I wouldn't have given to have been there to listen to him narrate this success story of Germany and the beloved Beetle Factory
Yes, that evening spent with Major Ivan Hirst was probably the highlight of that two-part, 28 day driving adventure in very old Vintage VWs from L.A to Wolfsburg and back again. A British VW buddy of ours had brought him to the dinner and talk, and had taken the Major back home afterward, or so we thought. Once he left, a small group of us gathered in the pub and collapsed into chairs at a table with our beers and "de-briefed" each other with what we had just been witness to, and how cool it was to hear early VW history right from the very guy who had such a huge part in VWs resurrection. Well, about 10 minutes later to our complete surprise we looked up and saw that Major Hirst had entered the pub again, and to our shock he walked over towards our table and joined us for "our debrief" session! The five of us vintage owner/enthusiasts/participants driving on the "Return to the Fatherland Tour" in 1999 were enthralled as we asked more questions and got fascinating answers from the Major. I think he sat with us for at least 30 minutes and then at "last call" our buddy took him to his home in a nearby village. Wow, what a night it was! Thank you Ivan!!!
So, your group had 9, pre-1956 Beetles shipped to England to tour there? Did you also tour Europe as well? I would say "Devout" would then be a slight understatement. I would think driving and shipping expenses would exceed $10k each. I have 3, restored, 1967 Bugs: Sedan, sunroof and convertible.
This is what you do after a war. You help your former enemy rebuild their country. You end up with a good ally. We seem to have forgotten this.
No, you rebuild a former enemy, which goes on to supplant your own domestic industries, leaving your nation as a medium for corporations to commit financial fraud.
Been a big VW fan since 1980 & that's the best history documentary I've seen.
Brilliant documentary, this episode in history, this man , Major Hirst and the British army should be more widely known around the world and I hope Volkswagen have a museum to celebrate this and how magnanimous the British as a whole were and are and always will be, this i why I love this country, best country in the world 🌎🇬🇧🤘☀️👏This is an important documentary very relevant to today, thank you for making it and showing it 🇬🇧🤘☀️👏
Salute to all the people involved in getting Volkswagenwerk GmbH up and running and to carry on production. This brand (VW) was and is such a huge part of my life. Brought home from the hospital at birth in a '65 bug to still owing an aircooled VW at 50 years old.
I have my own classic VW dealership in Bend Oregon. I have always loved the history of the origins of the VW company. I feel as though it is my life calling to continue to preserve classic VW's and keep them on the road. they are still relevant in todays standards. Yes they may not be as fast and yes they don't have all of the creature comforts like all of the new stuff. But they will survive another world war! And they are easy to fix. Great video!!!
I said that almost word for word today when my son asked why Type 2 transporters were #1 on my top ten list. They may measure 0-60 acceleration in minutes rather than seconds, but they start right up when it’s -10F outside. (-23C)
Volunter to prove it ! WW III, just for the kicks ! ;-)
If you would send me some photos of your dealership and your inventory.I admire what you’re doing and would appreciate the favor
How is it that 2003 Volkswagen beetles that are built in Mexico and make their way into the United States legally and I want one
I love watching the factory videos during assembly. I could watch these for hours!!
that`s kinda strange Scott..good video tho
Fascinating account of the post war resurrection of VW. It reverted to German control the day before I was born in 1949.
A cracking little car that not only got Germany back on track but was sold and exported worldwide simplicity itself mechanically with a loveable shape that's endearing to the eye
I've always loved the Beetle since '68 when my Dad bought a new one. I have a whole new appreciation of the Volkswagen Beetle, now that I've seen this film!
My father was in the postwar British control commission and we bought a VW beetle which we then took back to the UK and was our family car for several years. It was then so rare on british roads, beetle drivers would flash their lights at each other when passing! I have lots of photos of their travels around Europe from our home in Wuppertal
How could a couple of military men manage to recommission a fantastic factory and produce quality automobiles in 5 years, and in the UK we ended up with British Leyland ,
Amazing story and turnaround. Great to have the personal insights of the people involved. Different world.
Thanks for posting this. Nice history lesson.
But it is a lies and fake. History is written by the winners though. I guess then it is all true. - you wish
The cars were being built again a month after I was born. I’ve owned many and still drive one every day. My first was a1961 Karmann Ghia. My current is a 2013 Golf TDI. I’m watching the transition to electric with interest. I hope they’re as successful at it as they were with the Beetle. Enjoyed the video interview. 👍🏽
Truly excellent video about VW with one of the key players who helped bring the VW back to life after the ravages of war.
Awesome! My first car in 1989 was a 10 year old 79 Beetle cabriolet. Wish I still had it.
I have a 1974 Beetle Cabriolet and I love it. No power steering, no electric windows, no rev counter. just admiring looks and compliments.
Congrats for 5 O ❤
74 had my first new car
76 another convertible,
still have thx Ivan Hurst.
Coincidentally born the
same day Porsche died.
Totally fascinating. I wonder if Maj. Hirst ever got promoted to Colonel for his efforts at VW? He seemed the right person at the right place in time.
What gorgeous documentary!
This is very cool and I actually did a project in highschool about the history of VW and my dad has always had beetles so because of his love of VWs I was almost born in a 68 beetle had my dad not got there swiftly I'd been born in that car. So I've always been in love with VWs.
They should make a film about Major Ivan Hirst and how he got KDF/Volkswagen back on its feet and how a small German car slowly come to dominate the world
You know in a time when the world is struggling under the weight on Covid-19, it's makes me very empathetic watching the struggle of post WWII Germany. There's was a very humbling experience...nay, existence. I view VW Bugs as a nostalgic weekend toy. For them it was a modern day utilitarian necessity and opportunity for survival. This post was fuel by Heineken. Hic :)
Fascinating ! All my best cars have been VWs. Now I work at a company owned by VW.
Thanks for the excellent documentation by the British !!
For sure, Mr. Hurst saveed VW.....
He is a really hero.
Love the video! My son and I are working on my 69 Ghia that we saved from the crusher.👍👍
Shows what can be done by UK Military and Germans can do when you put your mind to work fully..
A very interesting document. Thank's very much😊 Und vielen Dank für die seltene Aufnahmen.
Fascinating story.
Needs more advertising interruptions.
I nearly followed the story.
Thanks a bunch.
Thats TH-cam's fault. Super annoying.
Great doc....Hirst was a key figure.
I was born near Wolfsburg the summer of love 1967 so they are in my blood! PEACE LOVE n HIPPYNESS!
Not lost on anybody is that the Americans bombed the Wolfsburg factory and the British helped fledgling VW pick through the rubble and slowly get the production of their car production back on its feet. Fast forward 70 years and VW is a huge global conglomerate, whereas the British motor industry is basically non-existent (except for some brands like Land Rover, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce now owned by non-British entities including VW). It's quite a stunning turnaround, really. Like them or loathe them, the Beetle/Bug was a heck of a car, probably the most important car of the 20th century after the Ford Model T. VW's approach to refining the product rather than replacing it was what made VW famous for its quality and craftsmanship, yet this approach also almost bankrupted the company in the 1960s and 70s. For the record, I've had a few VWs in my life and they've always been good, comfortable and fun cars but the newer ones are seemingly let down by frustrating electronics and quality control issues.
The new ones are technically vastly superior, but they can't hold a candle quality-wise with the old ones. New is not always better.
German industry was bombed by both British and US airforces
Ironic isn't it that the VW was offered to the British, who turned down the offer essentially because the Morris Minor was on the way and they thought the Beetle would be competition for the MM. VW is now a world leader, and Morris is consigned to the trash bin of history. Typical British mismanagement and appalling lack of foresight...
very cool story, thanks for sharing.
I really enjoyed this article. Fascinating
In his book about the car industry, The Reckoning, David Halberstam, describes VW CEO Heinz Nordoff as a truly exceptional man. The maestro who would shepperd VW group into a corporate Goliath.
What an incredible event in history
How did HotVW's get a copy of this amazing documentary ?
Great Stuff. I am glad this video was made for Historical Posterity.
9:37 "He sorted the fools out" Perhaps persons that didn't believe the VW would succeed or didn't want it to like the Morgenthau plan supporters.
what a life, 28 in Germany helping to rebuild industry destroyed by allied bombing, must have been very fulfilling and interesting,
Great information, i loved the original pick-up
very pretious document, very well posted
I think the early production Bettles are one of the most beautiful cars ever designed. Just like I believe the Countach LP400 is far more beautiful than the LP5000 or 25th anniversary. A perfect design doesn't need embellishments to improve upon it. I feel that by the end of the Bettle when they were building the US-spec Super Bettles, and they had large bumpers, large taillights, sealed beam headlights, changes in the glass and shape of the panels, the whole design was damaged. That doesn't mean I don't like them, it is just they are not as pure to the concept.
most of these design changes were according to US-requirements - bumper hight, vertical light glass, crash survival ability, etc. - and it gave Volkswagen the possibility to offer every four years a "NEW" model...
@@uwewaibel9163 Absolutely correct. Same reason why the DeLorean front-end springs were raised up to make it look ridiculous just so they met the bumper height laws in the US. While arguably safer and conforming to US regulations, part of the design is lost. This is one of the reasons gray market Mercedes and BMW were so popular. Their slim bumpers, European headlights, and subtle touches show that they were designed to look that way and were only modified to fit the laws of the US.
@@christopher88719 my friend imported a 1983 R 107 Mercedes 280SL into the USA - to comply to USA requirements she had to spend another 12´000 DM for all the modifications, reinforced bumpers, additional steel beams within the doors, and some more whistlers for seat belts and lights as well as installing sealed beam lights and yellow driving lights...
@@uwewaibel9163 Yup, I believe that is what they called federalizing. However, the gray market was interesting because there were a lot of places that could import, title, and register cars in the US with their euro spec parts still in place. This became such a problem Mercedes lawyers were one of the main driving forces behind establishing the law in the US that require cars to be 25 years old or older to be imported. At one point you could buy a gray market brand new Mercedes for around 20% less than the same spec car at a US Mercedes dealership.
That didn't mean a gray market car was really road-legal. You could be stopped by local law enforcement and if they knew the laws and they could ticket you and require you to make it comply with US spec. They could also fail annual state inspections for the states that had them. However, that didn't stop it. I personally owned a full euro spec 1985 Mercedes 190e in California in 2001. Also as a kid in the '80s in California, I saw numerous euro spec Mercedes and BMWs on the roads.
@@christopher88719 The bumper height rules and headlight rules, yes but the larger windows were to make the car look more modern.
Fun Fact Colonel Klink once assembled VW Beetles.
No mention of the Rootes group being offered the design but saying thr Käfer would never sell. Always loved the Käfer and sad when production ended.
Ford said something similar. Walked away from acquiring it.
THIS Was an EPIC task. to bring the factory to production in 3 years. If people today only knew the rest of the world HATED Germany at that time. going from a HATED people to the most cars sold in the world was epic.
I live in south america, Uruguay 🇺🇾.
I have a brand new vw up in my garage. Fantastic video!! It shows to me the very begining of my little up.
Amazing up side down of the german economy. It showed the world what the inflation do to people that suffers it.
Mr. Hirst is the true Father of Wolfsburg. If it wasnt for him , Germany wouldnt be what it is today
"Weekend toy," I drive mine everyday, including Canadian winter :)
Same here. But our winters in So. California are nothing to write home about. This is the longest time I haven't been driving my 70 bug (had it since 84). This is primarily due to covid causing me to work at home.
I dont think people quite realize how different the automotive world would be today, if this man hadnt saved the beetle.
27:23 -- he said get the "bugs" out of it. Oops! Never wanna do that. He said it again at 30:06.
A stark contrast to what happened to the factories in the Soviet zone. Disassembled and sent to Russia.
Yet today Europe especially the French and Germans hate the British and all we did.
Nordhoff was lucky - so he could join VW as his lorry factory in Brandenburg was on its way into the Sovjet Union...
@@stringer-ik1pc Never could figure that out. The French hate us, (Americans) too. I think they hate everybody who isn't French and drives a Renault.
Gran historia!
Thankfully Volkswagen’s didn’t have English electrical systems.
English electrics (Lucas) drove me nuts with my Triumph motorcycles. However, I never had an electrical problem with my Jaguar XJ-6.
You mean like Chevrolet, fuel pumps and electric window motors, lol
12:36 -- the first dune buggy. Take a Beetle chassis and put something different on top of it.
I think the Kubelwagen was the original dune buggy,look how it flew over the North African deserts !
16:11 random note the headlights in these cobbled together beetles are from kubelwagens because they couldn't find the standard lights. And I've heard these early ones are called trash beetles and I'm not sure if that's true or not but still cool tidbit
...the "standard lights" were not yet produced at that time as the factories were bombed - only war time lights were available as those were "standard lights" for all military vehicles...
@@uwewaibel9163 is that why they didn't have them? I thought they had them produced already for use in the prototypes but just not in large numbers
@@minustaco42zero24 prior to the war only three types of front standard light were produced - after 1939 no civil vehicles were produced anymore, no need for civil front lights - till 1945 only lights for military vehicles were produced, I assume there were only 3 different types - after 1945 reconstruction was more important than making lights for civil cars and Volkswagen were the only one at that time...
@@uwewaibel9163 ok that makes more sense. Cool thanks for clearing that up for me
@@uwewaibel9163 but they made Kommanderwagen (beetle with 4wd) that had the standard lights that were made during the war with a total number of 669 made so they had to have lights coming from somewhere. Thats the only reason I brought it up
How 'bout a new list of SoCal Air Cooled Speed Shops?
12:22 "...Kitchen requires fish supplies urgently..." ?? Must be a typographical error. I think they meant "fresh supplies urgently".
In a few short years after the war all of Germany was back in production...and an economic world power. As for VW, it’s conglomerate is now the largest car manufacturer in the world. No matter what you think of Germans, they are an amazingly smart and productive culture.
Thanks to the British. You forget to mention.
Thanks! Just this…
There is a Mystique About the Volkswagen product
Martorell Opcional 🔋 ‼️🔦👩🚀 President 👼🏼
I am glad Hitler told Dr Porsche to produce VW bugs. I own one. Its a rust bucket. Still runs and i am the second owner. My girlfriend is beautiful. Tall and blonde. She's from Denmark. It made Lamborghini and Ferrari owners jealous. She loves me the way i am.
Very good. But the narrator really went to town on that German pronunciation and was it totally necessary to say GMBH all the time?
We also never figure out what female narrator says @ 24.15 "via verchatzfuhrer"?? if you are fluent German, let us know what she said!
@@hotvwsmagazine "war industry leader - Wehrwirtschaftsführer" I was kinda surprised by the narrators perfect pronunciation of German words and names but seeing her name is Emily Clarke-Brandt I guess she has some German heritage.
Thanks! @@creak92 English subtitle updated!
well done, only brits didnt realize
what a new car technology was, hmmm , brits never catch up
as ther own car industry was outdated already, sorry to say
now VW own RR and Bentley
@tecdessus I think it was not the technology of the car itself, but the manufacturing technology, which was way ahead of all what was existing in the UK back then, and later on. The sheer size of the factory, lean production, strict quality control, continuous development of the product, investing in a worldwide dealer network, and, very important, the employee participation (Mitbestimmung): no British manufacturer was able to reproduce these things on this scale.
"Brits never catch up"
So why do so many F1 teams design and build their cars in Britain?
@@CoherentChimp but always lose
@@harryeisermann2784 Always lose?
Mercedes F1 team are based in Brackley. 70 miles NW of London.
@@CoherentChimp is Mercedes British????
Bugs ironed out 😂
Business are business.,you know ,kids
Actually Frank Zappa was the Mother of Invention.
👍😁
After that there was never another good vehicle from English management 😂
British roots... pfff