Volkswagen (abbreviated VW) is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, 49.9% of Porsche, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.

The origins of the company date back to 1930s Nazi Germany, and the project to build the car that would become known as the Beetle. Hitler’s desire that almost anybody should be able to afford a car fitted with a proposal by car designer Ferdinand Porsche (1875-1952) — although much of this design was inspired by the advanced Tatra cars of Hans Ledwinka. The intention was that ordinary Germans would buy the car by a saving’s scheme, which around 336,000 people eventually paid into. Prototypes of the car called the KdF-Wagen (German: Kraft durch Freude = strength through joy), appeared from 1936 onwards (the first cars had been produced in Stuttgart). The car already had its distinctive round shape and air-cooled, flat-four, rear-mounted engine, features similar to the Tatra.

It was only after the war in 1946 that the Volkswagen finally became the “Peoples Car.” The Wolfsburg plant was located in the British zone of occupation and became a repair depot. The British selected Major Ivan Hirst as responsible for the factory. He wanted to start producing Volkswagens since the war had created a huge demand for a small cheap car. Using the discovered blueprints, they put the Volkswagen into production – but this time it was really for the people and now we, the classic car hobbyists, to use and enjoy.

The famous Volkswagen logo is simpler than other known car logos. To describe, it is pretty obvious what the Volkswagen logo is (a V over a W in a blue background, sorounded by a circle) like other car logos. Its origin is rather mundane though. The logo was the result of an office competition to see come up with a logo. The winner of the competition (who won 50 marks for his troubles) was an engineer named Franz Reimspiess (the same man who perfected the engine for the Beetle in the 1930’s). The Volkswagen logo continues to amaze the people with its cute and unique cars unlike other car logos.

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