 Used Volkswagens near Worcester
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Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer. Headquarters are in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Volkswagen has three cars in the top 10 list of best-selling cars of all time. They are: the Volkswagen Golf, the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Volkswagen Passat. With these three cars, Volkswagen has the most cars of any automobile manufacturer in the list that are still being manufactured. Volkswagen also ranks first in spending the most money of any car maker on research and development.
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| Volkswagen was originally founded in 1937 by a group called the German Labor Front ("Deutsche Arbeitsfront" in German). In the early '30s, the German auto industry was still almost entirely made up of luxury models. As a result, the average German could barely afford anything more than a motorcycle. In fact, only one German out of fifty owned a car at all. At that time, some car makers began independent "peoples' car" projects – Mercedes for example. |
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Ferdinand Porsche, a famous designer for high end vehicles and race cars, had attempted for many years to get a car maker interested in a small car suitable for any family. His idea was that the small cars at the time were really nothing more than stripped-down big cars. So he created a car he called the "Volksauto", new from the ground up, in 1931. He used many of the ideas popular at the time and quite a few of his own- coming up with a car that had an air-cooled engine mounted in the rear, complete with the famous "beetle" shape. The hood was quite rounded, affording improved aerodynamics. (Quite needed because it had a small engine).
And yes, Hitler chose to sponsor an all-new, state-owned factory using Ferdinand Porsche's design to turn out cars. Building the new factory commenced in May 1938 in an entirely new town, now known as Wolfsburg. The town was built especially for the factory workers. By the time war started in 1939, the factory had only produced a handful of cars.
At that time, production changed to strictly military vehicles. Unfortunately, as was common with much of the production in Nazi Germany during the war- slave labor was used at the VW factory. (The company would admit in the 1990s that it used 15k slaves during the war.) Volkswagen has since set up a voluntary restitution fund.
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| Volkswagon actually owes its continued existence after the war largely to one lone man. He was a British Army officer named Ivan Hirst. In April of 1945, the city of Wolfsburg and its bombed out factory were captured by the Americans. They then handed it over to the British. The factories were placed under the control of Hirst, who started up production of civilian automobiles. In an interesting footnote, right after the War, the factory was offered for free to Ford Motors. Ford passed on it, saying the cars were ugly and nobody would buy them.
VWs were sold in the United States starting in 1949, but sold only two units in America that first year! "Volkswagen of America" was formed in April 1955 to standardize sales and service in the US. Production of Beetle, the only model offered increased dramatically and quickly- the total reaching one million units in 1955.
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Used Volkswagen near Worcester, MA |
While the Beetle was becoming outdated, during the 1960s and early 1970s, clever advertising, and a growing reputation for reliability helped sales. VW expanded its model line in 1961 with the introduction of four new models- the Karmann Ghia, Notchback, Fastback, and Squareback.
Yet, demand for the air-cooled models went into terminal decline as the 1970s. (In the Worcester Area, drivers were known to keep an ice-scraper for the INSIDE of the windows.) With the popularity of Japanese imports, market share for the VWs declined.
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New models for the Worcester. MA Volkswagon market in the Mid-1970s saved the company. First came the Volkswagen Dasher, introduced in 1973, and then in spring 1974, came the Scirocco. Then came the model that really turned things around-the Volkswagen Golf in 1974. (It was marketed in the Worcester area as the Rabbit initially.) The Golf has been the mainstay of the VW lineup since it came out.
These days, the big sellar is the VW Jetta. |
The introductions of the New Beetle and the fifth-generation Passat in the 1990s were a major boost to Volkswagon, and market share grew.
In 2009, VW merged with Porche.
Today, Volkswagen continues to enjoy increasing market share in the US. Used Volkswagens in Worcester remain popular. |
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Used Volkswagen Jetta near Worcester
Pre-Owned Cars near Worcester, in Auburn, MA:
Acura | Audi | BMW | Honda | Lexus | Mazda | Mercedes-Benz | Nissan | Toyota | VW
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