Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into the global brand it is known as today post World War II by the British Army officer Ivan Hirst, it is known for the iconic Beetle and serves as the flagship brand of the Volkswagen Group, the largest automotive manufacturer by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group's biggest market is in China, which delivers 40 percent of its sales and profits. Its name is derived from the German-language terms Volk and Wagen, translating to "people's car" when combined.
The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. It is one of the most iconic cars in automotive history, recognised for its distinctive shape. Its production period of 65 years is the longest of any single generation of automobile, and its total production of over 21.5 million is the most of any car of a single platform.
A dune buggy — also known as a beach buggy — is a recreational off-road vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes, beaches, off-road or desert recreation. The design is usually a topless vehicle with a rear-mounted engine. A dune buggy can be created by modifying an existing vehicle or custom-building a new vehicle.
The Love Bug is a 1969 American sports adventure comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, based on the story "Car, Boy, Girl" by Gordon Buford. The film is the first installment in the Herbie film series.
Car games are games played to pass the time on long car journeys, often started by parents to amuse restless children. They generally require little or no equipment or playing space. Some such games are designed specifically to be played while traveling, while others are games that can be played in a variety of settings including car journeys.
A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, headlamp is the term for the device itself and headlight is the term for the beam of light produced and distributed by the device.
The Volkswagen Type 2 is a forward control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950 by the German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model. Known officially as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Volkswagen Station Wagon (US), Bus, Camper (UK) or Bulli (Germany), it was given the factory designation Type 2 as it followed – and was initially derived from – Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle).
The Volkswagen Touareg is a car produced by German automaker Volkswagen Group since 2002 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant. Considered to be the first luxury mid-size SUV from Volkswagen, the vehicle was named after the nomadic Tuareg people, inhabitants of the Saharan interior in North Africa. Originally, the Touareg was developed together with the Porsche Cayenne and the Audi Q7, and as of October 2020, the Touareg was developed together with the Audi Q8, the Bentley Bentayga and the Lamborghini Urus. This family of vehicles are all unibody SUVs with independent suspension. The first generation (2002–2010) offered five, six, eight, ten and twelve-cylinder engine choices.
A Baja Bug is an original Volkswagen Beetle modified to operate off-road, although other versions of air-cooled Volkswagens are sometimes modified as well. Baja bugs often race in off-road desert races such as the Baja 1000. There are different classes for bugs, namely class 11, class 5 1600, and class 5 unlimited. According to desert racing association Score International, class 11 is a stock VW beetle with modifications limited to ground clearance and strength. Class 5 1600 rules state that a 1600 cc VW engine must be used and the car must have the exterior appearance of a "baja bug" with body modification limited to whatever cutting is needed to install a consumer baja kit. Class 5 unlimited is any 4 cylinder VW-style engine, and it must have Baja-style fenders and side panels, and VW-style suspension.
In automotive design, an RR, or rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout places both the engine and drive wheels at the rear of the vehicle. In contrast to the RMR layout, the center of mass of the engine is between the rear axle and the rear bumper. Although very common in transit buses and coaches due to the elimination of the drive shaft with low-floor buses, this layout has become increasingly rare in passenger cars.
The Volkswagen New Beetle is a compact car, introduced by Volkswagen in 1997, drawing heavy inspiration from the exterior design of the original Beetle. Unlike the original Beetle, the New Beetle has its engine in the front, driving the front wheels, with luggage storage in the rear. It was revised in 2005 and was in production until 2011, almost fourteen years since introduction.
The Meyers Manx dune buggy is a small recreationally-oriented automobile, designed initially for desert racing by Californian engineer, artist, boat builder and surfer Bruce F. Meyers. It was produced by his Fountain Valley, California company, B. F. Meyers & Co. from 1964 to 1971, in the form of car kits applied to shortened chassis of Volkswagen Beetles. The car line dominated dune racing in its time, breaking records immediately, and was eventually also released in street-oriented models, until the company's demise due to tax problems after Meyers's departure. New vehicles inspired by the original Manx buggy have been produced by Meyers's re-founded operation, Meyers Manx, Inc., since 2000. The name and cat logo of the brand derives from the Manx cat, by virtue of the tailless breed's and the shortened vehicle's truncated "stubbiness".
A motor vehicle has lighting and signaling devices mounted to or integrated into its front, rear, sides, and, in some cases, top. Various devices have the dual function of illuminating the road ahead for the driver, and making the vehicle visible to others, with indications to them of turning, slowing or stopping, etc., with lights also indicating the size of some large vehicles.
A Cal looker is any air-cooled Volkswagen modified in fashion originating in Orange County, California in the late 1960s.
The Volkswagen Beetle was introduced to Mexico in March 1954, inside the exhibition "Alemania y su Industria". Four different Volkswagen vehicles were brought to Mexico through Veracruz City for the first time. Those vehicles were: two Sedans 113 in "Export" trim, a convertible, and a VW Bus in luxury trim. Officially, the Bug/Beetle was named "Type I sedan" and the Bus was named "Type II station wagon", though variants included single and double cab pickups.
Jungle Junction is a children's television series created by Trevor Ricketts. In the United States, it was part of its Playhouse Disney block for preschoolers. On February 14, 2011, it was moved to the Disney Junior block, serving as Playhouse Disney's replacement. A second season of 27 episodes was ordered by Disney, and premiered on April 2, 2011. A total of 47 episodes were produced. The show focuses on a group of animalistic vehicles and their adventures.
The Volkswagen Beetle, also sold as the Volkswagen Käfer, Volkswagen Coccinelle, Volkswagen Maggiolino, and Volkswagen Fusca in some countries, is a small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen introduced in 2011 for the 2012 model year, as the successor to the New Beetle launched in 1997. It features a lower profile while retaining an overall shape recalling the original Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle. One of Volkswagen's goals with the model was to give it a more aggressive appearance while giving it some stylistic aspects reminiscent of the Type 1. This was an attempt to distance the new model from the New Beetle, produced from 1997 to 2011, which never approached the success of the first Beetle.
Superbug is a West German children's comedy film series released between 1971 and 1978, each concerning the adventures of a sentient Volkswagen Beetle and his driver companion. The eponymous film series, and its protagonist, is essentially similar to Disney's Herbie the Love Bug franchise which also concerned the exploits of a seemingly intelligent car, but unlike Herbie which uses magic to show off anthropomorphism, the Superbug instead uses modern technology to display signs of sentience. The Superbug series appeared to be an attempt by director and main actor Rudolf Zehetgruber to bring the "Love Bug" concept to Germany, where the Beetle originated, while giving it the flair of James Bond's gadget-equipped vehicles. The main human character is named Jimmy Bondi. In the first film, which is mainly set in Africa, Bondi inherits a yellow 1963 VW Beetle, which he names "Dudu", the Swahili word for insect or beetle.
Beetle Crazy Cup, released as Beetle Buggin' in North America, and as Käfer Total in Germany, and as Radiсal Drive in Spain, is a 2000 racing video game developed by Xpiral and published by Infogrames for Microsoft Windows. The game features vehicles by Volkswagen as part of a licensing deal between Infogrames and the automotive company.
The Herbie franchise consists of American sports adventure comedy theatrical feature films, one television film, a television series, and other multimedia releases. The overall story centers around the titular Herbie, a sentient anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own and capable of driving himself. The vehicle is oftentimes a legitimate contender, though the underdog contestant in competitive races, but to a greater degree assists his human owners in bettering their lives.
