Beetle is one of the most iconic car brands manufactured by the greatest German car making company Volkswagen.
The Volkswagen Type 1 was an economy car produced by Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003. It used an air cooled rear engined rear wheel drive (RR layout).
The Beetle car was the benchmark for both generations of American compact cars such as the Chevrolet Corvair, and subcompact cars such as the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto. It was the German equivalent and counterpart to the Morris Minor, Renault 4CV, Citroen 2CV, Fiat 600, Saab 92, and Volvo PV444 immediate post-war European economy cars.
The car was originally known as Käfer, the German word for "beetle", from which the popular English nickname originates. It was not until August 1967 that the Volkswagen Corporation itself began using the name "Beetle" in marketing materials in the US. In Britain, Volkswagen never used the name Beetle officially.
Volkswagen introduced the "New Beetle" (built on a Volkswagen Golf Mk4 platform) which bore a cosmetic resemblance to the original.
In an international poll for the award of the world's most influential car of the twentieth century the Beetle came fourth after the Ford Model T, the Mini, and the Citroën DS.
