30 Crazy Facts About Volkswagen

Happy Birthday, Volkswagen! As the automaker turns 80, not to mention a lot of publicity over the years, there are surprising facts about the car company that is not widely known.

We’re sharing an Infographic which shares 30 Crazy Facts About Volkswagen.

The Craziest Facts (Here are 10):

The Nazis and Volkswagen – The idea for the Volkswagen, ‘People’s car’, came from Adolf Hitler. He chose Ferdinand Porsche to engineer a car that could carry 2 adults and 3 children, and that could do 100km/h (62mph). The idea was, that people could buy it through an affordable savings scheme and that’s how the base for the VW Beetle was born.

British car manufacturers said no to the Beetle – The Beetle was offered to the Brits on a plate at the end of the war, but British car manufacturers turned down the opportunity to manufacture it.

Wind currents – The Volkswagen Golf is actually the German word for “gulf” – as in “the Gulf stream.” Naming cars after prominent winds are kind of a trend for VW.

Inspiring dog toys – The popular dogs toy, the Kong is based on a part of a Volkswagen bus suspension that the creator’s German Shepherds loved to play with.

Domino’s co-founder loved VW more than his pizza– In 1961, James Monaghan, co-founder of Domino’s Pizza, traded his 50% stake in the company to his brother Tom for a used Volkswagen. Tom went on to sell his 93% for $1 billion.

Two Beetle shells are covered in wax – Shells of the two last Beetles made in Germany are so important to the company that they had them protected in wax. They are currently housed at VW’s Milton-Keynes parts store.

The most valuable company – Volkswagen was once the most valuable company in the world – for exactly one day.

Giving birth in a Beetle – Although giving birth in a car isn’t ideal, those born in Beetles received financial compensation. Volkswagen used to award those particular babies with bonds.