Volkswagen Cars: Illustrated History Books & Guides

The Complete Book of Classic Volkswagens : Beetles, Microbuses, Things, Karmann Ghias, and More

The classic air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is regarded as one of the most important and well-engineered vehicles of the twentieth century. It was the most popular imported car in America in the 1960s, and before that it enjoyed a humble beginning as "the people's car" in its native Germany.
In its heyday, the rounded Beetle was produced at a rate of more than one million per year. Today, with more than 23 million cars built, the Beetle holds the record as the most-produced passenger car of all time. But the Beetle is only one part of The Complete Book of Classic Volkswagens.

This book encompasses the evolution of the popular Beetle as well as other variations of Volkswagen's air-cooled cars, vans, and trucks. Thoroughly illustrated, this is an invaluable reference to Volkswagen's collectible and iconic cars.
The rest - from Type 2 vans, pick-ups, and campers to the Type 113 "Super Beetle" - is included here. If you're the owner of a Volkswagen or if you just love their iconic look and you're interested in their evolution, this book deserves a place on your bookshelf.

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Volkswagen - From Nazi People's Car to New Beetle (Hitler's Chariots)

The exciting, fascinating saga of the creation of the world's most popular car, the famed Volkswagen Beetle, under the Nazi regime of German dictator Adolf Hitler, who played a pivotal role in its design, construction, and marketing during 1933-38.
It is also the story of the two Drs. Porsches who created it - Ferdinand, Sr., and his son, Ferry - as well as Dr. Robert Ley's German Labor Front that built it, and Adolf Huhnlein's Nazi Motor Corps that helped popularize driving and made motoring a reality in the Third Reich.

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The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz: The Jewish Engineer Behind Hitler's Volkswagen

The astonishing biography of Josef Ganz, a Jewish designer from Frankfurt, who in May 1931 created a revolutionary small car: the Maikäfer (German for May bug).
The Nazis not only "took" the concept of Ganz's family car - their production model even ended up bearing the same nickname. The Beetle incorporated many of the features of Ganz's original Maikäfer, yet until recently Ganz received no recognition for his pioneering work.

The Nazis did all they could to keep the Jewish godfather of the German compact car out of the history books. Now Paul Schilperoord sets the record straight. In a biography that reads like a spy thriller, he tells how Ganz was imprisoned by the Gestapo, until an influential friend with connections to Göring helped secure his release.
Soon afterwards he was forced to flee Germany while Porsche created the Volkswagen for Hitler using many of his groundbreaking ideas. Ganz was hunted by the Nazis even beyond Germany's borders and narrowly escaped assassination.

After the war Ganz moved to Australia, where he died in 1967. This biography is a great read for anyone interested in World War II, Jewish history, the evolution of car design or simply the life stories of extraordinary individuals.

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Volkswagen - The Air-Cooled Era in Colour

The incredibly popular sixties design classics, with their enduring appeal, the original air-cooled Volkswagen cars and Transporters are fully explored in this fascinating book.
A unique picture-led chronicle of the Volkswagen story through the fifties and sixties, this book makes extensive use of the artwork from contemporary promotional literature for a real 'retro' feel. A must have for motoring enthusiasts and VW devotees alike.

Features
- Re-lives the spirit of the fifties and sixties
- Includes rarely seen and valuable archive material
- Includes substantial sections covering the VW of the moment - the Transporter
- Unique format and retro style of presentation
- Includes the VW 1500/1600 models which are rarely covered in print
- An interesting text that questions long held opinions
- A collectable treasure in its own right for all VW enthusiasts.

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Volkswagen Cars 1948-1968

The story of the VW Beetle along with other air cooled variants. Using an excellent mix of period and modern pictures by acknowledged VW photographer Ken Cservenka, Richard Copping skilfully traces the history of the German 'people's car' from 1948 to 1968.

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VW Advertising - The Art of Advertising the Air-Cooled Volkswagen

From the '50s to the '70s Volkswagen's publicity and advertising material was among the very best issued by any motor manufacturer. Following the Beetle's launch brochures in the late 1930s, the 1950s saw extraordinarily strong artwork images from the brush of Bernd Reuters and other artists, depicting Saloon, Cabriolet and Transporter in such a way as to suggest more streamlined, spacious and powerful VWs than the reality.

In the '60s the American advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach took over, combining stark photography with sharp, witty text and endowing the Beetle with a cult status that took production to over a million for the first time, but VW's new Type 3 and Type 4 models were failing to impress the public, and only the arrival of the Golf saved the day.

Author Richard Copping has a vast collection of VW material and in this book he provides a selection of some 400 of the most striking or interesting images used by the company to sell us its products, taking in every model and variant.
The accompanying text guides us through the changing styles of the publicity material as well as through the range of vehicles and thus through the story of Volkswagen in the period.

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Histoire complète des Volkswagen classiques

The Volkswagen Beetle is one of those rare legendary models that have left their mark on the history of the automobile. Its incredible career also makes it the car that has remained in production the longest, from its humble beginnings as a "people's car" in Germany in the late 1930s until 2002 and the definitive end of its production in Mexico.

In total, more than 23 million Beetles have left the assembly lines in several countries, not to mention other legendary air-cooled Volkswagen models, including the famous Combi, Minibus and Karmann-Ghia.

All these models and a few others are described in detail in "Histoire complète des Volkswagen classiques", a true reference work for knowing everything about these collector's cars that have become icons of the 20th century.

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VW Personenwagen mit Heckmotor und Luftkühlung 1938-2003 (Typenkompass)

This reference book presents all air-cooled models produced by Volkswagen between 1938 and 1985.

Pages of the book "VW Personenwagen mit Heckmotor und Luftkühlung 1938-2003"

It presents the VW KdF, Beetle, Kübelwagen, Schwimmwagen, the 1500 and 1600 (Typ 3), Karmann-Ghia, 411/412 and other models.
Each type is presented with a photo, a historical description and a technical sheet.

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Das grosse VW-Cabrio-Buch - Käfer, Karmann-Ghia, Golf I, Golf III, Exoten (Reprint)

Open Volkswagens! They were and are more popular than all other convertibles, were built more often and have made more history and stories than anything else that moves "topless" on four wheels.
The original convertible is definitely the open Beetle in its various versions. It and its brother, the Karmann-Ghia convertible, are particularly associated with concepts such as youth, student days, freedom and leisure.
The successor series, the Golf convertible, catapulted the topic of open Volkswagens into the modern era and was therefore laughed at for a long time - but the success of the Golf proved the Wolfsburg-based company right.

The big VW convertible book tells the story of all open VWs, from the Beetle to the Karmann Ghia to the Golf I and the Golf III. It presents all the exotics, studies and experiments that have been carried out on the various VW convertibles.
With all the technical data, many rare pictures and detailed descriptions. Here you can find out everything you want to know about these cars - in a competent and entertaining way.

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Die klassischen Volkswagen: von Wolfsburg in die Welt

The classic Volkswagens are the air-cooled cars that developed from the humble beginnings of the first "Beetle" (VW Type 1) and became the epitome of the German economic miracle, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. Whole vehicle classes such as panel vans and minibuses, convertibles and coupes, notchbacks, hatchbacks and station wagons were derived from the original concept.
The classic Volkswagens conquered not only Germany and Europe, but the whole world and especially North America, where the "Beetle" or "Bug" blossomed into the most popular import vehicle.

"Die klassischen Volkswagen" traces this success story. Lavishly illustrated, the book by the American classic car expert John Gunnell shows how the air-cooled Volkswagen conquered the world from Wolfsburg and how the Americans took the initially ridiculed, spartan exotic cars to their hearts.
The period between the Second World War and the first oil crisis is brought back to life in the motor press and advertising materials. All model years have their place here.

German edition of the book "The Complete Book of Classic Volkswagens".

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Traumauto Volkswagen - Wie Käfer, Golf und Bulli in die DDR kamen

At the end of the 1970s, the VW Golf was officially available in small numbers in East Germany, making it highly desirable, though few were able to obtain one. In the following years, other cult models like the Beetle and T1 Bulli became popular in East Germany - but at what cost?

Volkswagen cars were considered dream vehicles in the socialist worker-and-peasant state. Only after reunification did modern four-stroke engines replace the fuel-hungry two-stroke engines of the Trabant and Wartburg.

In this book, Eberhard Kittler, an expert on East Germany and VW, explores the history of this unique connection. Numerous previously unpublished documents and exclusive photographs illustrate the development and influence of Volkswagen models in East Germany.

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Volkswagen - Personenwagen seit 1973 (Typenkompass)

This reference book chronologically presents all Volkswagen cars manufactured since 1973.

Pages of the book "Volkswagen - Personenwagen seit 1973"

Presents the Golf, Polo, Passat, Scirocco, Phaeton and Beetle as well as other VW models. Each type is presented with a photo, a historical description and a technical sheet.

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Volkswagen - Tradition mit Zukunft

Volkswagen made headlines even before its founding: as Hitler's favorite project, during the difficult postwar period, and through its rapid rise in the economic boom years.

Even severe crises have been used by the company to reinvent itself. The diesel scandal and heavy fines will not stop VW from shaping the future of mobility.

In this book, Joachim Kuch presents a current and comprehensive model chronicle of all vehicles that have shaped the streets - from the Beetle, Golf, and Tiguan to the Passat and Bulli.

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