Volkswagen
Passenger Cars is a German
manufacturer of automobiles, based in
Wolfsburg, Germany. It forms the major
component (in volume of sales) of the
much larger Volkswagen Group, which
as of July 30, 2007 is the world's third
largest car producer after Toyota and
General Motors respectively.
Volkswagen means "people's car"
in German (or, more literally, folk
wagon).
Starting from 1930, in 1933 from the
Adolf Hitler [ruler of Germany from
1933 to 1945 ] asked Ferdinand Porsche
to make suited design car for the
working man and in the 1938 VW Käfer
or Volkswagen Beetle took place. This
economy car also known as Volkswagen
Type 1 or as the |
| 1100,
1200, 1300, 1500, or 1600 which had
been the names under which the vehicle
was marketed in Europe .This Beetle
was structured upon the Volkswagen
air cooled engine which have
been used for other purposes as well.
Especially interesting is its use as
an experimental aircraft engine. The
Volkswagen air cooled engine
is one of the most widely used and versatile
internal combustion engines in the world.
Variations of this engine were produced
by Volkswagen plants around the world
from 1936 until 2006.
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During this long run of Beetle-
A Volkswagen Type 1 car (1945
– 1953 ) The Volkswagen
Type 2 (also known as Transporter)
was the second automotive line introduced
in 1950 by Volkswagen - German automaker.
It was a van introduced in 1950, initially
based on Volkswagen's Type 1
car model or Beetle
This Type 2 is the
forerunner of modern cargo and passenger
vans . |
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In 1968,
the second generation of the Type
2 was introduced. It was built
in Germany until 1979, with production
shifting to Mexico in 1980. The Brazilian
VW plant has produced the Kombi since
the 50s until today. Models before 1971
are often called the T2a, while models
after 1972 are called the T2b. Like
the Beetle, the first
Transporters used the Volkswagen
air cooled engine, an 1131
cc, 25 hp (19 kW), air-cooled four-cylinder
boxer engine mounted in the rear. The
36 hp (27 kW) version (also 1192 cc
with a higher compression ratio) became
standard in 1955 while an unusual early
version of the 40 hp (30 kW) engine
debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in
1959. |
The early versions of the T1 until 1955
were often called the T1a or "Barndoor".The
Type 2 Models before 1971 are often
called the T2a, while models after 1972
are called the T2b. This second-generation
Type 2 lost its distinctive split front
windshield, and was slightly larger
and considerably heavier than its predecessor.
Its common nicknames are Breadloaf and
Bay-window, or Loaf and Bay for short.
The T2c, so called since it got a slightly
raised roof - by about 10 cm - in the
early 1990s, was built for the South
American and Central American markets.
The T2c was produced in Mexico until
1991 with the 1.6 L air-cooled Type
1 engine, and from 1991 until 1996 with
water-cooled engines from the VW
Golf (a VW/Audi 1.4L I4). |
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Since
1997, the T2c has been built in Brazil
with air cooled engines
for the Brazilian market and with
water cooled engines
for the Mexican market, the latter
easily identified by their large,
black-coloured, front-mounted radiators.
Since production of the original Beetle
was halted in late 2003 as a 2004
model, the T2 remained the only Volkswagen
model with the traditional air
cooled, rear-mounted boxer
engine when the Brazilian model shifted
to water cooled on
December 23, 2005. Previously, the
water cooled T2c
was sold in Mexico between 1997 and
2002. |
There
was also a water cooled
Diesel version of the T2, which was
manufactured from 1981 to 1985 in
Brazil. The shift to water
cooled engines is in response
to Brazil's emission laws which go
into effect for 2006 and beyond. The
new water cooled engine
will run on petrol as well as alcohol,
which costs about 50% less than ordinary
fuel in Brazil. |
