How to Be A Good Loser

Volkswagen: humor, confidence, and being the wise fool

This is the incredible story of how the Volkswagen Beetle went from being the “Führer’s car” to a worldwide bestseller (before the Toyota Corolla took over).

Just imagine this: it’s 1949. You’re a German car entering the US market. The war is over and you’re a big sore loser bracing yourself for endless humiliation. How on Earth is a car commissioned by Hitler going to compete against the all-American General Motors?

Not only is there political stigma, your cultural fit is completely off. The Americans like big, fast, and strong. They like money, status, and sex. Gas is cheap and decadence is hot. Small, economical, and oddly shaped, the Type 1 (later known as the Beetle) just isn’t in demand.

I don’t think what we’re being offered here is worth a damn! — Ernest Breech, chairman of the Ford board, after being offered the Type 1 for free by the Brits who deemed the car “quite unattractive to the average motorcar buyer”

You try to rebrand. How about “Victory Wagon”? No use. By 1955, the aut…