On this day in 2003, the last of 21.5 million Volkswagen Beetles built since the second World War rolled off the production line at Volkswagen’s plant in Puebla, Mexico winding down 65 years of production.
The car produced in Puebla that day was the last so-called “classic” VW Beetle, which is not to be confused with the redesigned new Beetle that Volkswagen introduced in 1998. The roots of the classic Beetle dated back to the mid-1930s, when the famed Austrian automotive engineer Dr. Ferdinand Porsche designed a small, affordable passenger car to satisfy the transportation needs of the German people. It would eventually be known by the name Porsche preferred: Volkswagen, or “people’s car.”
In 1972, the Beetle surpassed the longstanding worldwide production record of 15 million vehicles, set by Ford Motor Company’s legendary Model T between 1908 and 1927. It also became a worldwide cultural icon, featuring prominently in the hit 1969 movie “The Love Bug” (which starred a Beetle named Herbie) and on the cover of the Beatles album “Abbey Road.”
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