The Little Car That Could
In 1938, a small, round car rolled off an assembly line in Germany. It wasn’t flashy or powerful, but it had something special — simplicity, reliability, and charm. Its creators called it the Volkswagen Beetle, though to many it quickly became known as the people’s car.
Over the decades, the Beetle buzzed across continents. In post-war Europe, it gave families affordable freedom. In America during the 1960s, it became a symbol of counterculture, its quirky shape standing out in a sea of big, chrome-covered cars. From sunny beach towns to winding mountain roads, the Beetle was everywhere — often painted in bright colors, with stickers, flowers, or even surfboards strapped to the roof.
By the time production ended in 2003, the Beetle had achieved something no other car had: over 21 million built. It became the longest-running and most-manufactured car of a single design platform in the world.
Today, even when you spot one parked on a street or cruising down the road, the Beetle still seems to smile — a reminder that sometimes the most enduring icons aren’t the biggest or the fastest, but the ones that make people feel at home behind the wheel.
