Original price: $1,600.00 – $2,090.00 (In 1962: average car cost $3,125.00; average household
income: $5,556.00; average home cost: $12,500.00; gallon of gas: $.28)
On loan from: Kelly Christensen, Kearney, NE
Previous owner(s): NA
Number made: 925,747 (all models; worldwide)
Engine, etc.: 40 h. p.; 72.7 cu. in.; 4-speed manual transmission
The VW Beetle was sold in the U. S. from 1950 to 1979.
Its history, however, goes back to 1938 when a new assembly factory opened in Germany but it was bombed to near oblivion during World War II. Imports into the U. S. started slowly in the early 1950’s, reaching over 21 million ten years later. Sales in the U. S. ceased in 1979 but the cars continued to be built and sold in Mexico and Brazil until 2003.
Looks of the cars changed very little over the years until 1998 when they received their first major redesign.
In 1961 the Beetle’s transmission became fully synchronized and an automatic choke and pump-type windshield washer system were introduced. Horsepower went up to 40 h. p. By 1966 the car increased to 50 h.p.
Volkswagen continued to sell convertibles through 1979 though sales of the Beetle sedan ceased in the U. S. after 1976.
The “New Beetle” began in 1998 as a fourth-generation Golf with a four-cylinder water-cooled engine and front wheel drive.
Sources: https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g15378761/volkswagen-beetle-models-by-year/
https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9747/volkswagen-beetle-1200.aspx
See also: https://www.auto-brochures.com/makes/Volkswagen/Beetle/VW_US%20Beetle_1962.pdf (Original dealer’s brochure)