Part 1 of Essay
The people’s car – generically, Volkswagen in German – is almost as old as the automobile, and the type was familiar in Germany long before the advent of the Volkswagen. Usually these “popular” cars were minimal cars, though size and simplicity did not necessarily bring them within the reach ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... not get far, but a Porsche-designed NSU that reached that prototype stage in 1933 accurately foreshadowed the Volkswagen. The idea of a people’s car appealed to Porsche, and it fascinated Adolf Hitler. When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, one of his pet notions was the concept of motoring for the masses, and a meeting with Porsche was to be a meeting of minds. Once again Porsche was commissioned to design a popular car, and when the first ludicrously tight financial limits were relaxed he accepted ....