Your Volkswagen Dealership is Home to a Wide Array of Iconic and Soon-to-Be Iconic Vehicles
What’s the most popular Volkswagen of all time? The answer to this question isn’t as straightforward as it first seems, as Volkswagen has sold so many iconic vehicles over its 80+ years of operation.
The options at a Volkswagen dealership today are arguably some of the best vehicles ever made, from the dependable Jetta to the groundbreaking ID.Buzz. But when we look to decide what was the world’s favorite Volkswagen of all time, we must look throughout the manufacturer’s history.
Candidate 1—The Volkswagen Beetle
The first Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the lot in 1938, and it kept up sales through 2022. In 1972, the Beetle overtook the Ford Model T as the best-selling vehicle ever, at the time beating 15 million sales. It went on to sell a total of over 21 million units.
Ferdinand Porsche’s curvy automobile was a practical, inexpensive, and dependable transportation option. After the end of World War II, the manufacturing plant was taken over by the British. A total of over 10,000 automobiles were built in 1946. After ten years, one million Beetles had been sold.
The now-iconic “Think small” commercial for Volkswagen was conceived by copywriters Julian Koenig and Helmut Krone under the direction of William Bernbach of the New York advertising firm Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB). According to Ad Age, it was the finest ad campaign of all time.
The Type 1 was renamed the “Beetle” in 1968. Herbie the Love Bug, a 1963 Beetle with a mind of its own, was the subject of six films produced by Disney, boosting the popularity and cultural impact of the vehicle even further. One of the Beetles featured in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo and Herbie Goes Bananas sold for $128,700 at Barrett-Jackson in 2018, setting a record for a Beetle at auction.
In the late 1970s, Germany ceased production of the Beetle, but in 1998, Volkswagen introduced the New Beetle, which was designed to evoke the classic Type 1 design while bringing in more modern conveniences.
Candidate 2—The Volkswagen Golf
If we go on sales alone, the Volkswagen Golf easily takes the prize. Selling over 35,000,000 units between 1974 and 2019, the Golf is Volkswagen’s best selling model.
Originally dubbed the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States, the Golf debuted in May 1974, and was based on the Jetta platform. Following Volkswagen’s lead in introducing hatchbacks to the U.S. market, numerous other automakers soon followed suit.
Originally, the Golf was only available in one front-wheel-drive trim. The popular hatchback has evolved through time, keeping up with trends, and gaining additional features such as a more refined appearance. In 1991, the Golf got a more rounded design that mostly remains to this day. In the United States, the fifth-generation model debuted in 2006 with a 150-horsepower 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine.
The Golf continues into a brave new era with new e-Golf, popular in Europe, Asia, and Canada.
Candidate 3—The Volkswagen Type 2
Though it can’t match the sales figures of the other titans on our list, the Volkswagen Bus undoubtedly deserves its position in this matchup because those who love the Transporter/Kombi/Microbus/Camper really love it.
It’s perhaps best known for its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, which will forever give the Volkswagen Camper cool vintage points as a “hippie van”, despite it also being hugely useful as a family van, truck, work van, camper, and ambulance.
With pop-up tops, camping equipment, and a built-in stove included in some models, the Type 2 will always be the perfect companion for free-spirited individuals who live life a little differently.
Honorable Mention
Volkswagen has had so many iconic vehicles it’s hard to even cut down this list to just three options. Perhaps you prefer the stylish Karmann-Ghia, a shapely and stylish option available from 1955 to 1974.
Readers outside of the United States might decry the lack of mention of the Volkswagen Polo, the quintessential “hot hatch” budget subcompact that sold more than 12 million units in its heyday.
Your Volkswagen Dealership Offers Up-and-Coming Iconic Vehicles
A more modern option for the list is the Volkswagen Tiguan, which has seen incredible success in the US, with sales at Volkswagen dealerships rising year after year despite the strong competition in the small crossover SUV market.
Whatever you think is the best Volkswagen ever, there’s no debate over how important the manufacturer has been – and continues to be – in the world of automotive design and innovation. It’s going to be great to see what’s next for Volkswagen, as the electric age of automobiles approaches. Read more on contentpond
