July 30th 1898
Scientific American magazine carried the very first automobile advertisement for Winton Motor Car Company of Cleveland, OH; invited readers to "dispense with a horse".
July 30th 2003
The last “classic” Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the production line at VW’s Puebla, Mexico, plant on this day in 2003. The car, part of the 3,000-unit final edition, was sent to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany, where Volkswagen is headquartered. In true Mexican fashion, a mariachi band serenaded the last car.
Ironically, the car that became a symbol of flower-power Hippies in the 1960s and inspired Disney’s Herbie the Love Bug has its roots in Nazi Germany. In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler commissioned a design from Ferdinand Porsche for an affordable, efficient “people’s car.” After World War II, the Beetle’s popularity began to grow internationally and by 2002 over 21 million cars had been produced.
In the international poll for the award of the world's most influential car of the twentieth century the Beetle came fourth after the Ford Model T, the Mini, and the Citroën DS.
The very first Ad. for Automobile
The final original beetle (No. 21,529,464) at VW Museum, Wolfsburg
The Farewell Ceremony
Source:
The History Channel
Wikipedia
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