Politics of Volkswagen Essay

One can be forgiven for overlooking the categories of cars when asked about politics in one’s country – they seemed too commonplace and mundane to be considered anything political. In the mainstream thought, cars are a means of transportation, to travel from one point to another. Some conservationists may argue on the environmental agenda, while others may think of cars as one of the main industries driving the economy. Nothing more is thought of these mean machines that move the world. Yet, the history cars possess has political backgrounds, given that they were considered technological advancements in their early days. Using Volkswagen as the main case study, this paper will examine cars in a political-visual aspect and the impact they have on the people through the ages. It will also consider the consequences of the car – the economical impact by the car industry, environmental impact by the car and the different law and policies enacted for the car and the us ers. Last but not least, the iconic Volkswagen Beetle will be featured and explained on its influence on the lives of many. As this paper attempts to cover a lot of ground, the focus will be on the impact by Volkswagen on the world. The History of Volkswagen The Fà ¼hrer addressed the nation on the Volkswagen. It is understood that the term ‘Volkswagen’ was a brainchild of Adolf Hitler, the Fà ¼hrer of the Nazi Germany. However, what is less understood is how Volkswagen came about. The supposed ‘People’s Car’ was more than political rhetoric; it was a determination in Hitler’s political ambitions to provide the car to the masses in a time where the Car was out of reach and seemingly for the elite. Although there were cars from the rival companies, like the Mercedes 170H, the Volkswagen was a car company started off from scratch, fueled by the designs by the Chief Designer, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. Brought together by a car salesman, Jakob Werlin, both Hitler and Porsche discussed ideas of this new project that the Nazi government was willing to embark on. Though there were strong skepticism from the Society of German Automobile Manufacturers and the preparations were taking longer than usual, the interest for the Volkswagen never died down. Herr Wilhe lm von Opel, the owner of the Volkswagen’s rival Opel, produced a similar car for the mass public in 1936. Hitler quickly doused water on the Opel project by taking its key supplies of iron and steel under the control of Nazi government, thus making the 1,000 Marks Volkswagen Project a possibility. Along with the Nazi might, the Volkswagen project was rolling with estate, funds and supplies from the Nazi Government. The Fà ¼hrer and committee were led around on the inspection of the Volkswagen. The significance of Volkswagen as a car project is of huge importance here. The term ‘People’s Car’ was no longer a catchphrase for the politicians; it was not bait for the people, but something tangible for the people to admire and work towards. This worked well with the Germans – they were under hard times and the conceptualization of a People’s Car would be the best form of motivation to work hard to join the ranks of developed nations after the double fiasco of World War 1 reparations and the Great Depression. Towards the end of the decade, exhibitions of the car prototypes were present throughout every Nazi parade, giving the German people hope that they soon could afford the car. Never has an image of a car fuelled public hopes, this contributed to a fervent support for the Nazi rule. The Prototypes: The three ready-made prototypes for public viewing. The Volkswagen Project was almost dead at the end of the World War, but for a Major Ivan Hirst and Dr. Heinz Nordhoff, who later became the Managing Director of Volkswagen. The Nazi Government no longer existed; the political mantra behind the project was no longer applicable. The name was also no longer linked to the Nazi government, although its history was steeped in the Nazi programs. Yet, despite all these, the Volkswagen brand and group went to influence the world in different ways, sticking strictly to the philosophy behind its name – the People’s Car. Visuals of Volkswagen Throughout the decades of Volkswagen, the strong advertisements and pictorials of Volkswagen proved popular with people around the world, starting with Germany. The early days of Volkswagen was during the Hitler period and he managed to get 300,000 Germans to sign up for the â€Å"Strength-through-Joy† (Kraft Durch Freude) savings scheme for the Volkswagen. Although this did not result in any form of Volkswagen supplied, it was an indication on how strong the demand for the Volkswagen was. English translation: 5 Marks a week you need to save, if you want to own a car. The poster all around Nazi Germany was like the above, where the â€Å"Strength-through-Joy† movement was in place. The savings scheme was a motivation to achieve the desired People’s Car and for a lot of the working class Germans, this proved to be hugely popular. English Translation: â€Å"Strength-through-Joy† Calendar 1939. The Calendar was one of the many tools to get the Germans interested in the Volkswagen. After the revival of the company, the phenomenon spread to America, where the impression of Volkswagen was hugely popular with the middle-class folks. This set the impression that the Volkswagen was indeed a People’s Car. The association with diplomats increased the prestige of the Volkswagen. Volkswagen has brought prestige, once associated with the elites, down to the man on the street. Volkswagen was known to have such teasing ad designs in America, and was not afraid to include celebrities or bring in creative artwork with cheeky descriptions. This escalated the Volkswagen brand to a cult, with different subcultures following it, namely the â€Å"Hippies† movement with the Volkswagen Beetle. Volkswagen, with its range of iconic cars, managed to inspire liberalist thinking amongst the people while ensuring the capitalist ideal existed – hard-earned money for a well-deserved reward. The Symbol of Volkswagen The Volkswagen Logo over the years The symbol of Volkswagen has not visibly changed much over the years, as the recognizable â€Å"VW† has been the signature of the brand. The â€Å"Strength-through-Joy† logo had similarities to the Nazi swastika when it first came out, heavily associating it with the brand of Nazi programs. When the British took over, the car logo was kept along with the name, despite it being a Nazi relic as any form of car was not presented to the people under the Nazi rule and no other company wanted to take over the company, given the â€Å"ugly† design of the renamed Volkswagen Beetle. Since then, the Volkswagen brand has become the third largest automobile firm in the world. When people see the Volkswagen logo, they think of the superiority of the car made affordable to the people rather than its Nazi past. The Impact of Volkswagen Through clever marketing and a strong ethos, the Volkswagen philosophy managed to sell well to the people. Yet, there is an underlying political message to be derived from the sale of Volkswagen cars, the ideal People’s Car. Having a Volkswagen on the street would represent the reality of the common man achieving his dreams of finally owning one. This would represent a political message on two different grounds – the governmental and the individual. One of the definitions of the rich was to own a car. The car would represent the luxury of being affluent – the comfort, the convenience and the social status. The masses could only look on with envy as they proceeded on with their daily lives looking at the rich in shiny transportation while the rich looked down on them from high carriages. This impression struck a chord in the common man’s mind while he raged a revolution in different places – turning monarchies into anything but it. As such, governmen ts would like to ensure that the population would not throw a revolution – the symbol of a Volkswagen would provide a perfect crowd pleaser to the population then. For the government these days, the appeal of Volkswagen still exists: the existence of a Volkswagen in many countries still provides the same effect on the people – it’s their car. As long as the Volkswagen is on the street, the government has done their ‘supposed’ job to provide cheap transportation to the people. To the people, beyond the dreams of owning a car, the Volkswagen represents a capitalist dream. The Hitler years notwithstanding, the modern Volkswagen represents a new class of citizens, who will be rewarded with what they have earned thus far. From the above visuals, the brand Volkswagen brings about a new breed of ideal citizens – the ones that capitalism will reward. The individual is now laden with a hope of owning a car and that to own the â€Å"People’s Car†, one will have to abide by the laws of capitalism to achieve the ‘dream’. Working hard to earn the income to pay for the price for the car, it has bro ught about the capitalist dream to the people in the subtlest of ways. Economical Impact of Cars The impact of automobile industry has affected the entire world – whether it’s through the factories that the car firms set up in America, Germany, Japan or Thailand or through the different industries spawned or assisted by the automobile industry. The significance of the economical impact of cars cannot be discounted. With reference to Volkswagen, the understanding of economical impact of cars visually will be split amongst two different groups: the government and the different complementing industries. From the point of view of the government, the car industry presents itself as a huge economy boost. The once-thriving Detroit, the car town of America, was a major industry with huge employment rates, driven by the huge American consumer market, where over three quarters of the 200 million automobiles are cars. The view of fully filled car parks waiting for the export ships to port was a sight to behold – it represented a view of the bustling economy. For Volkswagen, an entire city was constructed for the birth of Volkswagen. Wolfsburg, once a countryside village, was transformed into the headquarters for Volkswagen. Workers came from all over and settled into Wolfsburg to work for Volkswagen, and before long, it was the heart of Volkswagen operations. To build a city from scratch needs planning and labor – this provides employment and opportunity for a lot of people. Thus the sight of a Volkswagen brand has generated economy for the government; in a political way, it has ensured one of the main employment sectors and economic boost. For the other industries, the car industry has provided a suitable complement to their business. The more obvious examples are the petrol industries, where the cars are dependent on them for energy sources. The less obvious examples – the music industry (where radios in the cars are necessary these days), the drive-through industry and the entertainment industry (to launch their new cars) are all part of the economic industry that depends on the car industry for some form of economic dependence. As such, the visual of cars on the streets give the economy a boost, especially with the other industries. Environmental Impact of Cars Cars have a disastrous impact on the environment – being largely responsible for smog and toxic air pollutants, not to mention the world’s increasing dependence on foreign oil makes it one of the top pollutants around the world today. The sight of cars emitting harmful smoke has led to the vocal political opposition in governments worldwide. Despite the best efforts of the car industry, there is no suitable alternative energy fuel to compensate the current form of fuel consumption – diesel and petrol. However, this has created an impetus to search for cheaper and more valuable engines, which will provide better â€Å"miles-per-gallon† formula. For Volkswagen, this has resulted in the TDI technology, where the fuel is consumed when needed. The TDI technology has won accolades for saving fuel – the most efficient cars on the road run on diesel are by Volkswagen TDI Diesel Engine. Volkswagen went one step further – they implemented Volkswagen Think Blueâ„ ¢, a drive to find the cleanest alternative energy consumption that would be sustainable for its engines. Pushing the limit for the fuel consumption while searching for the next alternative fuel for the car, they managed to achieve an understanding of sustainability and progress in environmental terms. This underlines Volkswagen’s environmental considerations while providing progress to the people. The People’s Car is seen under different light – it is environmentally friendly while pushing for progress. And while it may offend the petrol heads, the Volkswagen is trying to be an environmentally friendly car, which puts it in line with the beliefs of the Democrats. Das Auto: Respecting the law. The Volkswagen Beetle was made to travel the Autobahn, the fastest highway on the planet without any speed limit. Hitler’s vision of allowing cheap fast transport for the masses was to be realized with the Volkswagen and the Autobahn. Unfortunately, the rest of the world did not have such laws in place and to regulate the traffic, they installed rules and laws. The first of all traffic laws was the limitation of speed – this was to prevent unnecessary casualty. The introduction of non-horse carriages came to light – the first of all vehicles was a steam-powered carriage – the need for safety of those not driving was present. As such, over the years, the governments sought to reduce speed in all manners – on the highways, on the roads and on the dashboard. As promising as the technology from the car industry, there would be a speed limit for all vehicles. This was to prevent the race for speed and allow the progress of the automobile done safely. Other policies include the limitations of vehicles in densely populated place – the use of ERP and COE in Singapore and the taxes levied on vehicles. These were to prevent the rampant sale of vehicles while keeping the country free from the overcrowding. The Automobile Icon: Volkswagen Beetle The best is kept for last: the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, which has been the longest production vehicle (from 1938 – 2003 on one design) with sales of more than 21 million. This recognizable car has its own movie and spawned movements, along with generations to embrace the Volkswagen Beetle as part of their lives. In this section, the Volkswagen Beetle will be examined politically as a cultural icon with its impact on the political arena. The Volkswagen Beetle â€Å"ugly† design – one that was unconventional different and from the pre-WWII days – was a signature icon that lasted through the decades. Volkswagen’s refusal to change the design of the Beetle led to many modifications from the owners. As seen below, the popular culture took over with the designs in the 60’s. The customizable feature of the Beetle allowed the freedom of expression, in which the Hippie culture of the 60’s took full advantage of. The freedom of expression has always been a part of the American Constitution and it took a liberal turn with the Hippie Culture. Notwithstanding the sex, drugs of that period, the Hippie Culture was a liberalizing process for the population to air their views. These views were of a peace-making, pacifist nature and they were in support of non-violence, civil rights and anti-nuclear armament movements. The Volkswagen Beetles with their decorated colors were a symbol of that political statement. A television series, â€Å"Herbie†, featuring the Volkswagen Beetle as a racing car with human emotions, popularized the car. Although this was not the only car that was featured in films, the very nature of the Beetle shown to have human feelings was a personification of the car. From the television and film series, the character of Volkswagen Beetle was further defined: determined with a colorful personality. This created an impression on the younger generation then that the car was a cool factor – it made them want a car in their lives. The implications were that these children grew up needing cars and created a population who rather give up their voting rights than driving license. The specifications of the Volkswagen Beetle also came into focus. The numerous races and rallies that it went for and achieved results became a cult in its own right. Given that the Beetle was never made for racing, this has led to many thinking that the Beetle is multi-functional despite the ugly nature. The engine, simple yet effective, is also adjustable to modifications. This feature of the car has created a Volkswagen Beetle sub-culture, one where even as the old Volkswagen model is no longer in production, the owners of Volkswagen regularly meet up to showcase their re-tuned and refined Volkswagen Beetles. Translate this into an understanding of visual politics: the cult of Volkswagen Beetle is an example of a loyal following of unwavering belief and given in the previous paragraphs we have deduced that the followers are liberal in principle, the conclusion is that the Volkswagen Beetle is a symbol of liberal views. Conclusion: Having seen the impact of Volkswagen around the world, one would really wonder if Major Ivan Hirst were not to revive the company and let it pass, would the world be the same today? Throughout the years of Volkswagen existence, there have been many movements, many political undertones derived from the sheer existence of Volkswagen on the street. The Hippie Culture, the racing mentality, the liberal ideals and the capitalist principles – all of which points to a subliminal messaging by the presence of a Volkswagen on the street. No other car has invoked so many different views in the world today. There are other aspects of Volkswagen not touched in this paper – especially the impact of Volkswagen in the future. Given that the future of automobiles is very volatile, Volkswagen may have a different feel and visual understanding in the future. As of now, the brand of Volkswagen is still the People’s Car, one that all should have if they work hard enough for it. Thus, it is apt that the tagline of Volkswagen today is Das Auto – the Car. Bibliography: Books Cited: Anderson, Curtis D., and Judy Anderson. Electric and Hybrid Cars: a History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010. Print. Ginsburg, Douglas H., and William J. Abernathy. Government, Technology, and the Future of the Automobile. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980. Print. Hopfinger, K. 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Pictures Used: Great VW Ads, â€Å"Remember those great Volkswagen ads?†, Retrieved 15th October 2011, from Volks World (29th January 2009) Adolf Hitler – Rare Photos, Retrieved 31st October 2011, from Websites: US Department of Energy, 2011 Best and Worst MPG Cars, Retrieved 31st October 2011, from Volkswagen, TDI Academy: Tackling TDI technology, Retrieved 31st October 2011, from ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Incidentally, he was the man behind another great car company, Porsche, with a similar rear-engine car model. [ 2 ]. Hopfinger, K. B. The Volkswagen Story. Henley on Thames: Foulis, 1971, pp 62 – 67 [ 3 ]. Ibid, pp 96 – 97 [ 4 ]. Volks World (29th January 2009) Adolf Hitler – Rare Photos, Retrieved 31st October 2011, from [ 5 ]. Volks World (29th January 2009) Adolf Hitler – Rare Photos, Retrieved 31st October 2011, from [ 6 ]. Hopfinger, K. B. The Volkswagen Story. Henley on Thames: Foulis, 1971, pp 142 – 152 [ 7 ]. Ibid, pp 98. [ 8 ]. 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