A Road to Success

At that time, the Polk automobile registration lists were available, so it was possible to see actual numbers (e.g., makes, models and years). After looking over Jeep, Harley-Davidson, MG and Mustang, among others, they settled on the VW Beetle. Designed by the legendary Ferdinand Porsche and born in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the Beetle arrived in the United States in 1950 and took the country by storm. It was inexpensive and went forever on a gallon of gasoline. And most owners were (and still are) nuts about them.