Volkswagen: The Car That Saved Ford

WI Henry Ford had been able to buy or otherwise obtain the right to build and sell Volkswgens in America in the 1930s? Ford had serious problems with his public image at the time due to his stubborn conservatism and labor relations. He had plants in Germany and was on friendly (some would say too friendly) terms with the German government before WW2.

Could an Americanized VW have sold as an economical car in America in the late 1930's?
 
And if you had bothered to do some research, you would have know that the VW Beetle wasn't actually built in significant numbers until after the War when the British Occupation Authorities needed cars. Before the war it was a programme that was supposed to motorize the masses of Nazi Germany, and not meant for export.
 

Sandman396

Banned
And if you had bothered to do some research, you would have know that the VW Beetle wasn't actually built in significant numbers until after the War when the British Occupation Authorities needed cars. Before the war it was a programme that was supposed to motorize the masses of Nazi Germany, and not meant for export.


And of course in an Alternate History site we could not possibly alter history!!!!

FACEPALM
 

mowque

Banned
And of course in an Alternate History site we could not possibly alter history!!!!

FACEPALM

Did you have to do that? What did it really add? and three '!' marks?

Your points stands, but defend with logic, not memes and lots of punctuation. Thanks.
 
I belive Ford and GM were offered the VW after WWII but turn it down .
Not sure about GM, but I know I remember hearing the same thing about Ford- the people in charge at the time outright rejected the Beetle's design as being inferior.
 

NothingNow

Banned
Not sure about GM, but I know I remember hearing the same thing about Ford- the people in charge at the time outright rejected the Beetle's design as being inferior.
Yeah the VW beetle was Crap but that never stopped people from buying them and honestly Detroit and The UK built terrible cars in this period.

IIRC Ford turned down the Volkswagen deal because the Wolfsburg factory was too close to East Germany for comfort. (Wolfsburg was the Volkswagen Factory.)

Alt-WI: Edsel hadn't looked Wolfsburg up on the Map, and Ford Motors Company had purchased Volkswagen and set it up as a down-market Brand / Company in the 1940s/50s?

I'm betting that using the Type 1 (beetle), a Karman-Ghia analog, The Type 2 (Transporter/Van) Family and maybe a Civilian-ized Type 82 (Kübelwagen) with 4x4 versions based off the Type 86/87 chassis, Could become very successful in the US and overseas while not overly cannibalizing the Ford brand's sales.
 
This would have to be right after WWII. By 1950, this would be out of the question. And the problem is that the Volkswagen only sold well in Europe because it was cheap, simple, rugged as all hell (my dad rolled his '65 Bug after taking a turn too fast and running off. He and a local farmer flipped it back on its wheels, and he drove it away. Not kidding.) and most of its competitors were inferior to it. Britain's 1950s small cars sucked, too, and America didn't make small cars at the time.
 
Could an Americanized VW have sold as an economical car in America in the late 1930's?
I wish. I like the idea, but small car makers did very poorly in that time period. I'm thinking specifically American Austin, Bantam, and Crosley. IIRC, Crosley was a best-selling car in the early war years.
 
I belive Ford and GM were offered the VW after WWII but turn it down .

I believe the British Rootes group were also offered the VW Beetle, but likewise turned it down. They were later taken over by Chrysler, who later sold them to Peugeot.
 
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