Enjoying Those Air Cooled VW Engines

If you are a Volkswagen Beetle lover, you likely don’t have to be sold on all the great features, like air cooled VW engines. But, if you are just learning about these cars, read up. Let’s start with a little history. The ‘Beetle’ was originally called the Volkswagen Type 1 when it was first released in 1938. The names ‘bug’ and ‘beetle’ came from the public and what they thought the cars looked like. In late 1967, Volkswagen finally caved into the desires of the public and went along with the name, calling that years edition of the vehicle the ‘Beetle’ in it’s marketing campaign.

While generally the Bug or Beetle has looked mostly the same, with that unique look being where the unique name came from, there were some mechanical changes that came to the vehicle over time.

First, Volkswagen realized the engine in the Beetle was just not enough to give it a lot of oomph. While it was a cute car and could get you from Point A to Point B, those who wanted a vehicle that had a little more ‘get up and go’ were going to shop elsewhere. So, they doubled the engine size that could be found in the trunk.

This by no means turned the Beetle into a luxury vehicle. It still was a noisy, bumpy ride. But, there was one group of people that didn’t mind a bumpy ride, as long as they had a reliable vehicle – the military.

In 1935, a prototype of the Beetle was used by German military personnel. It was called the Kdf-Wagen. While many people were turned off by such a simple vehicle, the military knew it was just what they wanted, a vehicle that could do the job and have fewer parts to break.

Another added bonus was the air cooled VW engines. When the German Afrika Korps troops were driving around the deserts of Africa, they needed vehicles that could deal with the heat and not overheat at every turn. The Beetle’s air cooling system accomplished just that.

In the years since that time, there have been many small changes to the Beetle, but one thing that can never change is the design. VW Bug lovers look for that tell-tale shape in their VW vehicles and expect to see the look of the ‘Bug’ no matter what extras have been put on or in the vehicle.

One thing you may have noticed was that the Beetle started to phase out in the 70’s. It seemed their time had come, and that they were no longer the popular cars they had been in years past. That sad state continued for about 20 years until Volkswagen decided to give it one more try. Taking the iconic Beetle design, they created a new vehicle, with more extras than had ever been found in a Bug in the past. Those were mixed with all the old favorites, like air-cooled VW engines, to create the car from the past with an eye to the future, and one everyone wanted to have.