I guess this would be the proper place to ask this since alot of old hippies were driving beetles. If you drove one of those automatic stick shift type bugs and remember how they worked can you explain it to me? I got a nice super beetle going but I do not know how to properly shift it.
I never heard of an automatic Beetle. All were stick, four-speeds. And, Adolf Hitler invented them along with Porshe..... TRUE!.
What you have is an Automatic Stick Shift (usually referred to as an AutoStick) transmission. It is NOT an automatic transmission in the sense that we use that term today. Rather, it is a clutchpedal-less electrically operated (with vacuum assist) shifting mechanism. check this site out! http://www.vwar.org/ ~peace~
oh wow... i was definetly to tired to realise you were talking automatic, i learned on a 77 superbeatle and it was stick shift... my bad mista
actually hitler had nothing to do with the invention of the beetle .......it was ferdinand porsche and the volkswagon means people's car ............the porsche was invented by his son
I beg your pardon, tuatara, but the VW WAS Hitler's idea. I never said he actually designed it, though I've read that he sketched out the general shape. I mistakingly used the term "invented" where I should have said "conceived". At any rate, they were great cars, but death traps.
Doesn't have it have like three gears, one and two are for regular driving and the third is for going up hills...
the vw was one of the few things hitler had a hand in creating, goes to show that even the worst of the worst can have a great idea and do something positive. the autostick in a beetle is basically a standard manual shift transmission with the clutch replaced by a hydraulic torque converter similar to that of an automatic transmission. letting off the gas caused the torque converter to disengage to allow the transmission to shift. most of them are a pain to deal with and keep operating and cost quite a bit to maintain, therefore most folks in the vw scene take them out and replace it with a fully manual version. vw did produce a full fledged automatic for the later model microbus' that can be retrofitted to a beetle with a bit of effort and know how.
a bit on vw history> Well, not exactly invent, but Adolf Hitler was indeed the driving force behind the car. In the 1930s, cars cost more than most people earned in a year. When Hitler became the chancellor of Germany in 1933, he promoted the idea of a car affordable enough for the average working person. The Volkswagen, which means "people's car" in German, was essentially a political promise to win the public's goodwill. Hitler met with automotive designer Ferdinand Porsche in 1933 and charged Porsche with creating the new car. The chancellor required that the Volkswagen carry two adults and three children, go up to 60 miles per hour, get at least 33 miles per gallon, and cost only 1,000 reichsmarks. Hitler may also have named the car the Beetle. In 1938, Hitler had the KdF Wagen factory built to produce the cars designed by Porsche. But by the time the factory was complete, Hitler had invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland. The factory was dedicated to building military vehicles, and the people's car fell by the wayside during World War II. After the war, the factory ended up in the British section of occupied Germany. The British military re-opened the factory, named it Volkswagen, and finally gave control of the company to the German government. After 1948, Volkswagen introduced new models across Europe. By 1955, over 1 million cars had been built. The VW beetle started selling in the U.S., and in 1972 the people's car overtook the Ford Model T to become the most popular car ever made.
My first wife(RIP)had a 1971 super beatle with the "auto"stick.Neither one of us liked it and sold it.Mercedes did this back in 1959,with the 4 on-the-colume stick shift with an electric clutch.A slight pressure on the shifter would disengage the clutch,allowing one to shift.The VW was very similar,and just as unpopular.
I had an old 54 DeSoto (I think) that had the same transmission and clutch. I mainly drove in in auto so I had a free hand to hold my beer.
The Volkwagen co. used Jews and others as forced labor in the 40s-no- pay-sorry-but it kinda puts a little wrinkle in the VW-thing-I had a few-before I learned that-
i'd like to see that source of that information. many things happen during wartimes that aren't very pretty. not doubting one bit that jewish and other prisoners were forced to do slave labor, but the factory that is now VW wasn't finished or operational during WWII. if by some slight chance forced labor was a part of VW's history, it should be even more reason to own one. i'd consider it honoring those, who's lives help to create a dependable well built vehicle. if everyone stopped owning every little thing that had something negative in it's history, we'd all be living like cavemen. shady business has been a problem since the beginning of time. according to the VW history in my previous post, VW didn't get the factory operational and roll out it's first car until 1948, long after WWII ended and after it was put into west german hands.
As allready written some postings before here from the webpage of Volkswagen 1937-1945 The "Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH" is founded on 28 May 1937, and is renamed "Volkswagenwerk GmbH" on 16 September 1938. At the beginning of 1938, construction of the Volkswagen plant gets underway in today's Wolfsburg; here, the vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche is to be built. During the Second World War, the Volkswagen plant is converted to armament production for the German armed forces. Approximately 20,000 forced laborers, prisoners of war, and later also concentration camp inmates are among those working there. Bearing in mind the events of that time VOLKSWAGEN AG set up a humanitarian fund in September 1998 for the benefit of forced laborers, who worked at the Volkswagen Company of that period during the Second World War. Up to the end of 2001, more than 2,050 individuals from 26 states received a humanitarian payment. In addition, the "Place of Remembrance of Forced Labor in the Volkswagen Factory" was built with the participation of Volkswagen apprentices at the Wolfsburg plant. In February 1999 VOLKSWAGEN AG belonged to the founding members of "Stiftungsinitiative der deutschen Wirtschaft" (German Economy Foundation Initiative Steering Group), which was the predecessor of the Bundesstiftung "Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft" (German Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future) to compensate former forced laborers. 1945-1949 After the end of the Second World War, responsibility for what remained of the Volkswagen Company and its facilities is transferred to the British Military Government in mid-June 1945. Series production of the Volkswagen begins in earnest under the management of Major Ivan Hirst. Within two years, the Dutch importer Pon's Automobielhandel, Amersfoort, handles the first commercial export of Volkswagen. "Volkswagen-Finanzierungs-Gesellschaft mbH" is founded on 30 June 1949 so as to expand sales on the domestic market. 1949-1960 On 8 October 1949, the British Military Government transfers trusteeship of Volkswagenwerk to the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, while its administration is entrusted to the government of Lower Saxony. Series production of the Type 2, starts on 8 March 1950, and extends the product range. The Volkswagen Transporter or Volkswagen Bus enjoys a rapidly growing popularity thanks to its multifunctionality. In 1956, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles get a production facility of their own with the completion of the Hanover plant, that forms the core of today's brand.
The air cooled engine was used by Rommel's Afrika Corps, from what I understand, for obvious reasons. I'm not sure what came first, the concept of an air cooled engine for military use in the desert or the Volkswagen beetle. To not want to buy a VW because of the use of slave labor during WWII is absurd. General Motors, Ford, and Bush's grandpa all made money off forced labor in Germany prior to Americas involvement. And it was done knowingly. So I would suggest you not buy that Monte Carlo or F150 either. And while you are at it stop buying Chevron gas, as they sold the formula for synthetic oil to Hitler that allowed the war to continue when their oil ran out. Some reading for you all can be found here
This is pretty much true. I surmise that this was VW's first attempt to manufacture a semi-automatic tranny. IIRC it featured three forward gears. I also have heard horror stories about that transmission. The only problem is that on cars made before 1972 or so, converting an automatic stickshift to a manual is extremely costly. FTR, another option to avoid, albeit in very early models is the gasoline heater. 1966 is a good year to avoid as engine parts may be exteremely hard to come by. This is because VW featured that 1300cc engine only that one year.
