The story of how a rigid German automaker stormed the American market with its lovable Beetle, virtually disappeared, then came roaring back is told here by USA Today's Detroit bureau chief. Part skeptic, part admirer, Kiley details the car's roots in Nazi Germany, suggesting it grew out of Hitler's obsession with creating an autobahn and giving German citizens the chance to have their own cheap cars to drive on it. When VW infiltrated America in the 1950s, it found itself fighting Detroit's lumbering giants, who believed Americans simply desired a steady stream of gas-guzzling, chrome-plated behemoths. By remedying the almost complete lack of affordable cars with good mileage, the Beetle was able to overcome its strange appearance, weak engine and reputation of being "Hitler's car" and quickly developed a dedicated following, thanks to whimsical, innocent ads. But in the 1970s, cheap, reliable Japanese compacts began eating away at the Beetle's lead, and through the '80s, the company was mostly dormant in America, with Beetles supplying only collectors. Then, in 1994, VW bowled over the press with its presentation of the new Beetle. Another series of engaging ads helped put it into the limelight and return to a prominent position. Kiley is realistic about VW's future, noting that Beetle sales have been dropping off and other brands like Passat are not picking up the slack. Although Kiley pays too much attention to the advertising end of things—this is an Adweek Book, after all—he deftly reports on the mystique and the reality of one of the auto world's enduring legends. (Nov.)
