Best Car 1940-1949

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=21.25% BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19301939"><U><B><IMG SRC="0470b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19501959"><U><B><IMG SRC="0480b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>       </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11"><B>   </B><A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best cars of each decade"><U><B><IMG SRC="04a0b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="autocluster.com"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Introduction"><U><B>Introduction</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id45.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19001909"><U><B>1900-1909</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19101919"><U><B>1910-1919</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19201929"><U><B>1920-1929</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19301939"><U><B>1930-1939</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id50.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19401949"><U><B>1940-1949</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19501959"><U><B>1950-1959</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19601969"><U><B>1960-1969</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19701979"><U><B>1970-1979</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19801989"><U><B>1980-1989</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Best Car 19902000"><U><B>1990-2000</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Car of the Century"><U><B>Car of the Century</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id158.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gallery of Fame"><U><B>Gallery of Fame</B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Best Car 1940-1949</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>1949 Volkswagen Beetle</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="578" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 705 WIDTH="266"><div> It was in the 1930s when Ferdinand Porsche created the "people's car"— the Volkswagen. The Type 1 Volkswagen with its distinctive shape became known as the "Beetle" and became the most popular mass-mobility car of all time. The first VW Beetle arrived in New York in January of 1949. The selling price was $800 and two were sold that year in the U.S. By 1960, Volkswagen had imported 500,000 Beetles into the U.S., and by 1981 the 20,000,000th Beetle was produced</div> <bR> <div> The rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car had excellent road-handling capabilities, especially in winter. The gasoline tank was mounted under the front hood. Early models did not have a gas gauge but did have a reserve tank that was activated by a lever in the passenger compartment. </div> <bR> <div> The Beetles were powered by a four cylinder 1.13 L motor that delivered 18.6 kW (25 hp) at 3000 rpm. The horizontal pistons had a bore of 75 mm (2.94 in) and a stroke of 64 mm (2.52 in) with a compression ratio of 5.8:1. The crankcase was a two-piece design with bolt-on finned cylinder heads. The centrally mounted camshaft was gear driven directly off the forged steel camshaft. The pushrods were housed in separate tubes connected to the aluminum alloy heads. The engine was air cooled by an upright fan connected by a shaft to the generator, that was belt driven. </div> <bR> <div> <I>Photos courtesy of Volkswagen of America, Inc.</I> </div> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC WIDTH="293"><bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0bbfa9c0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="156" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I>Distinctive split rear window shown on early Volkswagen Beetle</I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0bcfa970.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="151" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I>One of the first 1949 Beetles sent to the US</I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0bdfa850.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="133" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I>1949 VW Beetle</I></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>  <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script>  </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>