| Author |
Message |
HerrrKafer
Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2004
Posts: 1465
Location: East Fishkill, NY
|
 Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 2:11 am Post subject: Millionth Beetle Ceremony vs. Actual Production |
 |
|
In another thread started today, patrickkryan asked who's car was closest to the 1,000,000th produced. He asked that his thread not be used to continue this offshoot debate, but IN2VW's opened up an interesting point that warrants some more attention:
| IN2VWS wrote: |
That question could open up much debate.
The 1,000,000th VW rolled off the production line on the 5th of August 1955......but, chassis number 999.999 and 1,000,001 (either side of 1,000,000) didn't come off the line until October 1955.
So, was the 5th of August 1955 the real date the 1,000,000th VW came off the line?
Or, was this the date it was expected off the line, but because off the celebrations organized with visitors from around the world, VW still used the 5th of August 1955 as the official date even though it wasn't the 1,000,000th VW? |
Definitely an interesting question that I've never really thought about until now. My first thought was that the millionth VW was just that, the millionth VW, not the millionth Beetle. But that idea, of course, is bunk, as some 130,000 busses had rolled off the line by Aug 55, putting the number of total VW's way over a million by any count. So they were celebrating the Beetle only. (  )
Okay, let's take a closer look. The first really weird thing is this: There were apparently more cars produced than VINs allocated! At the end of 1954, the last VIN used was 781 884. But if you add up the production figures from 1938 - 1954, you get 811 972 ! And 38-39 production is very small, so even if you use the same range as in the VIN chart, 40-54, there's still over thirty thousand cars that apparently have no VIN ?!
Alright, let's take the 811 972 as the number of cars built through '54. From Jan - July 55, 147 628 additional VINs were allocated, bringing total Beetle production through the end of July 55 to at least 959 600 (as opposed to the 929 512 that the VIN chart might lead you to believe). With that number, I can certainly start to believe IN2's theory of an an optimistic production estimation leading to premature ceremonies.
Consider also the following: from September '54 through June '55, VW produced around 21,000-24,000 cars each month. In July of 55, for whatever reason, production fell to just 13,056. So in all likelihood, right there are ~10,000 cars that VW probably expected to produce but did not. It's very feasible to believe they underestimated by 30,000 additional units during the time they were planning the ceremony, as it was a grandiose event with presumably lots of planning.
_________________
Evan H.
| EverettB wrote: |
| In a perfect world, anyone running chromies would be shot. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
David
Samba Member
Joined: June 29, 2004
Posts: 2049
Location: Raleigh, NC
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 7:17 am Post subject: |
|
|
Marketing genius back in 1955 
Didn't sales take off (esp in US) after 1955?
_________________
Cheers,
Dave
*October '54 Ragtop
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Redbarnresto
Samba Member
Joined: May 29, 2007
Posts: 190
Location: Girard, OH
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 8:26 am Post subject: |
|
|
Great thread. I never thought of it either, but it makes sense. I'm always skeptical about such claims anyway.
Dan
_________________
Red Barn Restorations |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OvalTeenAZ
Samba Member
Joined: May 12, 2007
Posts: 661
Location: Arizona
|
| Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 3:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
this is what the owner of my 56 was telling me when i picked it up... i have tried to fugure it out but no luck
THANKS HerrrKafer |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
olo
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2008
Posts: 134
Location: australia
|
| Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 5:30 am Post subject: |
|
|
| all this means noone knows which car was the actual 1000000 beetle which also means it could be you owning one |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32983
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IN2VWS
Samba Member
Joined: January 29, 2006
Posts: 2547
Location: Australia
|
| Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 4:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Could it be, that chassis number 999 999 is the real 1,000,000th Beetle?
_________________
( ⫏ ⫐ )
(ọ\ ¡ /ọ)¹⁹⁵⁴ ¹⁹⁵¹ ¹⁹⁵⁸
(⦷ ⥢ Ĭ ⥤ ⦷) 𝗞_𝗔_𝗥_𝗠_𝗔_𝗡_𝗡 𝓖𝓱𝓲𝓪¹⁹⁵⁶
⨴⨵--⊗--⨴⨵ 𝕊ℙ𝟚¹⁹⁷³ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
patrickkryan
Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2008
Posts: 343
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IN2VWS
Samba Member
Joined: January 29, 2006
Posts: 2547
Location: Australia
|
| Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:25 am Post subject: |
|
|
Not sure if its relevant, but I found this article in a 1955 German magazine.
_________________
( ⫏ ⫐ )
(ọ\ ¡ /ọ)¹⁹⁵⁴ ¹⁹⁵¹ ¹⁹⁵⁸
(⦷ ⥢ Ĭ ⥤ ⦷) 𝗞_𝗔_𝗥_𝗠_𝗔_𝗡_𝗡 𝓖𝓱𝓲𝓪¹⁹⁵⁶
⨴⨵--⊗--⨴⨵ 𝕊ℙ𝟚¹⁹⁷³ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bruce
Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2003
Posts: 17551
Location: Left coast, Canada
|
| Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 12:40 am Post subject: |
|
|
| IN2VWS wrote: |
| Could it be, that chassis number 999 999 is the real 1,000,000th Beetle? |
No, there wasn't a car with VIN 0000000
_________________
| overheard at the portland Swap Meet... wrote: |
| ..... a steering wheel made from a mastadon tusk..... |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
IN2VWS
Samba Member
Joined: January 29, 2006
Posts: 2547
Location: Australia
|
| Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 1:53 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Bruce wrote: |
| IN2VWS wrote: |
| Could it be, that chassis number 999 999 is the real 1,000,000th Beetle? |
No, there wasn't a car with VIN 0000000 |
I never said there a car with VIN 0000000.
My point was, that if the real 1,000,000th car rolled of the line in October 1955, then chassis #999,999 plus the "fake" 1,000,000th VW, would equal 1,000,000 cars......get it?
_________________
( ⫏ ⫐ )
(ọ\ ¡ /ọ)¹⁹⁵⁴ ¹⁹⁵¹ ¹⁹⁵⁸
(⦷ ⥢ Ĭ ⥤ ⦷) 𝗞_𝗔_𝗥_𝗠_𝗔_𝗡_𝗡 𝓖𝓱𝓲𝓪¹⁹⁵⁶
⨴⨵--⊗--⨴⨵ 𝕊ℙ𝟚¹⁹⁷³ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32983
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
| Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2008 7:52 pm Post subject: Re: Millionth Beetle Ceremony vs. Actual Production |
|
|
| HerrrKafer wrote: |
Consider also the following: from September '54 through June '55, VW produced around 21,000-24,000 cars each month. In July of 55, for whatever reason, production fell to just 13,056. So in all likelihood, right there are ~10,000 cars that VW probably expected to produce but did not. It's very feasible to believe they underestimated by 30,000 additional units during the time they were planning the ceremony, as it was a grandiose event with presumably lots of planning. |
HI,
1955 was the short year of production. July 55 was the end of the 1955 model as they zeroed out the body numbers and started with the new August production for the next calendar year model. Maybe there was some "down time" involved in this process?
Note that August production was higher @ 28,087 and then production dropped off for September to around 26,000 and stayed in that range. The Numbers may have been "skewed" or edited for some reason by the bean counters?
Keep in mind that beginning on Aug 4, 1955 @ chassis # 1-0929 746 there were a LOT of changes incorporated into the 56 model year.
Different seats, different door latches, different doors, etc. Changes always, no matter how well planned, take time to implement.
Dave
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos
Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473
Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537
Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
anthracitedub
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2007
Posts: 3241
Location: Michigan
|
| Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Im sure someone probably made a baja out of the millionth beetle. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bruce
Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2003
Posts: 17551
Location: Left coast, Canada
|
| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 12:18 am Post subject: |
|
|
| IN2VWS wrote: |
| Bruce wrote: |
| IN2VWS wrote: |
| Could it be, that chassis number 999 999 is the real 1,000,000th Beetle? |
No, there wasn't a car with VIN 0000000 |
I never said there a car with VIN 0000000.
My point was, that if the real 1,000,000th car rolled of the line in October 1955, then chassis #999,999 plus the "fake" 1,000,000th VW, would equal 1,000,000 cars......get it? |
Even if you are right, nobody is going to accept that YOUR car is the millionth Beetle.
_________________
| overheard at the portland Swap Meet... wrote: |
| ..... a steering wheel made from a mastadon tusk..... |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kdf38
Samba Member
Joined: March 07, 2002
Posts: 903
|
| Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:35 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Busses are typ 2
Typ 1 -
929.512 thru July 1955
50.935 VW82 + 14.283 VW166 + 669 VW87/92 = 65.387
929.512 + 65.387 = 994.899
is getting very close to 1 000000 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bruce
Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2003
Posts: 17551
Location: Left coast, Canada
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 1:09 am Post subject: |
|
|
Then there's the pre-war prototypes.
_________________
| overheard at the portland Swap Meet... wrote: |
| ..... a steering wheel made from a mastadon tusk..... |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
JorgeDavidson
Samba Member
Joined: August 31, 2008
Posts: 358
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
|
| Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 6:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I read a lot of "misteries" about the 1.000.000 th. bug.
Maybe it´s too stupid, but... did anyone asked VW Automuseum? If there´s a lot of info about our cars, obviously they would know the truth  .
_________________
1957 Oval Window - Polar Silver L324
2008 VW Suran Trendline |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Shadd
Samba Member
Joined: January 18, 2007
Posts: 883
Location: Lancaster, Ohio
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 7:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| JorgeDavidson wrote: |
I read a lot of "misteries" about the 1.000.000 th. bug.
Maybe it´s too stupid, but... did anyone asked VW Automuseum? If there´s a lot of info about our cars, obviously they would know the truth . |
Judging by this pic of the 1,000,000th bug taken at the Automuseum, I'd say they are not they authority on the subject. 
(this is an old thread but I was researching this bug and thought I would dig it up.) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Hanneke
Samba Member
Joined: August 24, 2010
Posts: 12
Location: Netherlands
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 3:38 am Post subject: VIN-# 1,000,000 |
|
|
Hello,
Nice that you bring out this old topic !
See below a picture I took a couple of weeks ago of the 1,000,000th beetle in Wolfsburg.
The guy from the archive told me the story about the "second" 1,000,000th bug as well. It is the white car that is also featured in the article above. This car does NOT have a VIN-number, because that way it could be used as # 1,000,000 when the "real" 1-millionth would get damaged. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Blue Baron
VW Aficionado
Joined: June 16, 2006
Posts: 27685
Location: Free State of Florida
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:15 am Post subject: |
|
|
Heinz Nordhoff struck that number himself.
_________________
We are striving for perfection, to make our cars run forever, if possible.
Heinz Nordhoff |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
