Volkswagen (often abbreviated to VW) is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Volkswagen was originally founded in 1937 by the German Labor Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront). Volkswagen is the original marquee within the Volkswagen Group, which includes the car marquees Audi, Bentley Motors, Bugatti Automobiles, Automobili Lamborghini, SEAT, ?koda Auto and heavy goods vehicle manufacturer Scania. In 2009, the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG endorsed the creation of an integrated automotive group with Porsche under the leadership of Volkswagen.

Volkswagen means people's car in German, in which it is pronounced [?f?lks?va???n]. Its current tagline or slogan is Das Auto (in English The Car). Its previous German tagline was Aus Liebe zum Automobil, which translates to: Out of Love for the Car, or, For Love of the Automobile, as translated by VW in other languages.

In keeping with that theme, VW sells a wide variety of vehicles built to appeal to everyone from the financially-strapped college grad to the established executive. The former are longtime fans of the entry-level Volkswagen Rabbit (previously the Volkswagen Golf), the Volkswagen Jetta, and the modern interpretation of the original Volkswagen Beetle, now dubbed the Volkswagen New Beetle. Moving up the ladder, you will find the larger Volkswagen Passat sedan and Volkswagen Passat wagon, the svelte Volkswagen CC four-door coupe, and the cute Volkswagen Eos and Volkswagen New Beetle convertibles. Buyers seeking more carrying capacity will be best served by the Volkswagen Tiguan crossover or the Dodge Caravan-based Volkswagen Routan minivan. Offering less utility but a lot more fun are the Volkswagen GTI and Volkswagen GLI. VW lacks a hybrid in its lineup, but does offer the fuel-efficient TDI diesel engine in several models, including the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen and Volkswagen Touareg2.

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Volkswagen was in serious trouble by 1973. The Type 3 and Type 4 models had sold in much smaller numbers than the Beetle and the NSU-based K70 also failed to woo buyers. Beetle sales had started to decline rapidly in European and North American markets. The company knew that Beetle production had to end one day, but the conundrum of replacing it had been a never-ending nightmare. VW's ownership of Audi / Auto Union proved to be the key to the problem - with its expertise in front-wheel drive, and water-cooled engines which Volkswagen so desperately needed to produce a credible Beetle successor. Audi influences paved the way for this new generation of Volkswagens, known as the Polo, Golf and Passat.

The Volkswagen Polo was in fact simply a re-badging of the short-lived Audi 50, which had been hastily developed from a sedan design, the Audi 60. However, VW produced it shortly after the introduction of the Polo as the Volkswagen Derby. In the rear of the car can plainly be seen that panels are added to the Polo structure to make a three-box design of saloon (sedan), or saloon with a boot or trunk.

The Volkswagen Passat (Dasher in the U.S.), introduced in 1973, was again simply a fastback (available as either a hatchback or with separate boot) version of the Audi 80, using identical body and mechanical parts, and the Audi 80 was later produced on the same line in Wolfsburg as the Passat. Estate/wagon versions were offered for overseas markets, however, for two years, if British and South African customers wanted an estate/wagon version, they had to go considerably upmarket and buy the Audi 80 GL estate. For current lineup information visit the official VW.com

However, the pivotal model which would turn Volkswagen's fortunes emerged as the Volkswagen Golf in 1974, marketed in the United States and Canada as the Rabbit for the 1st generation (1975?1985) and 5th generation (2006?2009). This was a car unlike its predecessor in most significant ways, both mechanically as well as visually (its angular styling was designed by the Italian Giorgetto Giugiaro). Its design followed trends for small family cars set by the 1959 Mini, the Golf had a transversely mounted, water-cooled engine in the front, driving the front wheels, and had a hatchback, a format that has dominated the market segment ever since. Beetle production at Wolfsburg ended upon the Golf's introduction, but continued in smaller numbers at other German factories (Hanover and Emden) until 1978, but mainstream production shifted to Brazil and Mexico.