The Volkswagen (VW) Beetle, a small car with an odd, rounded shape that resembled an insect, is one of the more unusual success stories in the history of the automobile. It first arrived in the United States from Germany in the early 1950s. The little rounded car was very out of place amid all the giant cars the American automotive industry was producing in Detroit, Michigan. Over time, its popularity grew, creating many fans and making an everlasting mark on America's roads.

The Beetle was first developed in Germany by Ferdinand Porsche (1909–1998) in the 1930s during the Nazi era as an inexpensive car for ordinary people to own. (Volkswagen means "people's car" in German.) After World War II (1939–45), Volkswagen began shipping cars to the United States. When they arrived here, they were certainly an oddity. At a time when American cars were big and boxy, were...