Yahoo Autos 1955 Volkswagen Type 2 Schulwagen is a rare piece of the brand's history
Due out for 2025, the electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz traces its roots to the emblematic split-window Bus released in 1949. We wouldn't have the Buzz without the venerable Type 2, but we might not have Volkswagen of America at all without the Schulwagen used to train mechanics.
The first examples of the Volkswagen Beetle (which was officially called Type 1) that disembarked on our shores were privately imported. Max Hoffman, a successful Austrian businessman that played a significant role in bringing numerous European carmakers to the United States, began importing Volkswagen and Porsche models in the 1950s. Sales quickly grew, executives in Wolfsburg took notice, and Volkswagen severed its ties with Hoffman to establish its own American division. This endeavor was both tremendously expensive and tremendously complicated as it required establishing a dealer network and scattering warehouses of spare parts across the country, but it paid off. It's part of the reason why Volkswagen survived while rivals like Opel, Peugeot and Renault ultimately crashed and burned here.
Founded in New Jersey in 1955, Volkswagen of America flew three service technician trainers from Wolfsburg to the United States to teach soon-to-be mechanics how to repair and maintain the Beetle and the Bus. It helped that both cars used the same basic drivetrain, which was built around an air-cooled flat-four engine. The brand also built a fleet of specially-equipped vans for a program called Mobile Service School.
