The Bug Forever

West Germany's Volkswagen is gradually overtaking the Model T as the most produced single auto in history, this fall will reach the 10 million mark.-Emulating Henry Ford, Volkswagen has left the profile of its basic car virtually untouched since 1948. Unlike Ford, whose failure to master change caused his company to slip permanently into second place (behind General Motors) in the 1930s, Volkswagen thrives on quiet innovation. Its engineers constantly tinker with the beetle's innards, improve engineering and equipment, make numerous modifications each year. There are hardly a dozen parts in the Volkswagen that were there in 1948.

Faster Beetle. Last week Volkswagen announced some of the most funda mental changes in years. Into its basic car, which will now switch its designation from a 1200 to a 1300, it is placing a more powerful engine (40 h.p., v. the old 34) that will increase both acceleration and top speed (to 78 m.p.h.). It is also making 22 other improvements, ranging from fancier interiors to snappier hubcaps and new axles that require half as much greasing--and is keeping the car's factory cost at $1,245. In addition, the company plans to turn out a fastback model of the costlier 1500 sedan that it introduced in West Germany four years ago, also adding disk brakes in front and improved drum brakes in the rear. One reason for the flashier look: the car will invade the U.S. market for the first time in October. Factory cost: $1,672.

Still, the durable beetle accounts for 67% of Volkswagen sales, and the company is acutely aware of the risks it runs in marketing the same car year after year. For insurance, Volkswagen over the years has developed at least a dozen different cars, all with different shapes but with essentially the same innards, that it could bring to the market any time that sales show serious signs of faltering. That drastic measure seemed imminent two years ago, when Volkswagen's domestic sales began dropping, partly because of increased competition from General Motors' Opel and Ford's Taunus. Volkswagen engineers made some modifications in the beetle (bigger windows, roomier interiors), and the car bounced back; this year its domestic sales for the first half rose 27% .

Touching Sentiment. Volkswagen is the world's fourth largest automaker (after G.M., Ford and Chrysler), in 1964 sold 944,424 beetles, plus 461,686 other vehicles. It exports more cars than any other of the world's auto companies; in fact, it sells more abroad than it does at home, almost half of them in the U.S. "Will we ever kill the bug?" asks Volkswagen's current ad campaign in the U.S. Answer: "Never." Adds Volkswagen's Heinz Nordhoff: "As long as I'm general director, the basic VW will continue to be built." The sentiment is touching--and so are the figures. By dispensing with model changeovers, the company avoids enormous retooling costs, last year boasted an unusual 17.5% return on invested capital.

-Between 1908 and 1927, Ford turned out 15,007,033 Model Ts.

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