13. Volkswagen introduced the Karmann Ghia to spice up its product line, at that time having only the Beetle and the Bus. What year was the first Karmann Ghia produced?
From Quiz Air Cooled Volkswagens
Answer:
1956
In the early 1950s, Volkswagen was facing the prospect of selling a small line of "ugly" cars (the Beetle and the Bus) to a more demanding car buying public. VW executives felt it was necessary to introduce an "image" car to reach this new market. Several other car companies were in the same situation, most notably Chrysler. Chrysler contracted the Italian styling and coach-building firm Ghia to build a series of "dream cars". While Chrysler produced some of these dream cars, one car they did not produce would eventually become the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. While Chrysler worked with Ghia, Volkswagen contracted the German coach builder Karmann to build their "image" car. Karmann, in need of a design, approached Ghia and somehow the old Chrysler design surfaced and was modified to fit the Beetle floorpan. The VW executives liked what they saw and by August of 1955, the first Volkswagen Karmann Ghias rolled off assembly line in Osnabrück, Germany, as 1956 models.