http://www.armchairgeneral.com/book-review-volkswagen-military-vehicles-of-the-third-reich-an-illustrated-history.htm All things military history! Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:05:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.armchairgeneral.com/book-review-volkswagen-military-vehicles-of-the-third-reich-an-illustrated-history.htm/comment-page-1#comment-29727 John Maynier Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:19:08 +0000 http://armchairgeneral.com/?p=303#comment-29727 Ford Motor Company had a lot of factories in Germany before and during the war (Henry Ford liked Hitler), and as they were used for wartime uses, we bombed them. Ford received licensing payments throughout the war (paid through Switzerland), but Henry wanted reparations for his damaged factories and we (the govt.) paid him willingly (unbeknownst to the taxpayers who footed the bill). He was offered the VW factory and all rights to the car. His accountant told him it didn't look like much of a bargain and so Ford passed on the offer to own VW. Over time, Ford would bring us the Edsel, let Robert McNamara and his gang of bean counters almost destroy the company by saying that quality was irrelevant because it was unquantifiable; while VW went from strength to strength on the back of making a quality product. When Ferdinand Porsche designed the VW, he was dreaming of making a Ford model T for Europe. There's a moral here but I'll let you draw it for yourself. Ford Motor Company had a lot of factories in Germany before and during the war (Henry Ford liked Hitler), and as they were used for wartime uses, we bombed them. Ford received licensing payments throughout the war (paid through Switzerland), but Henry wanted reparations for his damaged factories and we (the govt.) paid him willingly (unbeknownst to the taxpayers who footed the bill). He was offered the VW factory and all rights to the car. His accountant told him it didn’t look like much of a bargain and so Ford passed on the offer to own VW.
Over time, Ford would bring us the Edsel, let Robert McNamara and his gang of bean counters almost destroy the company by saying that quality was irrelevant because it was unquantifiable; while VW went from strength to strength on the back of making a quality product.
When Ferdinand Porsche designed the VW, he was dreaming of making a Ford model T for Europe.
There’s a moral here but I’ll let you draw it for yourself.

]]> http://www.armchairgeneral.com/book-review-volkswagen-military-vehicles-of-the-third-reich-an-illustrated-history.htm/comment-page-1#comment-27676 The Shmutz Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:49:09 +0000 http://armchairgeneral.com/?p=303#comment-27676 I believe the whole VW origins were a ripoff of the German people? They subsidized them but they never got any payment as it was switched to war production? I believe the whole VW origins were a ripoff of the German people? They subsidized them but they never got any payment as it was switched to war production?

]]> http://www.armchairgeneral.com/book-review-volkswagen-military-vehicles-of-the-third-reich-an-illustrated-history.htm/comment-page-1#comment-25228 Rick Martin Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:26:05 +0000 http://armchairgeneral.com/?p=303#comment-25228 What a great review! The book sounds fascinating! What a great review! The book sounds fascinating!

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