Literally translated as meaning "The People's Car", Volkswagen is a major German automobile manufacturer that is located in Lower Saxony. In terms of sheer size and sales volume, this company is considered to be the top out of the "Big Three" German car manufacturers. In fact, Volkswagen is the third-largest car producer in the world. While a portion of this fame is due to the length of time that the company has been in existence and the nearly ubiquitous knowledge of its name, analysts feel that this success is also caused directly by the fact that Volkswagen is known to devote more time on research and development than nearly any other car maker in the world.
One of the rather dubious sides of the history of Volkswagen is that its roots can be traced to 1937 Germany, at which time the Nazis were in full power. Hitler demanded that a family car be produced that would be able to compete with popular American models at the time, and thus was created the classic Volkswagen shape and style. Like many German industries, the Second World War and the postwar reconstruction period brought into question the survival of Volkswagen, but this brand soon became representative of West German progression and it was not long before the iconic "Beetle" soon spread to the United States as well.
Currently, this manufacturer is still quite popular across the globe and is expected to remain a leading force in the automobile industry for years to come.