Thinking Small (65 page)

In that sense, brand (and story) and design are linked. A design that is honest and long-lived and clear reflects a brand that has those same characteristics: The design is inspired by the product, after all, and so the two are intimately linked.

In that same documentary I mention above, one designer quotes Henry Ford as saying that “every object tells a story, if you know how to read it.” Right now, our story is one of a global, increasingly connected, increasingly diverse world, a world in which no one country can really “own” its products, because those products take on a life and story of their own once exposed to the differing cultures that create the global market, a market that now must be accurately accessed by a car company for that company to succeed. And the Beetle is certainly a car that belongs to the world. Germany is the caretaker, but no longer does it really own the Beetle or its story. When the 2012 Beetle appeared to the public for the first time on April 18, 2011, it was called “the darling of the New York Auto Show”: The car is still an object we want to love. Its story is still being written.
In that sense, the primary driving force of the Beetle’s innovation and success is not just the profits, or competition, or the marketplace, it’s how the car fits into the narrative of its customer’s lives.

It could be telling that the twenty-first-century Beetle looks a lot like a Porsche. Perhaps when VW says it is “going back to its roots,” that means it is ready to fully connect with its own story, the one that began with Ferdinand Porsche. And in a wider context, as citizens and consumers, perhaps we are likewise approaching a moment where we can reevaluate our history and mobility with a deeper clarity. Like that famous T. S. Eliot poem “Little Gidding,”
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the car’s story is coming back to where it started, but knowing that place for the first time. And perhaps we are too. After all, the truth has always been true. And as the story of the Beetle shows, the greatest moments happen—collectively and individually—when we find new ways of bringing that truth into view.

Acknowledgments
 

Honestly,
I have no idea how to properly express gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the creation of this book; there’s no true beginning or end to the list of names deserving thanks—everyone I’ve learned from, everyone behind the scenes who have quietly done essential work, all the front desk attendants and mechanics and factory workers and writers and filmmakers, and all the people over the years who have shared the stories of their original Beetles with me—to try and name you all would need a space as long as my lifetime, but please accept my sincere appreciation. Your work matters.

Daunting as the task may be, there are also some people I would very much like to try and express gratitude to here directly for all I have learned from them, and for their enthusiasm and important contributions to this book. First, to Richard Morris of Janklow & Nesbit. From our very first phone call, I knew I was lucky enough to have found someone who felt a similar inspiration from this story. Still, I had no idea how much time, effort, and thought he would ultimately give. Not only did he help me advance a little further on that long road to finding one’s voice as an author, but it is no stretch to say that his advice, support, and unwavering confidence in this project is a primary reason this book came to light. I am also sincerely grateful to Susanna Porter at The Random House Publishing Group, whose unparalleled editorial eye helped me to get to the essence of this story, and whose support, direction, and advice has helped me to find new clarity and responsibility as a writer. Also at Random House, I am indebted to Priyanka Krishnan for her editorial honesty and truly exceptional talent, and for her
administrative patience and perseverance; this book would not have been the same had Richard, Susanna, and Priyanka not been on board. Respect and gratitude also go to the editorial and publishing staff, especially Libby McGuire, Jennifer Hershey, and Kim Hovey. I would also like to thank Benjamin Dreyer, Shona McCarthy, and the entire managing editorial group, for their amazing work, and for catching and alerting me to key points; this book is a much better read thanks to them. I am grateful to the publicity and marketing teams; these amazing people who are the conduits between this book and the wider world, especially Susan Corcoran, David Moench, Theresa Zoro, Kristin Fassler, Quinne Rogers, and Leah Johanson. Thanks also to the design and art departments, especially Beck Stvan and Evan Gaffney. And thank you Amelia Zalcman, Deborah Foley, Toby Ernst, and Caroline Teagle at Random House, and Zenya Prowell and Becky Sweren at Janklow & Nesbit for helping in numerous essential tasks.

Very big thanks also goes to the amazing staff at the archives of Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg. So many days and months (indeed, years) full of discussions and questions to Dr. Ulrike Gutzmann on the archive staff have left me with a deep respect for her and for the work she does. I could not have asked to meet a better person. Likewise, the work and time of Dr. Manfred Grieger was essential to this book, as was the study
Das Volkswagenwerk und seine Arbeiter im Dritten Reich
, which he worked on with German historian Dr. Hans Mommsen. Thanks also to the archivists and staff for the tours of the Volkswagen factory and the Place of Remembrance, for all the meetings, the coffees and lunches and dinners and walks, the access, and for providing so many wonderful sources and photos for this book. I also have to thank former Volkswagen CEO, and a man who has done so much to expand the borders of corporate thinking, Carl Hahn, for discussing this book with me, and for providing insight into the character of both Bill Bernbach and Heinrich Nordhoff. Thanks also to his wonderful assistant, Ute Krause. I
would like to have written more about Hahn in this book, and on that note, I recommend his autobiography (which is only available in German right now, but hopefully will come out in English soon). I would also like to thank Carl Hahn for his role in bringing the Kunstmuseum to Wolfsburg, and to the wonderful staff and curators there. The exhibit on James Turrell that I happened to see during one of my longer stays in Wolfsburg was a very moving moment for me, and one that fit well with the themes of this story.

With warm regards and sincere gratitude, I would also like to thank Porsche AG, especially the exceptional Dieter Landenberger, Porsche’s head of archives, for the hours and hours of discussions and emails in which he not only helped me to get to know Ferdinand Porsche but also to understand Germany’s history of automobiles and technology, not to mention helping me understand some basic technical and mechanical questions regarding the workings of the automobile. Mr. Landenberger’s energy and knowledge have contributed greatly to this book. Thanks also to Porsche for opening their archives, for the wonderful tours of their magnificent museum and factory, and for being so kind and giving. A special thanks to Jens Torner of Porsche AG as well, for sitting with me and going through hundreds of photos until we found just the right ones. Thanks also to Dieter Gross for helping me to navigate the Porsche libraries.

Much gratitude also goes to the staff at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg. Again, I was very lucky to be introduced to Andrea Mueller on my first visit there. Her love for the Autostadt, for cars, and her vast knowledge of VW history helped me greatly, as did her generosity in giving me tours of the grounds, and answering any question I might ask of her through emails and in person throughout my visits. Also at the Autostadt, I am grateful for the discussions I had with Dr. Wolfgang Kaese, who is in charge of a wonderful bookshop, and who knows so much about cars and their history. Thanks also to the administrative staff at the Autostadt for helping me find resources and photos.

Time after time, I was astonished by the good nature and generosity of so many in Wolfsburg, and that is especially true of the staff of the Institut für Zeitgeschichte und Stadtpräsentation, especially Alexander Nedelkovski and Katje. Thank you for helping me navigate your archives and photo collections, and for always helping me to track down the right person, place, or date. In Wolfsburg, I am also very thankful to the beautiful and effervescent Renate Riemer for the tours and the talks, the lunches, and for giving me a look at the history of Wolfsburg from someone who had lived through much of it herself. Thanks also to Anna Krause and Axel Bosse, to Justin Hoffmann at the Kunstverein Wolfsburg, to Susanna Pflieger, Stadt Galerie Wolfsburg, to the staff of the Wolfsburg library, and to all those who work for the Volkswagen Auto Museum.

Special thanks also goes to journalist and photographer Klaus Gottschick for sharing his memories of Nordhoff with me, as well as his photos.

I would also like to thank Juliane Aswald and Brian Amelung of the Volkswagen factory in Dresden, for their hospitality, for the tour, and for answering all my questions not only about the Phaeton but also about car history in Germany. Thanks also to all the exceedingly professional and excellent staff members of the libraries in Germany, especially the Gedenkbibliothek in Berlin, and to the Arsenal in Berlin for the film series of old Volkswagen promotional films, to the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein for providing such an amazing video archive, and to Silke Wittig for helping me to navigate through those archives. I also appreciate the collection of the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin, and the Technikmuseum in Munich, and I am also thankful to the very knowledgable and efficient staff at the British Library in London, and to the transportation museum and archives there as well. And thanks especially to so many friends in Europe, some of whom I must name here because of the role they played (whether they know it or not!) in my discovery of
Wolfsburg, and the good luck I had there: Anne Koenig, Jan Wenzel, Micz Flor, Kito Nedo, Tobias Zielony, Matthias Fischer, and Vera Tollmann. Thanks also to Adam Raymont and the Raymont family for so many gifts given in Berlin. And warmest thanks to Prague and London, for the unceasing exchange of emails and thoughts about so many topics and themes in this book. In case you doubt or have forgotten, I send you my sincere love.

Thank you also to everyone who is a part of Pulse, to the amazing staff and the flux of personalities of the past seven years of the project, especially Jin Love and Nicola Gerndt. Big thanks also to that initial start-up staff at ICD, especially Mark Donfried, Nora Circosta, Stefanie Averwald, and Anya Kinneavy, and to all the interns and flux of staff over the years who have contributed so much. Thanks also to so many in Berlin for inviting me to conferences, lunches, or dinners in which I got a glimpse into the political and economic complexity of international relations, and to everyone there who have allowed me to ask them questions and learn from them as I’ve worked on this book.

In the States, the staff at Volkswagen of America has been very helpful over the years, and I want to give warm thanks to Steve Keyes and Tom Wegehaupt, two former Volkswagen employees who have since moved on to other projects, but who helped me greatly when I was first starting out on this journey. More recently, I am greatly indebted to the wonderful energy and enthusiasm of Carsten Krebs and VW of A, and to many others on the Volkswagen staff, especially Sheriece Matias.