Volkswagen introduced the Karmann-Ghia coupe at the Kasino Hotel in Westfalia, Germany. As the European car market finally recovered from the war, Volkswagen felt that it needed to release an “image car” to accompany its plain but reliable “Bugs and Buses.”
Volkswagen was not the only automotive company looking for a flagship car at the time. Chevrolet had released the Corvette, and Ford the Thunderbird. The Chrysler Corporation had contracted with the Italian design firm Ghia to create designs for a Chrysler dream car; however, none of the designs came to fruition.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen had contracted with German coach-builder Karmann for their own image car, and Karmann, in turn, had sub-contracted to Ghia for design offerings. Eventually Ghia supplied Karmann with a version of their Chrysler design, modified for the floor plan of the Volkswagen Beetle.

The Karmann-Ghia was released as a 1956 model by Volkswagen. The car’s sleek lines and hand craftsmanship attracted the attention Volkswagen had hoped for. Nevertheless, as sporty as the Karmann-Ghia looked, it suffered from its 36hp flat four engine in the area of power. Still, the Karmann-Ghia sold 10,000 units in its first full production year ,and with the release of the convertible in 1958, production reached 18,000 units for one year.

Sales climbed steadily through the 1960s, peaking at 33,000 cars per year. While General Motors and Ford focused on their Corvette and Thunderbird, respectively, Volkswagen found that the Bug had increased in popularity, especially in the U.S. market. Executives decided to focus their marketing attention on the Bug, abandoning the Karmann-Ghia, which was last produced in 1974.

Looking to buy a used car or second hand car? Well you’re certainly spoilt for choice. With around 27 million cars on UK roads and numbers increasing, the market has never been more stuffed with affordable used motors. But what should you look out for when you find a car you’re interested in? Here are some basic pointers for the not-so car savvy.

Inspect the Car

· Check tyres to make sure they’re road legal.

· Check suspension. Push down hard at each corner and let go. The car should spring straight back up and immediately settle at the original level

· Check bodywork panels line up correctly and look out for mismatched paint. Either could indicate a crash

· Doors that don’t close properly and signs of a repaint around rubber door seals are two more signs of a possible crash

· Check under the rug between the front and back doors for welding. This could indicate a ‘cut and shut’ car (where front and back halves from two different cars of the same model are welded together to make a ‘new’ one)

· Stickers can hide damage so peek underneath

· Check the exhaust. If it needs replacing, barter the cost off the asking price

· While underneath the car, check the ground for oil leaks

· Ensure that the gears operate smoothly and the clutch engages correctly

· If the car shows low mileage, yet the pedals and seats are worn, the car may have been ‘clocked’ (i.e. the car’s mileage has been altered)

· Start the car and check that the oil light goes out straight away

· Check the steering wheel moves smoothly and silently from lock to lock

· Check the electrics (windows, lights, wipers, radio etc)

· Check for exhaust smoke. Excessive smoke of any colour is a sign of trouble

· Once the car’s warmed up, check that the engine idles smoothly

· Walk away from a car that makes rattling or knocking sounds while the engine is running

· Check dipstick and inside the oil filler cap. A ‘mayonnaise’ type residue could mean an expensive repair bill

Tip: Always view a car in daylight when it’s dry as raindrops or poor light can hide all manner of superficial, or sometimes serious, problems.

Test Drive

Always test drive before buying. Try the car out in various conditions, e.g. slow through town and fast on a dual carriageway. Listen for unusual engine sounds; ensure gauges and dials work; use all gears including reverse; listen for suspension knocks when going over speed bumps; test breaks; check whether steering drifts to the left or right when going in a straight line.

Also Check…

A full service history (FSH) indicates a well-maintained car. Check last service mileage looks appropriate to the car’s current mileage.

If the seller doesn’t have the registration document – walk away! Check car number plate matches what’s on the document, and ensure the vehicle identification (VIN) number matches what’s stamped on the small plaque under the bonnet.

Every car over three years old must have a valid MOT certificate to prove roadworthiness. If the MOT’s due to expire, ask the seller to get it re-tested.

Look at the tax disc to see when the tax runs out – you’ll need a valid one before even parking it on the road, let alone driving it. Also check the registration shown on the disc matches the car’s number plate, and if there’s little or no tax left, ask for its renewal cost to be lopped off the asking price.

Car insurance is legally required for any car on the road. You may also want to purchase breakdown cover or a car warranty for further peace of mind.

Car Fraud

If you buy a car that is stolen, illegal (e.g. a ‘cut and shut’) or has outstanding credit, you have no legal right of ownership and it can be confiscated or returned to the rightful owner. If buying from a dealer, ask what checks they’ve performed, or you could pay for a ‘history report’ from companies such as HPI to check whether a car was previously written off, damaged, stolen, or has any outstanding finance.

Tip: If buying privately, always view the car at the seller’s home to be sure of their address.

Paying for a Car

When haggling, stay firm and don’t be intimidated, keep negotiations calm, and know what you’re talking about. This is why it’s so important to check the car thoroughly beforehand. Faults uncovered or any imminent expiry of tax or MOT can be used to lower the price.

Paying cash is one of the strongest bargaining chips when negotiating on price as sellers get their money straight away and dealers avoid paying credit card transaction fees.

Credit Cards are a safe and convenient way to buy, but you may not get the best price from a dealer because they’ll have to pay a card transaction fee.

If paying by cheque you’ll probably have to wait for funds to clear before picking up the car keys. Note: if buying privately, see as much of the seller’s ID and proof of address as you can before leaving their home – basically, don’t hand over the cheque until you’re satisfied the seller will still be there when you return to collect the car.

Bankers Draft’s are welcomed by dealers, though a bank will charge a fee for issuing one.

Important: No matter how you pay, always get a receipt.

Leon Duray drove his Miller 91 Packard Cable Special to a world close-coursed speed record, recording an astonishing top speed of 148.173mph, at the Packard Proving Ground in Utica, Michigan.

Two weeks earlier, Duray had posted a record lap of 124mph at the Indy 500, a record that stood for 10 years until the track was banked. From a mere 91 cubic inches or 1500cc, the Miller’s supercharged engine produced 230hp while weighing in at a svelte 290 pounds.

The front-wheel-drive Miller Special never won an Indy 500, but its 1928-1929 results there prompted track officials to ban supercharged engines from the contest for over a decade. The 91 was engineer Harry Miller’s crowning achievement. Today, one of Miller’s masterpieces sits in the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian.

After the 91s were forced out of Indy, owner Leon Duray took his two Miller cars to Europe and proceeded to set international speed records for cars of similar engine displacement. He drove the 91 at 143mph over one kilometer and 139mph over five kilometers. Ettore Bugatti was so impressed with both the Miller’s front-wheel drive and its engine design that he bought the cars form Duray in order to study them.

Bugatti’s later engines borrowed heavily from Miller’s innovations to the designs of the combustion-chamber, port, valve, and head. Miller built only 11 of his front-wheel-drive superchargers, and today they are prized antiques. The two cars that Bugatti purchased were discovered, dusty but intact, by a Danish diplomat in a Bugatti warehouse in France in 1954.

Auto historian Griffith Borgeson bought the two cars in 1959 and had them shipped to his home in Los Angeles, the city in which the cars had been built. One of those cars sits in the museum at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Harry Miller was, simply put, a legendary genius in the history of American racing. The technology he pioneered with his Miller 91s is still in use today. Miller went bankrupt in 1929 and all of his assets, including his drawings and designs, were sold at auction. One of his associates, Fred Offenhauser, struggled to purchase enough of the drawings and patent rights to carry on what Miller started.

From 1922 to 1965, Miller and Offenhauser engines won all but six Indy 500s. Learn more about Miller - Offenhauser

This Day in Automotive History - June 13 1978

Ford Motor Company Chairman, Henry Ford II, fired Lee Iaccoca from the position of president of Ford Motor Company, ending a bitter personal struggle between the two men. Since his grand emergence into the spotlight with the release of the Ford Mustang in 1964, Lee Iacocca had risen precipitously through the ranks at Ford, ascending to the position of company president in 1970.

As president of Ford, Iacocca–previously known exclusively as a sales and marketing expert–set into motion a rigorous cost-cutting policy that would increase Ford’s stagnating annual profit margin. Within four years, he recalls, his policies had earned him “the respect of the one group that had always been suspicious of me: the bean counters.”

Over the course of the 1970s, Iacocca instituted quarterly reviews of Ford staffers by their superiors. Known as an authoritarian, Iacocca would not take excuses from his employees, and he held each employee personally responsible for their output. His policies proved successful, but as Iacocca became more and more obsessed with making Ford profitable, he neglected to maintain the approval of the family business’s volatile boss. Personal relations between the two men turned from distant to ugly. The rift is often explained by Ford’s notion of Iacocca as a lower-class hired gun, a gifted immigrant salesman good for business and little else.

…………….One Ford public relations spokesperson explained, “Mr. Ford always regarded Mr. Iacocca as a rather vulgar Italian.” And all the while, Iacocca believed that his future in the automotive industry rested wholly on his balance sheets. Iacocca admits to becoming blinded by his hefty salary, and to ignoring Ford’s poor treatment of him. He claims, though, that “in 1975, Henry Ford started his month-by-month campaign to destroy me.”

Ford launched company investigations into travel expenses of leading executives. He targeted many of Iacocca’s protégés. Iacocca was repeatedly asked, at the risk of losing his job, to fire close friends of his. Iacocca wouldn’t resign because he had spent his whole professional career at Ford and, as he puts it, “I wanted that $1 million [salary] so much that I wouldn’t face reality.” Ford installed a series of new positions to decrease Iacocca’s power as company president; finally, in 1978, he called Iacocca into his office to inform him his services were no longer needed. Iacocca stated that Ford gave him no reason for the firing. “It’s personal. Sometimes you just don’t like somebody,” Ford had said. So Lee Iacocca, arguably the automotive industry’s most successful executive, was left without a job. He would later agree to run Chrysler.