Volkswagen: Model Documentation: Beetle to 412, Including Transporter (Boxer Engine Models)

on the plus side it was a pleasant read with lots of photographs and some insight into the history and development of the VW brand through the years. However, it was not the book of documentation I expected.I purchased this book expecting detailed vehicle documentation. I expected vehicle serial numbers by model year with production runs beginning and ending chassis numbers, engine serial numbers by year. model option codes and what were common accessories such as radio types and models. Paint colors and codes, interior colors and fabric options. Unfortunately there was very little detailed research documentation.There were listings of changes introduced in certain model years, but this information appears to be generalized and not chassis number specific enough to use for serious vehicle documentation and research. Model changes were indicated by model years. VW changes sometimes would come mid model year and indicated by chassis numbers before and after the change.There was only brief mention of the Hannover plant and the export factory at Ingolstadt.If you are looking for a nice read, though I question some of the information provided, this is a nice book with lots of pictures. If you are looking for serious documentation, I would look elsewhere.

I've now gone thru most of this book and I have to say that overall, I have very mixed feelings. The author clearly put a lot of work into researching the data to present here, but it is often not presented in a way that makes it easy to follow. There are also a number of places where statements are made which I believe are clearly wrong.While the emphasis of the book is on the history of the various VW type 1, 2, 3 & 4 models and all their variations, changes, and improvements over the years, this information is seldom presented in a consistent way. Models are often discussed before we are introduced to them, and sometimes we are never introduced. There is continuing confusion between model year and calendar year, to the point that conflicting statements are made on different pages and only a knowledgable reader will know which to believe.The book appears to have been written originally in German, so some of the problems may be in the translation, which may have been by someone with little knowledge of cars or VWs. There are numerous German language references, with careful English translations, but there are also a few terms which appear to be simple direct translations without regard to what the normal English language term might be. Most of the writing is fine, but there are a few places where a good editor's touch would have been useful.A regular feature of the book is a table of changes for each model. This would be a wonderful thing if it were arranged by model year (when VW went by model years) rather than calendar year. These tables would also be more useful if they occurred with the text discussing that model, rather than a few pages later, after the discussion of the next model has already begun.Nevertheless, the author does a good job of presenting the development of VW from the pre and post WW II years thru the end of the air cooled era, the crises they weathered, and many of the personalities involved. There are loads of interesting facts, as well as photographs I've not seen elsewhere, which would be of interest to many VW fanatics.

This was a disappointing book. It goes through a recitation of model year changes, but doesn't provide any insight into why changes were made or what drove design decisions. Also, it's focused on changes for the German market models, so not especially helpful for U.S. models.

The book has the history of one of my favorite cars around the automobile history explaind every detail of the car

Awesome