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Volkswagen or VW is part of the third largest car and LCV manufacturer in the world (OICA, 2009) - Volkswagen Group AG. The group owns and manages eight other brands: Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, Skoda, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, with which the company covers a huge product range from low-consumption small cars to luxury class vehicles for passengers and spans pick ups, buses and heavy trucks for commercial use. The name of Volkswagen means "people's car" as it was conceived with the idea to provide a basic, safe and comfortable automobile, which can be afforded by the majority of people. Today the brand is synonymous to "car" in general and it is not by chance that its present slogan is "Das Auto" - The Car. Volkswagen nowadays stands for attractive, safe and environmentally sound vehicles, which are highly competitive in their specific classes. Some of the best achievements of the brand are the most economical car of all time, the largest and most potent diesel powerplant ever to be installed in a passenger vehicle, the fastest sports car in the world. Volkswagen was created in 1937 by the German Labour Front as Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH because of the growing demand for a compact and affordable vehicle. The first prototypes appeared even before the creation of the company - in 1936 on under the supervision of the chief designer Dr. Ferdinand Porsche. The project had to stop with the break of WWII and the following economic restrictions on Germany. But from 1948 on Volkswagen became synonymous of the country's regeneration. This became possible with the introduction of Volkswagen Type 1, better known as the Beetle, which by 1973 reached 16 million produced cars. In the 1960s the company introduced the Type 3 and Type 4 cars, acquired Auto Union and NSU Motorenwerke AG, and changed its name to Volkswagen AG. It was the 1970s challenges that motivated the company to incorporate more design and technology innovations and launch the Passat, Scirocco, Golf and Polo brands. Together with the Jetta and the Caddy, these were leading cars for the VW portfolio. After 1991 the company continued to expand its portfolio and started to move upmarket. Nowadays, under the Volkswagen brand are produced Caddy, Eos, Fox, Golf, Jetta, Multivan, New Beetle, Passat, Phaeton, Polo, Scirocco, Sharan, Tiguan, Touareg, Touran with name variations for the different markets. Detailed technical data for specific Volkswagen models may be examined by clicking on the names of the models provided below.