Windlass B612 & Switch Gear on 2040-parts.com

The first Volkswagen Beetle in America looked like this

On Jan. 17, 1949, the Holland America Line Westerdam pulled into New York Harbor from Rotterdam carrying the seed of an automotive empire. It had been only four years since Volkswagen resurrected operations in Wolfsburg, the factory heavily ruined by Allied forces and now under the command of Major Ivan Hirst.

Decision is near on Maybach

Daimler AG will decide the fate of Maybach by July 1. The two options: Kill the slow-selling superluxury sedan or partner with British carmaker Aston Martin on a second-generation car. At a Daimler event in Stuttgart, Germany, last week, CEO Dieter Zetsche said "there is a higher likelihood to come to a positive decision" for a second-generation Maybach if a partner is involved.

40 Years of Mmmm

In 1972, the Dow Jones closed above 1,000 for the first time, the Olympic Games in Munich were marred by the killings of 11 Israeli athletes, gasoline averaged 55 cents a gallon, Bobby Fischer became the world chess champion and the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam. It was also a notable year for German automaker BMW, as that year saw the birth of its famed M division.