Do you know where you are traveling on vacation?

This 1963 ad for VW service features a 1500 Ghia in an exotic Mediterranean locale to underscore the idea that service for every VW is available anywhere. A very nice oversized reprint of the ad was produced by P.A.R.C. with the permission of Volkswagenwerk AG, so you can get your very own copy.

[h/t to JL]

VW+VW1500 gift guide

Though it's not very widely known, the small appliance manufacturer Braun offered a few auto accessories in the 1960s. Their T 510/580 portable radios, introduced in 1962, were available with an under-dash slide-in mount that allowed you to use your radio in the car and also take it with you, like the Blaupunkt Derby and similar radios from other manufacturers. What Braun offered that the others didn't was the international-style aesthetic of industrial designer Dieter Rams. Rams has a cult following among design fans and his work for Braun in the '60s is thought to be the inspiration for much of Apple's award-winning product design of the last few years. He's currently the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Design Museum in London. These radios come up for sale occasionally but the under-dash mounts would have to be among the rarest of the rare of auto accessories.



Braun also offered an automotive version of the famous Reinhold Weiss desk fan. The design was also licensed to VDO, so there are both Braun and VDO branded versions out there. One of these would be right at home in an early VW 1500.

VW+VW1500 gift guide

In addition to VDO and Gossen, Weigand also made 85mm tachs that fit in the VW 1500 dash. The 7000 rpm Weigand tach pictured in this 1969 ad is similar to one that's advertised for sale on The Samba right now.

VW+VW1500 gift guide

Kamei offered lots of practical and functional kitsch for the VW 1500 including accelerator pedal covers and parcel trays.



According to the ad, the pedal cover keeps the accelerator mechanism clean, protects the floor mat and tunnel from wear, relaxes the foot muscles and promotes good circulation. It also makes your accelerator pedal look like it's melting!

VW+VW1500 gift guide

The Petri/VDM model 355 steering wheel, aka the "coach" or "carriage" wheel, was available for the VW 1500 beginning in 1965 and was a popular upgrade. Here's an early ad:



This ad from 1969 lists a different version for Karmann-Ghias after 1967:

VW+VW1500 gift guide

A Hirschmann auto antenna to go along with your new radio.

VW+VW1500 gift guide

Jokon accessory reverse lights, including the VW 1500 version.

Tourist delivery ad, 1965

This small ad from the travel section of a 1965 issue of Sunset magazine was of one of the ways the tourist delivery program was publicized. The ad was placed by Volkswagen Pacific, the West Coast regional VW distributor at the time. The tourist delivery program allowed buyers to take delivery of U.S.-spec 1500S Squarebacks in advance of the official introduction of the 1600 model by VW of America in late 1965.

Eberspächer heaters can break even the polar cold

It's cold this morning. I could use one of these.


The driver of the VW 1500 is kinda cute.

Volkswagen + VW 1500 ad, 1961

More modernist typography and layout from the Volkswagen + VW 1500 marketing campaign: a 2-page ad in the 1962 edition of International Auto Parade.




Roughly translated, the copy says the 1200 is a sensible car for a "number cruncher," and the 1500 is a sensible car for someone who needs something more.

Volkswagen + VW 1500 ad, 1962

Thanks to Lee Hedges for sending in this ad he found in a 1962 copy of VW Informationen, VW's internal magazine for dealers.



It's the only ad I've seen that tries to integrate the Swiss Modern Volkswagen + VW 1500 marketing campaign and the illustration-based advertising style that was typical of VW's earlier publicity. Thanks again Lee!

VW 1500 "S Type," October 1963

An ad introducing the dual-carb 1500S from the October 1963 issue of Safer Motoring.

VW 1500 Karmann-Ghia ad, August 1965

This one's for all the Type 3 fanatics in the Low Countries.
From the August 1965 issue of Gute Fahrt.

VW 1500 Karmann-Ghia ad, February 1963

From the February 1963 issue of Gute Fahrt.

No, it's not the new Pirelli calendar...

...it's a Veith-Pirelli ad from 1965 featuring a 1500S Karmann-Ghia. Now that's hot.