BOC Week 10: Famous Lemon Ad for Volkswagen

Volkswagen hit a home run with there 1960 add of the Volkswagen Beetle for a few reasons. First off they knew it would be hard to sell in the US only being a few years after world war II and being manufactured in Germany. Knowing that they where already at a major disadvantage they decided to focus on the negative and make it appear posative. Volkswagen did this by placing the wrod LEMON in dark bold print under the pictue of the car with an explination that there was a blemish on the chrome strip of the glove compartment. I dont know about you but any company that claims there car is a lemon for the sole purposed of an easily fixable cosmetic flaw is implying that this is an amazing machine. If a cosmetic flaw constitutes a LEMON than everything else must be meticulously combed over.The original add read
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"The Volkswagen missed the boat. The chrome strip on the glove compartment is blemished and must be replaced. Chances are you wouldn't have noticed it; Inspector Kurt Kroner did.There are 3,389 men of our Wolfsburg factory with only one job; to inspect Volkswagens at each stage of production. (3,00 Volkswagens are produced daily; there are more inspectors than cars.)Every shock absorber is tested (spot checking won't do), every windshield is scanned. VWs have been rejected for surface scratches barely visible to the eye.Final inspection is really something! VW inspectors run each car off the line onto the Funktionsprüfstand (car test stand), tote up 189 check points, gun ahead to the automatic brake stand and say "no" to one VW out of fifty.This preoccupation with detail means the VW lasts longer and requires less maintenance, by and large, than other cars. (It also means a used VW depreciates less than any other car.)We pluck the lemons; you get the plums." What a revolutionary idea they had by focusing on this.