Most people think the Volkswagon Beetle came from the 60's, but it was actually developed in the 30s under the NAZIs. Autos at the time were upper middle class or better luxuries, and so Hitler wanted a car that ordinary people could buy and drive. The result became the Volkswagon "People's car" Beetle.
The design and concept was a smash hit. So much so that the Beetle survived being associated with Hitler, World War II and NAZIs, and went on to become a wildly successful global brand. This is because like the Model T before it, it pushed the boundary of the middle class lifestyle downwards to include more people. A generation after Americans bombed German cities, their baby boomer kids would drive around in Beetles as their first car, freeing their generation from home.
So in 2012, what is the people's car? The top candidate for me is the Tata Nano in India:
This is the world's smallest and cheapest car. It would probably not have a big market here, but for India, it once again pushes a middle class lifestyle down within reach of millions more Indian families, which had to drive much more dangerous motorcycles.
I actually like the Volt and the drive that GM had to produce it. It generally does what they said it would. Allowed to succeed or fail on its own merits, it is a good example of the entrepreneurial spirit of capitalism.
But the Volt has been linked now to the Obama administration and the auto bailout, and it is going to be judged along with it. Its success or failure now is one of politics, not engineering and marketing. The Volt was already being developed by the time Obama came onto the scene, but since the bailout of GM, the Obama administration has effectively claimed the Volt as one of its accomplishments, as a benefit of the bailout.
So how then, does Obama and the Volt compare to these? Obama and the Volt are actually the anti-Volkswagon. Rather than continuing to push a middle class lifestyle downwards to include ever more people, Obama immediately added higher CAFE restrictions for mileage, which will drive up the price of cars. As for Obama's Volt, it accomplishes Obama's goals of pushing electric hybrid cars, but the high price and maintenance costs make it unaffordable for most. People aren't rushing to buy it, because it doesn't meet their needs. The only way he can sell it is to force people, through involuntary subsidies or government buying.
In comparison Hitler, one of the worst dictators in history, wanted a people's car for the masses that they would want. And they loved the car, because it benefited themselves. On the other hand the democratically elected president Obama, however, wants to impose a car design on people that we were not crying out for, but is one that fits the mold of what he wants us to drive.