Volkswagen
Volkswagens were first exhibited and sold in the United States in 1949, but sold only two units in America that first year. On entry to the U.S. market, the VW was briefly sold as a "Victory Wagon". Volkswagen of America was formed in April 1955 to standardise sales and service in the United States. Production of the Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle increased dramatically over the years, the total reaching one million in 1955.
Volkswagen Gol
In January 1983 a four-door Voyage sedan was released. It was known as the VW Amazon in some export markets, later as the Fox in North America. The four-door Voyage was built in the Autolatina Pacheco factory in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 1983 to 1994. It was sold under the name Gacel (later also as the Senda) with the Argentine-built 1.6 OHC engine with a carburettor, later also with a diesel 1.6.
The first generation (or "G1") Gol had two mild facelifts for 1987 and 1991. The 1989 Gol GTi was the first Brazilian-built car to use fuel injection. The 2.0-liter inline-four engine was the same used by the Santana. In 1991, as a result of changes to the tax laws in Brazil, a flurry of cars with engines under one litres appeared. Fiat was first (with the Fiat Mille), and Volkswagen quickly responded with the spartan Gol 1000. It had a Ford-developed 997 cc engine (a result of their recent Autolatina joint venture) with and was not available in any other bodystyle. Between 1990 and 1995 the Ford CHT 1.6 replaced the original 1.6 in the range, also as a result of the Autolatina lineup.