Volkswagen Traffic Jam In NYC Photo Gallery

Volkswagen celebrated two anniversaries in 2013; the 75th Anniversary of the Type I Beetle, and the 60th Anniversary of the beautiful Karmann Ghia. Beetles, Microbuses, Things, and any air-cooled VW model all took the ferry over the Governors Island in Upper New York Bay (off the southern tip of Manhattan) for the enthusiast-run VW Traffic Jam. Shown in photo: Hood emblem on a 1956 Beetle.

Photo: Megan Green

The oldest car in the show was this 1949 Beetle. Volkswagen started exporting the Type I to the United States in 1949, actual production having started a decade earlier in what is now Wolfsburg, Germany.

Photo: Megan Green

1949 Type I models all had a split rear window, a feature that wasn't changed to a single oval window until 1953. Sales of the Beetle started out slow in the U.S., selling just two with a 25 horsepower engine that year.

Photo: Megan Green

While the engine was air-cooled, the passengers were water-cooled. Attached to the outside of the window, the Thermador Car Cooler took in air when the car was in motion, vaporizing the water and cooling the interior.

Photo: Megan Green

Kitted out with a luggage rack and a toolkit, the 1967 Beetle was the first year with a 1.5 liter engine, along with more than twice the horsepower - 52 hp - of the '49. Also new on the '67 was a 12-volt electrical system and back-up lights. Five years later in 1972, production of the Volkswagen Type I replaced the Ford Model T as the most-produced car of all time. (The Toyota Corolla took this record from VW in 1997.)

Photo: Megan Green

1965 was the first year the 1500, also known as the Notchback, was imported to North America. Not officially imported to the United States, many were brought in via Canada.

Photo: Megan Green

A 1971 1600 variant, or the Squareback - the estate wagon in the Type III family.

Photo: Megan Green

Also in the Type III family, the Fastback was supposed to replace the Notchback. Pictured here is a 1972 model; it was manufactured until 1973.

Photo: Megan Green

Several Karmann Ghias showed up. The prototype was designed and created in 1953 by Luigi Segre; production of the coupe began in 1955, and production of the convertible two years later in 1957. Pictured here is a 1974 Karmann Ghia, the second-to-last model year. 

Photo: Megan Green 

It's a Thing! The rear-engine, manual transmission off-road vehicle with roots in the German military started production in 1968, and was only sold in the United States for a few years in the early 1970's. Sales here ended due to implementation of stricter safety standards that the Thing couldn't meet.

Photo: Megan Green

Restoration on this 1956 23-Window Deluxe Microbus was completed in 2001. It was one of the last VW Microbuses to be manufactured in Wolfsburg before production moved to a more automated facility in Hanover.

Photo: Megan Green