Germany - the birthplace of the modern automobile

In the 1950s, the streets were filled with low-price compact cars such as the BMW Isetta, the Messerschmitt cabin scooter or the Goggomobil produced by Hans Glas. However, towards the end of the decade, there was also a boom in the production of luxury saloons and sports cars, with legendary models such as the 300 SL from Mercedes-Benz, the BMW 507 and the Porsche 911. In the 1960s, the VW Beetle became one of the top-selling cars in the world. The 1970s were the era of the Volkswagen Passat and Golf, with the Manta sports car from Opel achieving cult status. Daimler-Benz, in particular, caused a sensation in the 1980s and 1990s with innovations such as the safety body shell with crumple zones and the first airbag.

In the former East Germany, two large producers inherited the legacy of old-established motor manufacturers: "VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau" developed the Trabant, also affectionately known as "Rennpappe" or cardboard race car, and "VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach" in Thuringia produced the Wartburg. Although the Wartburg was bought by customers as far afield as the UK and the Netherlands, it was the Trabant, which first rolled off the line in 1957, that dominated the streets of the former East Germany.

The era of East German car production came to an end with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The last of a total of 3.7 million Trabants rolled off the assembly line on 30 April 1991 and straight into a museum. However, the legend of the Trabant lives on: as a cult object in the "Trabi" films of the 1990s and as a tourist attraction on special sightseeing tours in eastern Germany.