The phenomenal success of Volkswagen's diminutive two-door sedan in the American automobile market in the 1950s and 1960s was a classic example of conventional wisdom proven false. Detroit's car manufacturers and their advertising agencies marketed large, comfortable cars with futuristic styling and plenty of extra gadgets. Futuristic rocket fins were in, and the more headlights and tail lights, the better. "Planned obsolescence" was built in: the look and feel of each year's models were to be significantly different from those of the previous year. But throughout the 1950s, there was a persistent niche market in foreign cars, particularly among better-educated drivers who thought that Detroit's cars looked vulgar and silly, and who were appalled by their low mileage. Most European imports got well over 20 miles per gallon to an American automobile's eight. The German manufacturers of the Volkswagen claimed that their "people's car" got 32 miles per...