query: When was Volkswagen first introduced in the U.S.?
passage: 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.
passage: Volkswagen Passat (B1)
The Volkswagen Passat (B1) is an automobile produced by Volkswagen in Germany from 1973 to 1981.
The original Volkswagen Passat was launched in 1973. The body types offered originally were two- and four-door fastback sedans (which has abandoned in 1981) and identically profiled three- and five-door versions. Externally all four shared a modern design, styled by the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. In essence, the first Passat was a fastback version of the mechanically identical Audi 80 sedan, introduced a year earlier. A five-door station wagon/estate was introduced in 1974. In Europe, the Passat was equipped with either two rectangular, two round units, or quadruple round headlights depending on specification.
The Passat was one of the most modern European family cars at the time, and was intended as a replacement for the aging Volkswagen Type 3 and Type 4. The Passat was "Wheels" magazine's Car of the Year for 1974 and its sister model Audi 80 was nominated car of the year by the European motor press a year earlier. The platform was named B1.