BUSINESS ABROAD: No Car for the People

When Adolf Hitler proudly announced his "people's car" in 1938, his German Labor Front promptly began taking orders—with payment in advance. All told, 336,000 Germans optimistically paid in $112 million for Volkswagens, but only a scattered few got delivery before the tiny production of the company was stopped by World War II. With the successful comeback of the postwar Volkswagen company under Heinz Nordhoff (TIME, Feb. 15), the earless car owners sued Volkswagen to get an auto. But Nordhoff refused to recognize the debt. Last week the German High Federal Court at Karlsruhe ruled that Nordhoff was right. Said the court:

"The allegation that the German Labor Front acted only as the agent of Volkswagen . . . is not correct. It is clear that the German Labor Front wanted to retain full control over purchase and delivery of cars, for political and economic reasons, and that . . . Volkswagen was excluded from business activities and restricted to production. For this reason, it is evident that Volkswagen shares no co-liability."