Ferdinand Porsche reached the rank of "SS-Oberführer". During the war, Porsche was further decorated with the SS-Ehrenring and awarded the War Merit Cross. As the war progressed his proposed solutions to new developments became more complex and Ferdinand Porsche gained a reputation in certain circles as a "mad scientist" especially with Albert Speer (mainly due to his new found affinity for "pointy" designs). A new city, "Stadt des KdF-Wagens" was founded near Fallersleben for the Volkswagen factory, but wartime production concentrated almost exclusively on the military Kübelwagen and Schwimmwagen variants. Mass production of the car, which later became known as the Beetle,
Tiger II from research, training, and a five-tank attachment to the Panzer Lehr, the Tiger II was only issued to heavy tank battalions ("schwere Panzer-Abteilungen") of the German Army ("Heer"), or "Waffen-SS". A standard battalion ("Abteilung") comprised 45 tanks: Units that used the Tiger II were as follows: Early Tiger IIs proved unreliable, owing principally to leaking seals and gaskets, and an overburdened drive train originally intended for a lighter vehicle. The double radius steering gear was initially particularly prone to failure. Lack of crew training could amplify this problem; drivers originally given only limited training on other tanks were often sent