William Werner (the Technical Director of Auto Union) together with the Auto Union chief designer, Oskar Siebler, had the idea of the unique two stroke oiling system "Lubrimat" while drinking their coffee in the Alpine Franzenshöhe cafe - on 17 March 1959. In their words, whereas the two stroke engine was a remarkable power unit, "its malodorous blue-smoky smell" offended people. The Lubrimat was intended to fix this. This invention, while noteworthy at the time, ultimately hastened the death of two stroke automotive engines in the world outside Eastern Europe. It was touted as "Sensation at the International Automobile Exhibition 1961". After that cup of coffee - Werner and Siebler filed a patent for the Lubrimat in April 1959. Commercial The Düsseldorf plant (in the old Rheinmetall - Borsig factory) produced 171,008 Auto Union 1000s during the six-year model run. The pretty 1000 Sp sports version continued in production for another two years, until 1965, notching up sales around 5,000 for the hard-top version and 1,640 for the cabriolet. The production of the car was extensively shown in the 1960 film "Traume Sie Kaufen Konnen". The car was sold worldwide and was popular in markets where its characteristics suited the local conditions well. Export sales were especially strong in Africa and the car was well regarded for its robust and reliable construction. In countries where its sporting heritage is especially strong, such as South Africa, the car has since acquired a legendary status. In 2012, the South African artist Steve Hofmeyr released a song, "DKW" which, taking in the Auto Union 1000, expressed a nostalgia for the car as a representation of solidity and reliability. Import tariffs made the Auto Union 1000 a costly car in certain markets, and sales were slow in countries where the 1960s "Buy British" campaigns were effective. In New Zealand, for example, a 1960 Auto Union 1000S could be bought from Crosbie Motors in Invercargill for £1578 at a time when larger cars were selling for significantly less. The Auto Union 1000 also enjoyed much publicity from being prominently featured in European films of the day, such as the German musical comedy Hula-Hopp, Conny, the German Comedy Robert and Bertram and the Swedish film Mannekäng i rött . In 1970, well after the car's production ended, an Auto Union 1000S featured as the star in the German comedy film Das kann doch unsren Willi nicht