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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe VW van goes to the great junkyard in the sky — that’s it for the microbus
The Volkswagen microbus, that zany cultural icon of the flower-power Sixties and, more soberly, the workhorse of small businesses worldwide for more than 60 years, will finally give it up and head for the barn.
In December, according to this piece from Der Spiegel, Volkswagens operation in Brazil, the only country where the old buses are still made, will end production of the old Type 2 transporter, that rattling and wheezing contraption that nonetheless performed in a mostly faithful manner. The reason for axing the old bus is fairly mundane, too, but just as predictable in the 21st century nanny state starting in 2014, cars made in Brazil must have standard anti-lock brakes and air bags, something VW apparently decided not to do on the less-than-modern microbus. (It would be soooooo out of character, anyway, to have a charming car like that with ABS and air bags.)
So its the end of an era. The VW microbus, known variously as the Kombi or the Bulli or just the Bus, was a binge kind of vehicle it held an extraordinary amount of stuff and you could cram a lot of people into it for one of those Sixties events, whether you were heading for a demonstration or a Jefferson Airplane concert.
My sister generously loaned me her 1963 23-window (including 8 skylights) microbus one winter and I drove it from New York to Colorado, where it spent a hardy year in service as a college town errand-runner, party-runner, beerkeg-runner, date-runner, all without breaking a sweat. In terms of contemporary auto safety, those things were incredibly dangerous the only thing between the driver and the car you were about to hit was the front-of-the-bus sheet metal a few inches from your knees. The engine was in the rear. But they were fun, they were useful and they reeked with character.
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http://blog.sfgate.com/topdown/2013/09/11/the-vw-van-goes-to-the-great-junkyard-in-the-sky-thats-it-for-the-microbus-after-64-years-of-wheezing-up-hills/
rurallib
(62,433 posts)trip across the US in its honor.
Oh if the VW bus could talk ........................
Initech
(100,097 posts)House of Roberts
(5,179 posts)why all the Bosch parts for the Type 4 have Made in Brazil on them for so many years.
madamesilverspurs
(15,806 posts)For me it's not possible to see one of those without hearing Jefferson Airplane or Iron Butterfly or Joan Baez or . . .
dionysus
(26,467 posts)years back but it just wasn't the same.
riqster
(13,986 posts)Nothing like the Bus. Nowhere in the world. Truly unique.
MiniMe
(21,718 posts)bmbmd
(3,088 posts)that chronicles the life of a couple of indy singers, on the coffee house tour, singing about a vw bus. The handsome young lad is my son.
I sincerely hope your son is straight, because I know from experience how life can be if someone is not.
Cute couple!
xfundy
(5,105 posts)I always thought of it as M&M brown and M&M orange. He was a weird dude, a sculptor. I always wanted to never be as weird as him, and hopefully I'm weird in a different way, although I still get pissed at kids on my lawn, even though I never cut it.
Would love to have one, I understand they made models that had popup roofs and extensions for camping. I've seen them, but sadly, I only ever trusted tents, which leaked if anyone touched the side when it rained.
I was a dumbass, but trying to adjust to the world took all my energy, and I did it for a short while, till the shit hit the fan in 2001. Not being dramatic. Actually, it was a one-two punch, "election" 2000 + 9/11.
Rosco T.
(6,496 posts).. still not scheduled, but this may move the plans along..
A HERETIC I AM
(24,373 posts)They have been prepping a new site for an expansion or a complete, new assembly line. Maybe they'll build that there!
The existing plant in Chattanooga builds the Passat exclusively
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)At least they are when driven by 19 year old guys.