The Volkswagen Hippie Van is a Cool Comeback- Can you Dig the New Groovy Iconic VW Bus?

The old VW van, known as the “Hippy Van” is on its way back. The friendly looking VW van from “back in the day” has been deeply embedded in our culture, especially within the Baby Boomer generation. For those who want to relive the Woodstock concert days and the retro-obsessed millennials Volkswagen unveiled its groovy new VW concept van.

“This vehicle unites past and future, as well as Pebble Beach and Silicon Valley. The Microbus has long been part of the California lifestyle. Now we’re bringing it back by reinventing it as an electric vehicle,” Volkswagen CEO Dr. Herbert Diess, said in a statement.

VW fans have awaited for the old iconic bus to reappear and reappear it has. The much-beloved classic Microbus reappeared during a during the Detroit Auto Show in 2017. It is anticipated that the Microbus is returning with a brand new modern design in the near future, but it is still has a way to go before the company releases their electric hatchback microbus at the start of the 2020s. Although it may have a long way to go, but the future seems “groovy” for the iconic VW hippy van.

With the redeveopment of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, this has been a passionate project aimed at folks who want to bring back an idyllic romance of the past.  “Emotional cars are very important for the brand. We are selling loads of Beetles still, particularly in US markets. But we will also have the Microbus that we showed, which we have recently decided we will build,” Deiss stated.

The VW microbus Buzz will be 194.5 inches long — 8.5 inches shorter than aHonda Odyssey minivan and 4 inches shorter than a Ford Explorer.  The new iconic VW bus, “Buzz,” will be manufactured at the Hanover, Germany, plant where all six earlier generations of VW’s van were built. The van will be exported in Europe, China and of course, the U.S..

The 1979 Campmobile listed for nearly $8,000, but featured sleeping space for four, plus a stove, refrigerator, table, closets, and louvered side windows.© Volkswagen of America, Inc.

The much-beloved classic Microbus reappeared during a during the Detroit Auto Show in 2017. It is anticipated that the Microbus is returning with a brand new modern design in the near future, but it is still has a way to go before the company releases their electric hatchback microbus at the start of the 2020s. Although it may have a long way to go, but the future seems bright for the iconic VW “hippy bus.”

The production of the iconic Volkswagen microbus which VW fans have awaited for ages to reappear, was officially confirmed by company CEO Herbert Deiss. Deiss shared that the microbus will be built as part of their new MEB platform (Modular Electrification Toolkit), Volkswagen’s brand new modular system for manufacturing electric vehicles.

Steve Jobs, Apple Computer and a VW Van

Legend has it that in 1975, Steve Jobs sold his hippy bus he owned to raise the $1,300 he and Steve Woziak needed to set up Apple Computer’s first production line.

The iconic VW Bus has been featured in countless cameo appearances in films and TV shows and is the stuff of legend, fantasy, sexuality, drugs, drink and rock and roll. The VW van is so deeply embedded in popular culture, that it will likely live on forever in the imagination of the Boomer generation.

VW Van Design History

Due to the microbus compact powertrain and flexible platform architecture, VW is promising the Buzz will have variable seating configurations. The commercial iteration was announced with Level 3 autonomy, VW has previously said all ID models would be fully autonomous by 2025. What is Level 3, you may ask? According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted the Society of Automotive Engineers’ levels for automated driving systems, ranging from complete driver control to full autonomy. Level 3: “Drivers are still necessary in level 3 cars, but are able to completely shift “safety-critical functions” to the vehicle, under certain traffic or environmental conditions. It means that the driver is still present and will intervene if necessary, but is not required to monitor the situation in the same way it does for the previous levels.”

The original Volkswagen bus was the creation of Dutch businessman Ben Pon, an importer of Beetles to the Netherlands, who saw the need for a small van. In 1947 he sketched out his idea. The VW engineers developed the concept and in March of 1950, the VW van, with its boxy shape and rear engine began production.

The iconic counterculture van developed many nicknames during its lifetime. Nicknames such as the “Splittie” (for its split windshield),“Combi” (for combined-use vehicle) and in Germany it was known as the “Bulli.”

Many Americans began referring to the bus as the “hippie van,”  because it was used to transport many young people to anti-war protest. Many owners began painting colorful images and murals on their vans. They would often replace the VW emblem on the front with a peace symbol.

The Volkswagen van was only the second vehicle produced for the German company. The Volkswagen company dates back to the 1930s Germany. Germany Chancellor Adolf Hitler in 1933 announced he wanted to construct new roads and affordable cars for the people of Germany. During that time, Ferdinand Porsche, who was born in Austria (1875-1951) was already working on developing a small car for the masses. Hitler and Porsche later met and the engineer was charged with designing the inexpensive, mass-produced Volkswagen, or “people’s car.” In 1938, work began on the Volkswagen factory, located in present-day Wolfsburg, Germany; however, full-scale vehicle production didn’t begin until after World War 11.

In the 1950s, the Volkswagen arrived in the U.S., where the initial reception was tepid, due in part to the car’s historic Nazi connection as well as its small size and unusual rounded shape (which later led to it being dubbed the “Beetle”). In 1959, the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach launched a groundbreaking campaign that promoted the car’s diminutive size as a distinct advantage to consumers, and over the next several years VW became the top-selling auto import in the U.S. In 1972, the VW Beetle passed the iconic Ford Model T as the world’s best-selling car, with over 15 million vehicles produced.

The 1972-1979 Volkswagen Bus kicked off a four-year advance on the powertrain front, and concluded with VW planning for the third-generation Volkswagen Bus.

The 1972 Volkswagen Bus gained the 1700-series engine from Volkswagen’s model-411 passenger car. It had 72 horsepower and cut 0-60 mph times from over 30 seconds to a more-acceptable 22 seconds. Quarter-mile times fell to 23 seconds, and official top speed increased to 75 mph.

For 1973, the Volkswagen Bus was offered for the first time with automatic transmission. It was a $235 option and had three speeds. It was thoughtfully matched to the 1700 engine, maintaining each gear until well up in the rev range and downshifting promptly for good passing response. At about 23.6 seconds 0-60 mph.

1950 VW Type 2 Pickup

The first-generation of the iconic VW Type 2 bus was built from 1950 to 1967 in the U.S., and though it may have been most recognizable in its standard Kombi trim, the company also offered two pickup variants: a flatbed model, and a standard single cab trim.

Unfortunately, the “Chicken Tax” – which curtailed the import

 

ation of light work trucks from Europe into the U.S. – eventually killed the Type 2 pickup stateside in the late ‘60s, but the second-gen Type 2 pickup lived on for a number of years in markets like Brazil and Mexico.