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September 24, 2013

Bummer

avwvannagon.jpg

No Way, Man! Last VW Bus To Soon Roll Off Assembly Line So Volkswagen is ending production in the last place where the van's still made; a factory near Sao Paulo.
Volkswagen Brazil is turning the final few into special editions. They'll come in sort of robin's egg blue with white trim. Inside: "Special vinyl upholstery" with those colors and blue curtains on the windows.
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Posted by gerardvanderleun at September 24, 2013 11:09 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

I didn't even know anyone was making them anywhere any more. VW still makes good cars, but they've left their roots behind too far. Not the Nazi ones, the "build a good affordable car for the people" ones.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at September 24, 2013 3:30 PM

I had one of those back in the day. No, not paisley and Filmore lettering, just a two-tone faded pea soup green and white. Even with a Porsche engine in 'er she didn't go all too fast. The Illinois winters were better than the hills of San Fran although not by much. Besides back then we were not in a hurry. We had our whole lives ahead of us. Lemme tell ya, smoke a couple joints and time really c r a w l e d in that bus.

Posted by: chasmatic at September 24, 2013 9:26 PM

I wonder what percent of the American population over the age of 45 has had one of the "original" VW, (air cooled engines).

I had a 1967 Baja Bug. It was a dune buggy you drive on the street. Hated to sell it.

Posted by: Mumblix Grumph at September 24, 2013 9:38 PM

First car: 1971 VW Super Beetle. Bought it in 1977, with 124k miles on the clock.

Ran like a Swiss watch, until ye olde lady in her Oldesmobile smited it rightly into a telephone pole. Bruised me, battered the car.

It is still the most logically and concisely engineered and assembled car that I've had the pleasure to have owned.

The buses were of the same stock, but sadly weren't "up-engineered" with more power, safer suspension and more useful brakes.

I put in many a mile as a passenger (age 8/9/10) in our YMCA's VW Safari van. That would have been late 1960s.

Sue me, I'm an olde farte, indeed.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at September 24, 2013 10:05 PM

Had a '66 bug (6 volt) with the shielded headlamps. Horrible in the snow for the snow covered the lights. Also had a '70 and a '72. Won't ever miss them, cramped with poor heat. (Vermont winters are not warm.)

Posted by: Peccable at September 25, 2013 4:06 AM

Had a 1972 bus and loved it. You had to get up a head of steam to pass another vehicle and forget it on hills. Winters in western Mass. were cold and it's heat was minimal. We had wool blankets up front to put over our legs for warmth. But it was exceptionally well engineered, never had to replace shocks, brakes (once), or alt/gen, or fuel pump. I had over 165000 miles when engine blew, put in another engine and got 40000 more miles. Drove from Ma to Fla several times, camped in it and had a ball. It served me well through college and into the work world. One of my all time favorite vehicles.

Posted by: .45 GAP at September 25, 2013 6:51 AM

Every time I saw in one of those VW vans I had this constant fear of losing my legs. Traveling over the road 1 foot from the bumper and protected by an 1/8th inch sheet of cheap metal was not comforting.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at September 25, 2013 8:56 AM

Saw an old one with this on the back: "Sorry; 40 old horses doing the best they can."

Posted by: Sam L. at September 25, 2013 12:40 PM

I remember seeing one tip rather precariously in a crosswind in the plains of Canada in the early 1970's (a family camping trip out to Banff.)

And then the 'fried out kombi' from my early high school years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9iY5y94s

Posted by: Mikey NTH at September 26, 2013 7:00 PM

Must be something about South America. Ford of Argentina was making the original, 1960 Falcon, with only cosmetic changes, right up until the early 1990s.

Posted by: waltj at September 27, 2013 5:53 AM

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