No Way, Man! Last VW Bus To Soon Roll Off Assembly Line

[Recursion]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/09/23/225344120/no-way-man-last-vw-van-to-soon-roll-off-assembly-line

The last Volkswagen "hippie bus" is due to roll off an an assembly line in Brazil on Dec. 31.

It seems the van that became known as the transportation of choice for counter-culture folks in the '60s can't be made with the air bags and other safety equipment that "the man" wants it to have.

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.

Just to make clear: I find the journalistic tone here pretty stupid and condescending. It's one of the most important designs in the history of automobiles.

[Tom Ripley]

1. Ruh roh!

[HappyMe]

2. I have always wanted one of those.

[DetlefK]

3. What if they turn it electric?

The VW Beetle also came back, though nearly unrecognizable in its new design. (Move the driver's seat a little bit back from the snout and there's place for an airbag.))



An electric motor has way less moving parts, the gears are the same, so maintenance would be easier.

Forget all those fancy extreme-lightweight-metals: The Wartburg Trabant's exterior was made of plastic-covered cardboard.

Who cares about efficiencies and range and recharging-times? Make it in way that it can be hooked to an ordinary electric socket.

This could be their chance: cheap, new, forward-thinking. The first fully-electric fully-street-capable car at a reasonable price. Who cares about luxury or design?

[L0oniX]

4. Bummer!

[MineralMan]

5. I never owned one. Drove a few, though.

A classic that is being discontinued. Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

[TlalocW]

6. I was upset to hear about the last of the VW Bugs

The old kind with the engine in the back. Puebla, Mexico, stopped their production of it earlier this decade. I have a lot of fond memories of getting in bug taxis in Mexico, and having a friend drive me in hers and being amazed that it came with a factory-installed alarm.

I always had a dream of buying a brand new one and driving it back to America, but apparently it's illegal to bring one across the border.

TlalocW

[HooptieWagon]

7. I had a 1970 bus.

Drove it through the eighties...bought it with 140K on the odo, and traded it away with 500K on the odo. Lots of fun to drive! Had its drawbacks, though. No AC and very weak heater/defrost. Not much power, even though I hot-rodded the engine from 53HP to about 75. And the sun-roof leaked, which was very aggravating. But, it was very reliable (though it required regular maintainence), and was very inexpensive to operate and repair.