End of an Era? Not Quite

Still looks like a panda bear with a unibrow

Earlier today Connor posted about the recent passing of the Type II Microbus. After doing a bit of searching I found some news that should put a smile on the faces of all the VW van lovers out there. The latest Kombi was a very slightly updated version of the model from 1967. It had the 78hp 1.4L engine carried over from the VW Fox and a large black radiator cut into the front. For the past 37 years the little van has been produced in massive numbers in Brazil. Recently there has been some legislation which requires all vehicles produced there to have ABS and airbags. The bus's production was in danger of being canceled, but then some big names in the Brazilian government gave a glimmer of hope, saying that they could see waiving the legislation restrictions on the Kombi. Their reasoning was that there is currently no match to the van on the market there and therefor nothing to replace it. Hopefully they continue making that little guy for at least a little while.

Connor, as for the beetle, 2003 called and they have some sad news for you.

-G-

sources:
Image: onlycarsandcars.blogspot.com
http://jalopnik.com/reports-of-the-death-of-the-vw-microbus-may-have-been-a-1485549668

The end of an era. I've got a soft spot for microbuses

The Last VW Microbus
By Connor Wilkinson

The Last Bus Arrives (www.autoweek.com)

          A sad day is upon us. On December 20, 2013, the very last Type-2 Kombi Last Edition was assembled in Brazil. Sure, America phased it out in the 70's, but Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil had the honor of carrying on the legacy. I love these things- almost got one as my first car when I was 16. At any rate, demand just never died for these things. The worst part is that IT STILL HASN'T. The only reason it is leaving us is that the Brazillian government changed its safety policies.

          The very last production model (the 1,200th) has arrived in Germany to be kept pristine with other VW products from through the ages at the vehicle exhibit of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle headquarters in Hanover. The bus has had many different alterations to it's design, but it retained it's iconic form. an example of these changes- the latest models were water-cooled (where as air cooled has always been the standard in the microbus), but again, the bus remained a "sleek" two-tone bread box. The symbol of Volkswagen MPV's lived a long life with 3.5 million units produced since 1950.

         Now I know it hardly belongs on a site with sections for Hot Rods, drag racing, and classic muscle cars, but regardless- it has been in the automotive world far longer than most vehicles. And that is pretty admirable. See the full article at autoweek.com for more about the revered history of the microbus, the second longest produced passenger vehicle with 63 years of production, second only to the beetle, which is still kicking. Germans do something right with their cars.

-C-

-ThrownRods-

*Edit* Griffin has made me acutely aware of the fact that the Microbus may not be discontinued after all. As I referenced in the first paragraph of the post, the Brazilian production ceased because of governmental policy. Therefore, currently the bus is out of production, however it may very well be brought back soon. See the article at Jalopnik. And yes Griffin, I love little vans. I don't know what is wrong with that. :)