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The bus is coming back The bus is coming back
Peter Valdes-Dapena
http://money.cnn.com/2002/08/23/pf/autos/microbus/index.htm
he Microbus is coming back! Get ready for a trip back to the '60s: The VW Microb us is slated to make a 2005 comeback. Groovy! August 27, 2002: 1:30 PM EDT By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN/Money Staff writer NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Volkswagen announced this summer that it will introduce a modernized version of the German carmaker's pre-minivan minivan in 2005. The original went into production in the early 1950s but really made a splash in the fab 1960s. Modernizing is probably a good thing here. As wonderfully appealing as the old Microbus was it had, shall we say, some issues. Even though I was still a child when my family ditched ours, I well remember the Microbus experience. A few e-mails among my older siblings, who actually spent time in the driver's seat while I was kicking around on one of the removable bench seats in the back, filled in some of the memorable details I wasn't able to experience. My parents bought the Microbus in 1965, about a year after I was born. Being that I was the last of my parents' 11 children, the Sunday drive to church had gotten a little snug in Mom's VW Beetle. (If my father had been the churchgoing type, they probably would have sprung for the Microbus a good bit sooner.) I mostly remember the sound of the bus's overworked air-cooled engine and the view of tree branches whizzing by those narrow rectangular windows around the roof. Also, there was that special plastic-and-oil interior smell that VW should have trademarked in those years. A few years after we got the bus my older brother, Mark, finally replaced the big, leaky cloth-and-vinyl sunroof with a sheet of Plexiglas and lots of caulking. All the older kids who actually drove it recall the distinctly insufficient engine, the commuter bus-style handling characteristics, and the long stick shift that was like swishing a mop around in a bucket. But, though it limped along at the end with its windshield wipers tied together and its VW nose emblem pocked with rust, it lasted us about a decade. Not a bad showing for a motor vehicle of the time. The new version The new Microbus, introduced as a concept vehicle in January 2001, has a few features that should make it a big improvement over the earlier versions. The concept Microbus, for example, features a 230 horsepower V6 engine and a 5-speed automatic with Tiptronic clutchless shifting. Then there's the onboard movie multiplex theater, something I definitely would have remembered if we'd had it in ours. The concept has a 7-inch screen in the center console and four other 8-inch screens in the backs of the first and second-row seats. The middle seats can swivel for a better view of a DVD/game console screen. Folded down, the back of the DVD/game screen functions as a small table. The seats on the concept are covered in "Cotton White" nappa leather. The second row is a pair of bucket seats that swivel 180 degrees, while the third row is a bench with two contoured seats. Both the second and third rows can be moved around on a set of rails. The floor is covered with a semitransparent rubber mat that's easily removed so it can be hosed off. Underneath that is an aluminum floor. The combination adds a glow to the inside of the Microbus concept. Our old bus also had removable rubber flooring and, underneath that, the floor was semitransparent thanks to a material called rust. Instead of opening outward, as the doors on our old Microbus did, the concept vehicle has powered sliding doors. And the door handles retract via remote control so they stick out only when you need them. It remains to be seen, of course, which of the fancy features from the concept vehicle will make it to the final production version. Not everything the VW design team in California came up with likely will be practical for a real production vehicle. If anyone's asking, I'd like see the old round headlights comeback. It just not a Microbus without them. The DVD screen that doubles as a snack tray is a nice touch, though.
 2002-08-27 (12.75k)
Visitor Comments (Add your Comments)
06/02/07 bob Middle bench seat for sale, 1972 VW Bus. $70.00
12/18/02 Kevin speaking of church going, my dad was telling me a story of when he took us to church in our 67 beetle, two kids in the luggage compartment, four in the back seat, dad in the driver seat, and mom holding one on her lap, she wasn't too happy about it, but my dad says you have to keep a sense of humor or life will get too rough.
12/18/02 jaw The VW Type 2 has always been in transition (like the Ford Mustang) and sometimes change is good and sometimes change is bad. The author of the CNN article tells the same old VW var story we all do....this is rusty....that didn't work--exactly what good memories are made of!
09/05/02 ED The new beetle worked because of the design. The new bus will not work in my opinion because it's just another mini-van (yes a VAN) with a roller coaster marketing ploy behind it. Drastically change the design and It may spark my interest!
09/05/02 Julian dalton concept car for the old hippies??? Really, If they are still hippies then they are still on there arse, stoned and cannot afford a new vehicle, which is why they adopted 2nd hand wrecked busses in the first place
09/05/02 Roy the picture would have been cool if you hadnt put that big stupid comment under it. youre sister is hot
08/28/02   the concept VAN is a piece crap,at least they could put in a split window in it, That's what everyone wants A SPLIT WINDOW BUS!!!
08/27/02 Sid Vicious Sounds like your "brother" really took care of things. I bet it would have been a lot easier and cheaper for your brother to go down to the dealer and get a correct sunroof cover. The way your family took care of that bus probably put it in the junkyard.
08/27/02 buc i just think that it needs to look more like an old bus and that the price will wind up being enormous. also, good luck trying to work on it in your own garage. this ain't no simple air cooled vw, that's for sure. let's see what develops!
08/27/02 Ian Stuart "Groovy" is just the reason I don't want it coming back. Its just a way for VW to get some money out of the old hippies by tricking them into thinking there is some sort of similarity between NEW vans, (despite the title of the vehicle they will never be buses) and old buses. If a new VAN driver waves at me in an attempt of camaraderie Ill flip him the bird.
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