VW confirms that the Microbus is coming back

Volkswagen may finally be ready to release a modern day version of the iconic Microbus, according to VW boss Herbert Diess. Volkswagen’s boss recently confirmed that a fully electric VW Microbus is in the works.

VW recently gave us a hint that at the Microbus’s return with the I.D. Buzz electric concept that debuted earlier this year. Based on VW”s new MEB platform, the I.D. Buzz concept is jus one of the three electric concepts that VW has showed off in the last year.

During the new VW Polo’s debut, Herbert Diess revealed, “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.”

Related: VW says: ‘Anything Tesla can do, we can surpass’

VW’s design boss Oliver Stefani also revealed his desires to create a new Microbus at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, “We would like to bring this back because it fits so well to what the brand stands for: it’s emotional, it has functionality, it makes your life easier.”

There’s no word yet when the new Microbus will debut, but when it does it will likely share many design cues with the I.D. Buzz concept. The Microbus will share its platform with the rest of VW’s new electric models, which means it won’t arrive until sometime after 2020.

With the MEB platform this is the chance now to get the proportions back,” Oliver Stefani stated. “But you can also get much more interior space, almost one class higher”.

Gorenje introduces the special edition VW Camper Van fridge

We have featured various home appliances based on this classic, but nothing as substantial as this Gorenje special edition VW Camper Van fridge.

Yes, you can get a fridge in two colour options (vintage baby blue or bordeaux red) based on the timeless and much-loved van and it looks amazing. A retro-style fridge based on the frontage of the van and complete with the logo is always going to be popular.

It’s also a practical item too. The fridge has an A+++ energy efficiency rating, 254 litres of net capacity, three adjustable glass shelves, a salad crisper drawer with humidity control, Freshzone drawer, bottle rack, LED interior lighting and of course, a freezer section.

So functionality matching the looks. Not too many stockists out there, but you can get it online for £1,149 in both colour options via Electrical Discount UK.

Find out more at the Electrical Discount UK website

http://www.dailyherald.com/entlife/20170612/vw-bus-reminiscent-of-surfing-culture

Guy Malpica was born in Chicago but moved with his family at the age of 5 to sunny Puerto Rico. There in the tropics, he grew to embrace the strong culture of family, balmy weather and his favorite pastime, surfing.

Uncles and friends owned VW buses and Guy routinely would jump in with five or six other relatives, and their boards, for long days out on the waves.

Guy, who now lives in Bensenville, moved back to Illinois in 1984 and for years sought to bring a tangible piece of those memories back with him. In 2014, he located the perfect icon to fulfill that wish: a classic VW bus.

“I wanted a vehicle to enjoy with my whole family and one that would represent me as a retired surfer,” Guy says. “I wanted to fix it in my style.”

He found a groovy red and white 1967 example in San Francisco and knew it was the right one. After getting it home, Guy wasted no time doing all his desired custom work. While he wanted a distinct style, he also wanted substance, so he dug into the Volkswagen’s history, researching and tracing its roots back several owners. Guy is the bus’ fourth owner but he located and talked to its second owner, Mike.

“He told me the bus had been bought new in Indiana,” Guy says. “It was (originally) used at a senior citizens center to move their guests around.”

Mike bought the bus from the center in the late 1980s and completed its first overhaul. Mike then sold it to a third owner out on the West Coast, where the VW eventually landed in Guy’s hands.

Since then, Guy has added such items as Wilwood disc brakes and a wooden roof rack up top, which is just perfect for hauling Guy’s short boards. He also painted the bumpers to match the body color. The bus features Porsche wheels and Guy plans to add a Porsche engine this winter to give his bus more “oomph.”

Inside, the cabin has been fully redone and features loads of room for Guy’s most regular passengers: his two daughters, Gianna and Diyanara. Together with Dyana, their mom and Guy’s wife, the family will motor all over the suburbs.

“Anytime we need to go somewhere, my girls will always ask to take the ‘red bus,’ ” Guy says. “They love it.”

Whether the family is cruising to Lake Geneva or through downtown Chicago, Guy reports the reactions are all the same.

“It’s always a hit,” he says. “People say hello, honk their horns and wave. The thing I like the most is the smiles.”

http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-news/glastonbury-perfect-vw-auction-85470

Want to travel to Somerset’s biggest music event in authentic style? A VW Type 2 split screen van, which featured in the cult 1980 film Getting Wasted is going under the hammer in the Charterhouse auction of classic cars on Sunday, June 18 and it would be perfect for Glastonbury (if you have cash to spare!).

“It’s probably one of the more distinctive vehicles we have had in our classic car auctions recently,” said associate director and head of the classic & vintage car and motorcycle deptartment, Matthew Whitney.

“Finished in its psychedelic paintwork, this lot is probably not one for the shy and retiring collector and is definitely not the sort of van you can lose in a car park.”

This could be the perfect Glastonbury vehicle and it’s up for sale

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Getting Wasted is a film set towards the end of the 1960s, hence the fabulous old school hippy-trippy psychedelia painted VW van

The film is based around a group of military school cadets who rebel and features David Caruso, who later starred in CSI: Miami and NYPD Blues, in his first film role.

This vehicle is probably not one for the shy and retiring collector

The VW Type 2 van has been owned by the Wiltshire vendor, a lifelong VW enthusiast, for over nine years.

He purchased the VW in America where he kept it for five years driving it around on visits and shipped it to England four years ago.

The van is a rare survivor, having been built in 1957.

With so many VW split screen vans from the 1950s and 60s having been converted into camper vans, attacked by tin-worm or recycled in the crusher, this very special van is going under the hammer on Sunday, June 18 just in time for Glastonbury the week after, for other summer festivals or just for hitting the road in.

Fitted with a later 1,500cc engine, which replaced the more lethargic 1,200cc motor, this piece of VW film history is expected to sell for £20,000-25,000 in the Charterhouse classic car auction.

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/volkswagen-pictures-bristol-volksfest-2017-105059

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Bristol Volksfest was a smash-hit in its new home at the weekend, with crowds enjoying a feast of cars, music and entertainment.

The festival, at Birches Farm in Long Ashton, featured music sets from Soul II Soul star Jazzie B, DJ Krafty Kuts, West Country legends The Wurzels and many more – and the event even had its own festival beer, from Bristol brewers beerd.

It was the show’s 25th birthday – and also the 50th anniversary of the Bay Window van and to pay tribute there was a special collection of 50 Bay Window vans on display.

Aside from the V-Dubs of all colours and modifications, there were vintage American street vans and other classic vehicles.

http://theconversation.com/how-did-the-vw-camper-turn-into-a-90-000-icon-79064

Only a handful of cars have ever managed to be considered both cute and cool at the same time. Fewer still acquire the kind of status that makes them sought-after collectors’ pieces in old age. Volkswagen’s original camper van has been firmly in this category for some time, and its position appeared to be confirmed after auctioneers set a top guide price at a record £90,000 for a pristine example due for sale.

These days, the VW camper is a ubiquitous feature of festival season or the summer surf scene, but it started life as a direct descendant of that other German classic, the Beetle. It came about only because of a suggestion and accompanying drawings made in 1947 by Dutch VW importer Ben Pon which imagined a cargo carrying vehicle or transporter on the chassis of the VW Beetle.

The concept of a small transporter was not new to the world. Europe’s bakers, tradesmen, plumbers, and others had been relying on compact vehicles with around half a ton of load capacity for decades. What was new after the World War II though was the idea of shortening the vehicle as much as possible to make it easier to manoeuvre in European cities, and to maximise cargo space.

VW wasn’t the only manufacturer trying to plug this gap in the market. All delivered an improvement over the long-bonneted, space-inefficient vehicles from before the war, but equally they all still had at least a bit of a “nose” which took up a sizeable portion of the vehicle’s overall length. Even worse, the pug-nosed vehicles built mostly by French companies managed to keep the length in check, but at the expense of driver comfort, pushing their engines in between the front seats to save space.

Affection

The VW van – sometimes known as the Type 2 (the Beetle was Type 1) – changed all this by shifting its air-cooled engine to the back altogether, allowing the driver and passenger to enjoy a relatively spacious compartment without much engine noise or engine heat. Driving the Type 2 was, in fact, a surprisingly refined and comparably quiet affair because of this, but also because of the very advanced suspension system VW employed.

This was an independent suspension for all four wheels, adapted from the Beetle. It did away with the crude, rigid axles and leaf springs that made rival vans a punishing experience, and offered road holding and handling that was superior even to some family cars. It might seem a quaintly ramshackle drive by modern comparisons, but the advanced and unconventional technology the van used in the middle of the last century helped build the reputation and customer affection that survives to this day.

Body construction was adaptable, and a large number of different types emerged over time, including delivery vans and micro passenger buses with any number of windows and window configurations. There were pickups, crew cabs with four doors, and, obviously, campers – some with folding roofs or raised roofs.

This cheap, durable, economical, comfortable vehicle spread all over the world, gaining a following everywhere it went. Its popularity reached the point where VW decided to produce it in more countries, including Australia, Argentina, and Brazil. Production continued in Latin America well over four decades after production of the Type 2 had ceased in Germany in 1967.

Counterculture

No competitor has ever managed to duplicate the factors that made the VW van such a success, or find the secret sauce behind its charisma and desirability.

One key reason for this may well be coincidence. You see, the VW Type 2, in all its guises, became closely associated with the hippie movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and with the progressive intellectual concepts of the time. An image was built that lasts till today. Mention the word “hippie van”, and no one thinks of a Toyota. The image that comes to mind is a flower-adorned VW camper with big eyes, being driven down a coastal highway in California by counterculture types in flared trousers, playing guitars and nursing impossible hairdos on beaches south of San Francisco.

VW really lucked out by having a monopoly at the right time as the sole purveyor of friendly-looking, economical campers that were easily recognisable as non-American just when that counterculture movement struck in the US. Friendly people with flowers in their hair began to drive them, live in them, attend open air festivals in them, and generally made them into the vehicle we all associate with the hippie movement to this day.

That combination of simple, wholesome German design and a dope-fuelled, tree-hugging spirit fulfilled some fundamental needs. Many can afford and run a small, reliable, well-engineered vehicle, especially when you can also live in it. Fuel consumption was low by comparison with US trucks at the time, and the possibilities for personalisation and adaptation allowed a break from conformity.

Driving a Type 2 meant being a rebel, and so it came about that the Type 2 spirit remains very much alive and valued among festival goers, middle-class enthusiasts and collectors alike. Whether endorsing a mainstream hippie image actually honours the real hippie founding spirit is a debate for another time, but it doesn’t matter; the vehicle symbolises the philosophy in one handy package, and that’s that.

VW has never quite managed to rekindle the concept; the Type 2 has been a hard act to follow for its maker as well as its rivals. The current version is a refined, quality vehicle but frankly rather dull. Perhaps, though, the next VW to capture the imagination of enthusiasts with £90,000 to spare could come from the new frontier of automotive tech, just as the Type 2 did in its time. No one can fail to see the powerful echoes of the original VW camper in the company’s plans for the ID Buzz – a familiar looking, timely, electric, self-driving van launched earlier this year.

https://news.classiccars.com/pick-day-1969-volkswagen-westfalia-camper-bus/

It’s spring, and the open road is calling. And what better craft for an extended road trip than the Pick of the Day, a 1969 Volkswagen Westfalia camper bus with all the trimmings.

According to the Sonoma, California, dealer advertising the VW camper on ClassicCars.com, this Westy is ready for a national tour. The flat-four engine has been rebuilt and bored out to 1,176 cc, the ad says, which should help provide enough muscle for these typically underpowered vehicles. The key to driving any VW microbus is to abide by one simple rule: never be in a hurry.

The transmission was professionally rebuilt recently, and it shifts crisply, the seller says, adding that the suspension and braking are excellent and the steering box was rebuilt less than 500 miles ago. The paint was redone not long ago and remains in decent condition, according to the ad.

“The interior is in excellent shape with recent new seat covers, insulation, front rubber flooring and custom, kitschy curtains,” the seller says. “It has a new tent and cot. The wood looks good and the sink, icebox and both fold-out tables are present.”

The Westfalia designation for VW’s iconic camper buses comes from the German company that built the interior furnishings and trim, including the special side-window treatments and pop-up roof. Although there are many acceptable aftermarket conversions for microbuses, the factory Westfalia versions are the most desirable.

The 1969 bus is a later-generation model, which has less-detailed styling than the earlier buses and a broad “bay-window” windshield instead of the classic split style. As such, this is a less-collectable year compared with the early ones, at least it is for VW enthusiasts and classic car investors. But that shouldn’t matter so much to someone who just wants to go camping in style.

The paint and bodywork are described as “driver quality,” which generally means there are visible flaws but still presentable. The seller notes that the floor up front was repaired, and while safe and usable, it could be more attractive; a new set of correct floor panels are provided with the sale for whenever the eventual buyer decides to weld them in. From the provided information, I would say: not a deal breaker.

One thing that the seller does not refer to is the low mileage of 33,246 showing on the odometer. I would figure that considering the extensive work that has been done on the bus, the five-digit odo has most-likely turned over, making it 133,246 miles. But that’s not terribly relevant if it’s been entirely refurbished, as claimed.

The asking price of $18,500 is not bad for what seems like a very usable VW camper bus in apparently very good condition, rebuilt mechanically and cosmetically with upgraded engine performance. The extensive gallery of photos with the ad shows that it’s very clean inside, outside and in the engine compartment.

“All in all, this is a good-looking Westy in excellent mechanical shape,” the seller concludes. “It looks great and is ready for fun summer camping.”

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15185097.Rusted_VW__splittie__campervan__wreck__sells_for___23_000/

TREASURE: This rusted shell fetched £23,000 at Tennants of Leyburn

Me & My Car: ’67 VW bus immaculately restored

When you see an older Volkswagen bus or van, many people think of the hippies of the 1960s, as it was a popular vehicle for the counterculture crowd.

There were different names for this vehicle: Microbus, Splitscreen, Splittie, but the VW company called it Type 2. As you may guess, Type 1 was the Beetle or Bug. The van had a split windshield for better aerodynamics, thus the names. About five years after the end of World War II, VW’s first vans were built using an 1100-cc air-cooled, flat-four-cylinder “boxer” engine mounted in the rear of the vehicle that produced 24 horsepower. The bus was pretty much unchanged during the 17-year run from 1950 to 1967 except for minor improvements. Gradually the horsepower was increased from 30 to 54 in 1967 with slightly larger engines.

There were a lot of different uses found for this VW vehicle. They were used as hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire trucks and campers. There was even a flatbed truck. All in all, VW produced about 356,000 of this model in various forms with America being their largest export market.

But in the early 1960s, the sale of VW pickups and commercial vehicles to the U.S. market was greatly reduced as a result of the “chicken tax.” There was a “chicken war” going on between the United States, France and West Germany. Those two European countries had placed a tariff on U.S. chickens, and diplomatic channels failed to settle the dispute. Two months later, when LBJ became president, he put a 25 percent tax on things like potato starch, brandy and light trucks. At least as late as 2015, the “chicken tax” remained and affected light trucks manufactured in all countries.

Mike and Kathy Crawford have a 1967 VW Splittie with 13 windows. The buses came with a different number of windows. The base bus was an 11-window model, but also available was a 13-window, a 15-window, a 21-window and a 23-window model. The 21- and 23-window models, called the Samba, had eight panoramic windows in the roof and offered a soft sunroof. The price range was $2,150 to $2,665 ($15,459 to $19,161 in today’s dollars).

“We got it 2007, and she was pretty beat-up, kind of a rust bucket. We found it in Martinez parked in a field. Somebody owned it and wanted good, good money for it in its poor condition. I had to pay $5,000 cash for the rust bucket and I probably have well over $30,000 into it now,” Mike said.

Was he looking for a VW bus, I wondered.

“Oh, it’s my wife,” he said showing a little frustration. “She wanted one. She had one and she’s from that generation.”

Not surprisingly, it goes back to her hippie days. I’m beginning to see the labor and management factions in this Concord couple’s acquisition. It was Kathy who wanted and found this VW bus. Mike showed me some pictures of the vehicle when acquired and he did not exaggerate that it was a rust bucket.

 
“We went from there,” he said, “she orchestrated a lot of the parts finding, interiors and color schemes of Velvet Green and Pearl White, which were the original colors. She insisted we keep it originally stock.

“She kept me in check with some of the things because we were spending a lot of money.”

Mike thinks the vehicle is worth about $40,000 but an expert in the field said he could probably get about $80,000 for it. However, it has not been officially appraised. It’s an academic situation anyway, as Mike doesn’t believe that Kathy would ever part with her bus.

Mike has worked on many cars in the past, but this is his first complete restoration. He said once they had purchased the VW, he sort of became a fanatic about doing the job right. Except for the upholstery, he did everything and did it at home, in his double garage including the fantastic paint job inside and out. Everything is meticulous, there are no flaws, scratches or dings. The interior was beautifully done by Armand’s Auto Upholstery in Walnut Creek.

Mike and Kathy are not big into car shows, but they did enter their VW bus in one show and won first prize in 2013. Neither of the Crawfords drive their prize vehicle very much. To them, it is a work of art, like a painting or sculpture, and they enjoy owning and viewing it. But Mike has another good reason he and Kathy don’t drive it much. With only one very thin sheet of metal separating the driver and front passenger from the vehicle directly in front, it’s difficult to think of a vehicle offering less protection if there were a collision. Well, maybe a skateboard.

http://newatlas.com/volkswagen-kombi-van-samba-bus/47501

Collector cars that appreciate in value are normally associated with aristocratic marques such as Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, not the proletarian brands personified by Volkswagen, the “people’s car.

The auction marketplace is a reflection of sentiment of the population though, and the same post-war baby-boom that reshaped society during the 1960s has now come of age and controls the vast majority of the world’s wealth.

The society-changing force generated by the youth of the sixties is now becoming evident on the auction block, and the last five years has seen one of the enduring icons of sixties personal freedom begin to soar in value across the globe. The van pictured below best captures the way we all saw the Volkswagen’s Samba van in its time. It was the boomers’ freedom machine, pitch-hitting as a mobile bedroom and lounge room too.

The post-war baby boom now controls the world’s investment capital, and the alternative culture that was championed by this age group is no doubt at least partially responsible for the rise of cars, sports and entertainment memorabilia as legitimate alternative asset classes.

This trend was highlighted yet again when a 1967 Volkswagen 21-window Deluxe Samba (below) sold for $143,000 to set a new record for the model at the Scottsdale round of collector car auctions just outside Phoenix, Arizona. Just to emphasize how hot the market has become, the record lasted just 24 hours before another 21-window Deluxe Bus took the outright world record with a sale of $302,500, more than doubling the 21-window record of just 24 hours prior. The 1965 21-window Samba is pictured above.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the sale was that, although the US$302,500 price is a world record for the 21-window Deluxe Samba Bus produced from 1964 to 1967, the previous model 23-window Deluxe Samba Bus has always been considered even more valuable.

Above is a sampling of record-setting Volkswagen 23-window Deluxe Sambas. The American record price for a Volkswagen Type 2 (Kombi) of any model at auction was held by the vehicle at top left prior to this week. It’s a 1963 model 23-window Deluxe Samba sold by Barrett-Jackson in 2011 for $217,800. Top right is the former European and World T2 record holder, a 1955 model Deluxe Samba that sold for €190,000 ($236,639) at Auctionata in Germany in November, 2014. At bottom left is the Australian record holder, a 1960 Deluxe Samba (in right hand drive configuration) that was sold for AUD$202,000 (US$157,690) in February, 2015. At bottom right is the British record holder, a 1960 Samba Deluxe that sold for £91,100 ($143,347) at Bonhams’ Goodwood Festival of Speed sale in August, 2015.

Quite clearly, people power is flexing its muscles once more, and although the prices of rare 21- and 23-window Deluxe Samba vans are the most visible sign of the boomers exercising their preferences, the rising water mark has seen the value of all Volkswagen Kombi vans grow likewise over the last few years.

Paying $200,000 plus for a collectible car isn’t nearly as perception-challenging if the badge on the grill reads Bugatti or Bentley, but the Volkswagen T2 is now moving into that category, too.

That is, it is appreciating in value at the same time as it is still being used by mobile street vendors around the world for selling coffee, fruit, veggies and alcohol. Indeed, many of those vendors may not even be aware that their trusty workhorse may soon eclipse the price of their home.

A prime example of just how much the market for T2 variants has been influenced by the banner-carrying 23-window Deluxe Samba is the crew-cab Kombi above ,which spent most of its life as a tradesman’s workhorse but is currently advertised for $100,000 in Germany.

The following T2 Volkswagens are the most valuable to have been sold at auction to date. To track this global phenomenon, we’ve converted any non-American sales into American dollars at the prevailing exchange rate on the day of the sale.

$123,200 | 1967 Volkswagen 21-window Deluxe Samba

Barrett-Jackson Auction Description

$126,500 | 1963 Volkswagen 23-window Deluxe Samba

Barrett-Jackson Auction Description

$126,500 | 1964 Volkswagen 21-window Deluxe Samba

Barrett-Jackson Auction Description

$126,500 | 1967 Volkswagen 21-window Deluxe Samba

Gooding & Co Auction Description

$128,700 | 1963 Volkswagen 23-window Deluxe Samba

Barrett-Jackson Auction Description

$129,719 (£85,500) | 1964 VW 21-window Deluxe Samba

Bonhams Auction Description

$140,250 | 1962 Volkswagen 23-window Deluxe Samba

Gooding & Co Auction Description

$143,000 | 1967 Volkswagen 21-window Deluxe Samba

Barrett-Jackson Auction Description

$143,347 (£91,100) | 1960 VW 23-window Deluxe Samba

Bonhams Auction Description

$148,500 | 1961 Volkswagen 23-window Deluxe Samba

Barrett-Jackson Auction Description

$157,690 (AUD$202,000) | 1960 VW 23-window Deluxe Samba

Shannons Auction Description

$217,800 | 1963 Volkswagen 23-window Deluxe Samba

Barrett-Jackson Auction Description

$236,639 (€190,000) | 1955 VW 23-window Deluxe Samba

Auctionata Auction Description

$302,500 – 1965 Volkswagen 21-window Deluxe Samba

Barrett-Jackson Auction Description

Personal Reflections on the Kombi marketplace

I always figured that at some point in the distant future, one or two of the motorcycles I have owned would be worth a lot of money and that I would one day regret selling them. In my misspent youth, I used an identical vehicle to the $100,000 crew-cab Kombi pictured at the beginning of this article to transport my racing motorcycles. I bought it for an insignificant amount of money and when my adrenalin habit finally allowed me to buy a V8 utility vehicle for transporting the bikes, I sold the Kombi for chump change without a second thought. If I’d kept and restored it, it would now be worth more than any other motorized transport I have ever owned. Go figure!

I learned to drive in a 1961 Volkswagen Beetle with 250,000 miles on the clock and I’ve subsequently owned several Kombis – I am a fan of both models. I’ve watched their star rise at auction, and after doing the rounds of the global auction and classic car show marketplace over the last few years, I believe that if you are in the market for a T1 or T2 Volkswagen, Germany’s annual Techno-Classica show is the place where you can pick up a well-restored classic Volkswagen at the most reasonable price.

That’s a pic from last year’s Techno-Classica above and again below. The show this year runs from April 5 to 9, 2017 and if you are serious about procuring a vintage T1 or T2 Volkswagen, the Essen show is in the heart of the motherland and the epicenter of knowledge and expertise for the marque. Our Techno-Classica show report from last year will give you an idea of just how remarkable this gargantuan classic car show is.

One of the more interesting vehicles that didn’t make our Techno-Classica report was the above Volkswagen flatbed T2, along with one of the prototypes of the racing car that came from the same family – the Formula Vee. It was for sale on the show floor for €295,000, though it also came with the racing car and had been authenticated as one of the original transporters that hauled around the Formula Vee cars in the infancy of the series that gave the world drivers such as Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi and Keke Rosberg. It’s a lot of money but there aren’t a lot of T2 Volkswagens with any kind of provenance. Unlike the Bugattis, Bentleys and Duesenbergs that were purchased new by movie stars, captains of industry and royalty, the provenance of most Volkswagens constitutes a who’s who of unacclaimed people.

That might indeed be the secret to their popularity.