Iconic VW Bus
March 8, 1950
On March 8, 1950, the first Volkswagen Microbus went into production at a plant in West Germany. It was known as the Type 2, the sibling of the Type 1, the “Bug” as many came to know it.
The Type 1 had been the idea of Adolf Hitler in 1933. He wanted an affordable car that the people could afford, the “people’s car”– the Volkswagen. After the war, the company wanted to expand its product line.
Ben Pon
Dutch businessman Ben Pon came up with the idea for the Type 2 in 1947. He was visiting the VW factory (controlled by the British Occupational Forces) and saw a Plattenwagen–a flatbed truck used to move parts.
Pon thought a car could be added atop that truck’s chassis and sketched his idea.
Iconic VW Bus
Heinz Nordhoff
The factory’s British managers turned down Pons’s idea, but in 1948 Heinz Nordhoff became Managing Director of the Volkswagen factory and revived the proposal. Two prototypes were built.
The first had a flat front and its wind resistance proved to hinder the speed of the only 24 horsepower engine. A rounded front proved to work far better. The Type 2 Transporter was born.
Samba
Later that year, the Samba went into production. It had windows all around and optional roof windows as well. Truth About Cars article
Iconic VW Bus
Station Wagon Alternative
For 1950s Americans, the family car was typically the station wagon. Volkswagen’s marketing approach emphasized their car’s simple styling and usefulness as a vehicle for home, work and play. It could transport both humans and cargo. It had roomy interior an air-cooled engine, ease of operation as well as maintenance. [Smithsonian article]
Westfalia camper
Some car enthusiasts had already began to customize their basic Bus model installing beds, sinks, and more. Volkswagen got the hint and in 1956 the company began to export Westfalia campers and that evolution enhanced the model’s attractiveness.
Iconic VW Bus
Counterculture symbol
For some, the model became a symbol of the counterculture. So different than what Detroit produced and Detroit certainly represented Mainstream America.
Civil rights activists Esau and Janie Jenkins drove a 1966 VW Transporter to take African-American children to school and adults to work in the segregated South.
Youth-mobile
In addition to its use in the civil rights movement, Baby Boomers saw the car’s usefulness. Need to transport surfboards? Inside or on top…the Bus could handle it.
For many, the Bus’s main association is with the “Hippies” and how they decorated theirs inside and out. While the Merry Pranksters may have started things by transforming a school bus, transforming a VW bus was far less expensive and much easier.
Some of those who read this post responded with pictures of their VW Bus experiences.
When Jerry Garcia died in 1995, Volkswagen ran an advertisement:
If its 2006 and you are Pixar and you are making an animated movie called Cars and you want to have a variety of characters why not have a VW Bus, name it Fillmore, and have George Carlin be its voice!
Iconic VW Bus
Demise and Resurrection
As Boomers aged their tastes changed, too. Production of the Bus stopped in 2014.
But…
ID. Buzz
The bus is back, and if Volkswagen is to be believed, it’s better than ever.
And it’s electric.
According to a Planetizen article: Volkswagen has reimagined its Type 2 “Bus” for the modern era with the fully electric ID. Buzz, blending retro charm with cutting-edge technology. This EV pays homage to the counterculture icon of the 1960s, which has since appeared in countless films and TV shows, cementing its place in pop culture. While the ID. Buzz embraces nostalgia, it is also a bold step toward Volkswagen’s electric future, featuring playful design elements like classic looped entry straps and whimsical brake and accelerator pedal symbols inspired by video controls.
Right on, man.