Volkswagen Bus
The Love of the VW Bus
The Chrysler minivan may have burst onto the market with more ferocity, but the VW bus is what really started the trend decades before this. The VW bus had a very minimal amount of horsepower, but they were so fun and reliable. They were the perfect automobile for anyone who wanted a good adventure, but was always working with a small budget. These buses spent years and years carting families around the country on road trips and became a landmark and defining feature of the sixties. During the sixties, many of the youth shunned mainstream automobiles in favor of the VW bus, a rolling political and cultural icon.
The VW bus was not unlike the Beetle that preceded it. The Volkswagen Beetle was the very first automobile that was manufactured under the Volkswagen label and the bus was quick to follow suit. The VW bus appealed to the basic American who was frugal with their money, but could also appreciate the solid construction of it. Buyers of this automobile also had the luxury of a superior level of fuel economy despite the fact a gallon of gasoline was pretty much the cheapest commodity around.
In Minden, Germany, Volkswagens homeland, the rationale behind the van was a different story. The idea of creating a cargo based carrier from existing Beetle running gear originated in 1947 with Ben Pon, a Dutch businessman and hopeful VW importer.
He saw the need for an inexpensive commercial vehicle and showed a rough sketch to the British authorities who, following the end of the Second World War, were in charge of VW manufacturing. Pon was inspired by the Plattenwagen, a very basic flat deck VW truck that was used to shuttle parts to different factory work stations. He saw it as the perfect truck to help Germany, Holland and the rest of the war ravaged European nations get back on their feet as all manner of commercial transportation was in great demand. By the year 1948, a full scale model of this concept was developed and the first prototype was underway. The very first model was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. This prototype was received very well among the people, but many upgrades were made over the years to the brakes, steering, shell of the car and the amount of cargo it was able to hold. The VW bus was not just a regular automobile; it was something that revolutionized future of vans, buses and minivans.
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Volkswagen Bus
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Volkswagen Praised at the Oscars
During the Oscars, Volkswagen received compliments and earned respect as the movie, Little Miss Sunshine won two Oscars (Best Supporting Role and Best Original Script). A surprise hit, the film featured the Volkswagen bus playing a very significant role to the story and to the characters.
Lead actor Greg Kinnear thanked the engineers of Volkswagen for making a beautiful vehicle way back 1969 that was comfortable and safe. He gave compliments to the Volkswagen bus for giving a marvelous contribution to the movie Little Miss Sunshine.
Perhaps the T2 Volkswagen bus has its universal appeal to the people. Not just like a classic vehicle, Volkswagen is known for its uniqueness, durability and safe security system. Not everyone goes for style, people like Greg Kinnear opts for vehicles with a sense of security and comfort.
One movie critic from Arizona Daily Star said, “The movie tells about a dysfunctional family whose lot like the film's VW bus: It may be clunky, it may not always run right, but everyone will be OK so long as we all get together and push. And one the funniest movies all should watch.”
Even though the VW bus has its awkward moments in the movie, it never caused bad things to the characters that were on the road trip riding on the Volkswagen bus. It proves to everyone that from the VW ceramic brake pads, calipers and all the way to the vital parts of VW system, works efficiently.
About the Author
Benjamin Hudson works as a supervisor at one of the top engineering firms in the business district of Louisiana. He is also a freelance journalist and has passion for anything automotive.