Busted VW

Ferdinand Porsche founded Volkswagen in 1938. It was his believe that an affordable and mass-produced German sedan that needs little maintenance is what the German auto industry needs to blossom. The first Volkswagen Transporter was launch in 1947.It soon became part of the American hippie culture.

In the first department of things, the VW buses became enshrined in the American hippie culture mainly because they were low-cost buses. In the second department of things, the price and the functionality of the bus as a second home diluted the quirky reputation. It was common to see VW buses adorning painted designs. Families and rock bands were caught up in the ‘’melee’’ when the public realized that a VW bus could accommodate more than eight adults. To many, it was a moving house.
Ferdinand Porsche pressed ahead with his gargantuan dream of an economy car despite Volkswagen well-known reputation as a quirky carmaker. Under his guidance, Volkswagen engineers designed and produced the first ever VW bus also known as the Transporter. He moved the engine to the back; a design consideration necessary to build simpler engine models. Air-cooled engine technology was use instead of a water-cooled engine; another design consideration that employs naturally flowing air. His love for minimalism helped reduced design cost and would later be a major reason why VW buses were so cheap that every young man that is willing to work can easily afford it after some couple of months.

To the Germans, even to this day, the Volkswagen is a national icon. Volkswagen of today holds its strength to Adolf Hitler and the events that followed World War II. The Volkswagen beetle (Type 1) was the model produced during the war and after which era management fell under the control of the British Empire just after the defeat of Hitler. Ford Company turned down demands, by the allied forces, to run the company. Harry Ford refused to have a subsidiary with a quirky reputation. Therefore, management of Volkswagen was back to the Germans and few years later the first ever model of the Transporter Type 2 rolled out of the Volkswagen plant in Hannover, Germany. Three distinct features captured the eyes of many— the shape, capacity, and cost of a transporter.

The Volkswagen buses became popular among youngsters in the United States who preferred to go for cars that were pocket friendly. Little wonder why a new and bigger bus for close to the price of a second handed car was enough to attract the huge population of young men and women who peopled the United States in those days. As time passes, VW buses were associated with youthful extravagance like sex, drugs, dangerous road trips, and noisy-parties.

Early VW buses are today classical cars. Those made before 1970 are highly prized possessions. Popular models are the samba, bulli, microbus, micro, splitie, and split. Volkswagen buses do not hold iconic status in Germany alone, but also in countries like Brazil, Indonesia, and even in Switzerland were there were assembly lines. In Europe, the name of the Volkswagen bus or Volkswagen Transporter was microbus; and in America and some parts of Africa as station wagon.

The first importation of Volkswagen buses in the United States was in 1959. It was first a bus for nontraditionalists and liberals alike. During the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, VW buses became the most popular toys of the hippie culture. And to date authors have written tens of thousands of books and good number of documentaries have been shot around the place of VW buses in America and European cultures. After the cultural revolution, what Volkswagen buses meant in the minds of people changed from a mere affordable German utility vehicle to one of the most beloved and popular vehicle in America.

Many Germans view Volkswagen buses with pride. This is so because in the months and years following the World War II, Germany was almost on its knees culturally, politically, and economically; but Volkswagen Transporter helped the German economy back to its feet. To Germans, Volkswagen is a national treasure they can’t afford to lose; across the Atlantic in the United States and Canada, people were attracted to the Volkswagen Transporter for its unique design, functionality and cost.