The Volkswagen Bus was the first minivan, invented by the same logical minds that brought the world the Volkswagen Beetle. In fact, the Volkswagen Bus was for years really a big, boxy body on a Beetle chassis. The Volkswagen Bus even used the Beetle’s air-cooled horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine, and mounted it in the tail, just like the Bug did.
And much like the beloved Beetle, the Volkswagen Bus came to symbolize liberty and unconventionality for a whole generation of Americans.
The story of the 1950-1959 Volkswagen Bus is one of a vehicle that created its own niche. VW had in fact invented a new automotive category that wouldn’t have a name until decades later: the minivan.
The 1950-1959 Volkswagen Bus kicked off with a model officially called the Transporter. It debuted in March 1950. It used the Beetle floorpan and 94.5-inch wheelbase, but at 53.5 inches, its track was wider than the sedan’s by 2.7 inches in front and a significant 4.3 inches in back.
The 1950-1959 Volkswagen Bus was basically a big box atop the VW Beetle chassis. Note the rear engine location.
Driving the 1950-1959 Volkswagen Bus was a new and unique experience, especially Americans unaccustomed to highly space-efficient and severely underpowered vehicles.
Tom McCahill, dean of American automotive journalists, tested a Kombi for the January 1955 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. “Uncle Tom” was astonished at its spaciousness. “It is as versatile as a steamship con man and twice as useful,” he wrote.
The 1960-1967 Volkswagen Bus gained new features and more power, and also some competition.
In 1960, the bus got real split front seats to create a narrow aisle that allowed movement though the interior, and front-seat riders began to enter and exit through the side door rather than climbing over those high wheel arches.
The 1968 Volkswagen Bus, the second generation of VW’s versatile people mover was larger, sleeker, and more powerful than its predecessor. It did, however remained based on VW’s Beetle, and even retained the little Bug’s 94.5-inch wheelbase.
The body of the 1968 Volkswagen Bus grew in length by nearly five inches, to 174 inches overall, and height was up by about one inch, but width, turning circle, and front track hardly changed. Nearly three inches was added to the rear track, however.
The 1968 Volkswagen Bus, the second generation of VW’s versatile people mover was larger, sleeker, and more powerful than its predecessor. It did, however remained based on VW’s Beetle, and even retained the little Bug’s 94.5-inch wheelbase.
The body of the 1968 Volkswagen Bus grew in length by nearly five inches, to 174 inches overall, and height was up by about one inch, but width, turning circle, and front track hardly changed. Nearly three inches was added to the rear track, however.
The 1972-1979 Volkswagen Bus kicked off a four-year advance on the powertrain front, and concluded with VW planning for the third-generation Volkswagen Bus.
The 1972 Volkswagen Bus gained the 1700-series engine from Volkswagen’s model-411 passenger car. It had 72 horsepower and cut 0-60 mph times from over 30 seconds to a more-acceptable 22 seconds. Quarter-mile times fell to 23 seconds, and official top speed increased to 75 mph.
A new model name debuted with the 1980 Volkswagen Bus: the Vanagon. It graced the third-generation Volkswagen Bus, which ushered in the biggest changes in the big box since the original version of three decades earlier.
Wolfsburg had long been planning the third-generation Volkswagen Bus. It had been considering a dozen proposed configurations, from front-engine/front-wheel drive, to a front-engine/ rear-drive set-up, to a mid-engine/ rear-drive configuration.
Driving the 1980 Volkswagen Bus, which was officially marketed as the Vanagon, was a lot like experiencing a familiar flavor in a new and different wrapper.
Driving the 1980 Volkswagen Bus started with the realization that with curb weights up by about 250 pounds over the 1979 version, to around 3,300 pounds for the basic Vanagon, acceleration was still not a strong suit.
The 1981-1985 Volkswagen Bus benefited from an accelerated rate of change, but its basic rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive design was about to be eclipsed by a new sort of minivan.
Even as Wolfsburg was planning changes to roll into the 1981-1985 Volkswagen Bus, Chrysler was already at work on its front-engine, front-wheel-drive minivans. As the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager, they would revolutionize the market pioneered by the Volkswagen Bus.
The 1986-1991 Volkswagen Bus spanned a time during which VW thought more power and availability of all-wheel-drive might entice buyers back to its people-mover fold. The new features pleased Volkswagen Bus loyalists, but didn’t hold much appeal to those for whom minivan now meant the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager.
The 1986 Volkswagen Bus, still marketed as the VW Vanagon, debuted both a larger engine and high-tech traction-enhancing all-wheel drive option.
VW put an all-new people mover on the market and introduced yet another new name. Here was the 1993 Volkswagen Bus: the EuroVan.
VW had not offered a Vanagon-generation Volkswagen Bus for the 1992 model year; dealers had enough leftover 1991 versions. Clearly something different was needed.
Driving the 1993 Volkswagen Bus gave some clue about why it was now called the EuroVan. Despite its now minivan-conventional front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout, driving the 1993 Volkswagen Bus was a distinctly European experience.
The longer wheelbase took the front doors off the wheel arches, so it was easier to climb into the front buckets than before, but getting into or out of a EuroVan still was not as easy as in most rival minvians. Once aboard, the cabin was more luxurious than ever and the seats were more supportive, but the interior was still teutonically austere compared with that of competitors.
The 1995-2003 Volkswagen Bus story was an on-again, off-again affair, and it effectively ended the Volkswagen Bus’s European connection.
VW didn’t even offer a EuroVan at all in the U.S. for 1995, though buyers could order a version of the 130.7-inch wheelbase Camper. A small number of these campers were built with the help of the U.S. firm, Winnebago Industries Inc. of Forest City, Iowa.
The 2009 Volkswagen Bus is VW’s way of saying, “If you can’t beat ‘me, join ‘me.” After decades of swimming upstream, the 2009 Volkswagen Bus places VW in the minivan mainstream.
The 2009 Volkswagen Bus is built, literally, on the most successful minivan heritage of all time. It uses the chassis, running gear, powertrains, and general structure of the newest Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country, but with a VW twist to styling and materials.
From howthingswork.com
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