Second Generation Transporter
Alright, back to the Air Aircooled Gathering from last month. . . . This is a second-generation Volkswagen Bus (with the proud owner talking to someone with a Yorkie on a leash!), a plush toy and a VW pillow in the rear seats and still plenty of room left for six adults. I believe this is a 1974 model.
Although their single-pane panoramic windshields greatly enhanced visibility and their stronger bumpers consderably enhanced safety, many VW purists remain partial to the first-generation Transporters made from 1950 to 1967. Still, second-generation Buses (made from 1968 to 1979) have their fans - some Mark 2 Transporter aficianado must have been behind the inclusion of one in the movie "Little Miss Sunshine!" :-D
It may seem ironic that VW temporarily doesn't have a passenger minivan model in America right now, but what's even more ironic is that the passenger minivan market wasn't very lucrative back when VW had it to itself. Those who did buy Buses in the sixties and seventies, though, could count on plenty of room and the joys of trouble-free aircooled motoring (so long as they didn't mind the skimpy performance). Indeed, by 1979, the only other aircooled car left on the market was VW's own Beetle convertible - also in its last year. (The 1980 Vanagon minivan would still have an aircooled enigne.)
Second Generation Transporter
Alright, back to the Air Aircooled Gathering from last month. . . . This is a second-generation Volkswagen Bus (with the proud owner talking to someone with a Yorkie on a leash!), a plush toy and a VW pillow in the rear seats and still plenty of room left for six adults. I believe this is a 1974 model.
Although their single-pane panoramic windshields greatly enhanced visibility and their stronger bumpers consderably enhanced safety, many VW purists remain partial to the first-generation Transporters made from 1950 to 1967. Still, second-generation Buses (made from 1968 to 1979) have their fans - some Mark 2 Transporter aficianado must have been behind the inclusion of one in the movie "Little Miss Sunshine!" :-D
It may seem ironic that VW temporarily doesn't have a passenger minivan model in America right now, but what's even more ironic is that the passenger minivan market wasn't very lucrative back when VW had it to itself. Those who did buy Buses in the sixties and seventies, though, could count on plenty of room and the joys of trouble-free aircooled motoring (so long as they didn't mind the skimpy performance). Indeed, by 1979, the only other aircooled car left on the market was VW's own Beetle convertible - also in its last year. (The 1980 Vanagon minivan would still have an aircooled enigne.)