I first read about it online
yesterday, September 23. This morning
the news was reported in an Associated Press article by Stan Lehman and Bradley
Brooks in the Statesman Journal.
The Volkswagon bus production is coming to its final end on December 31,
2013 in Sao Paulo.
This iconic vehicle has an
illustrious history, particularly during the hippie heyday of the 1960’s and
70’s. It made appearances on album
covers for the Beach Boys and Bob Dylan among others. The Grateful Dead fans followed tours
in one. The bus has been seen in just
about every country serving as a workhorse for carting people, supplies and
deliveries. As popular as it was it did
not hold the cool mystique in Sao Paulo as in San Francisco.
There is even a movie documenting
the van. You can obtain information
about it by Googling “VW Van, Damon Ristau.”
Several photos in this article are from his work. Production of the van ended in Germany in
1979, in Mexico 1995, and now in Brazil at the end of this year. Better order one now if you are VW fanatic!
Over the years I have
owned five VW cars and vans. I am sure
this is not a record, but it does represent my own fascination with the utility
and simplicity of these cars. My first
VW was a 1957 black sedan purchased used in 1962. From there I worked my way up to a used 1963 VW van in which I
drove my family to Anchorage, Alaska. (Now that was an adventure!) I added a 1964 VW beetle. After moving to Missouri in 1967 I bought
another used beetle and a new 1972 VW van.
Sadly, that was the last one I have owned.
