Iconic VW ‘Bus’ Going Out of Production

  • Share
  • Read Later
Andre Penner / ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this Sept. 18, 2013 photo, advertising executive Marcelo Serpa drives his Volkswagen van, or Kombi, emblazoned with a "rolling mural," that he painted, through the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The last of the Volkswagen Transporter vans, icons of the hippie movement, will soon roll off the production line in Brazil, the last place on Earth where the vehicle is still manufactured.

VW says it will end production Dec. 31, before Brazilian regulations take effect that require air bags and anti-lock braking systems in new vehicles, the Associated Press reports.

The van, affectionately called the “bus” by users, has made it to the cover of albums from Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys—and far beyond. VW has built 10 million of them since the van entered production 63 years ago.

“The van represents freedom,” Damon Ristau, the director of the documentary “The Bus,” which follows van fanatics and their affection for the machine, tells the AP. “It has a magic and charm lacking in other vehicles. It’s about the open road, about bringing smiles to peoples’ faces when they see an old VW van rolling along.”

[AP]