Filed under: Minivans/MPVs, Volkswagen, Rumormill
Rumormill: VW Microbus back on the table?
Click above for a hi-res gallery of the '01 VW Microbus concept
The 2001 VW Microbus concept was really cool; so much so that it looked like it was headed for 2005 production. Then the project started getting expensive at the same time the U.S. dollar began to hit the skids. So, then-boss Bernd Pischetsrieder swung the axe, and it was curtains for the retro breadbox. Fast-forward to the present. Instead of a spiffy new Microbus, we now have the Routan, which is fake German for "Dodge Caravan." Not very exciting, to say the least.
A revival of Flower Power's official vehicle seemed hopeless -- until now. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that VW's entertaining the possibility of a 21st-century Microbus built on the same platform as the new sedan that'll pe produced at VW's Chattanooga, TN facility. An unnamed "senior Volkswagen official" told the paper that European production's basically a non-starter, and Volkswagen Group of America's Jill Bratina played it coy, saying only that a second vehicle line out of Chattanooga is "conceivable in the foreseeable future." A locally-built, car-based Microbus is an idea that certainly piques our interest. How about yours?
(Oh, and by the way, should you ever decide to move to Brazil, you can still kick it old-school down there in the meantime.)
Gallery: 2001 VW Microbus Concept
[Source: Sydney Morning Herald via Squob.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
cmp 6:23PM (9/06/2008)
cool, I will take a TDI van
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Allan 6:24PM (9/06/2008)
Beats a Caravan hands down any day.
BUILD IT.
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Kumail891 8:31PM (9/06/2008)
+1, nuff said
John 10:18PM (9/06/2008)
Beats a Routan, hands down.
zamafir 10:38PM (9/06/2008)
I think we said the same thing 9 years ago :/
ugg.tryptophan 12:08AM (9/07/2008)
because the routan is for dads
Galley 6:29PM (9/06/2008)
Yes, please!
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Franck 6:43PM (9/06/2008)
It's definitely what the people want after the five-year contract with Chrysler is over. The Routan rocks but the Microbus TDI will start a revival.
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meatbag 6:53PM (9/06/2008)
a few years back i used to sell VWs. i always wanted that microbus to become a reality. it would be a SICK vehicle now, especially with a TDI or if VW developed a Hybrid, now that would be something. and you know 7 years on, that design really isn't long in the tooth, it actually still looks pretty current.
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CarlosMC 1:48PM (9/07/2008)
Agreed. It would probably sell like hot bread (pun intended - over here it was nicknamed "loaf bread" ("po-de-forma") ;)).
I would change two things, though:
That gear stick (?) "appliance" should probably go; it takes useful space for what should remain an utilitarian vehicle(*).
For the same reason, the driving wheel should have a truck like fold up system.
(*: could be foldable, as well).
2007RC46SP2 6:54PM (9/06/2008)
+1
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PRC. 6:54PM (9/06/2008)
the up! bus?
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Yaroukh 7:08PM (9/06/2008)
this baby should have been finished a couple of years ago, fgs build it u iDiods
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Jrejre 7:10PM (9/06/2008)
As cool as it would be I can't figure out who'd buy it. Moms?
Now if they shrunk it down somehow and put it up against the xb, nissan cube, and hhr, I could see it becoming huge.
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mr.ed 12:09PM (9/07/2008)
My memory of this from the Detroit show is hazy. It was downstairs (okay, escalator) with its lower ceiling and poorer lighting. The color combo was really subtle, and unattractive. The headlights seemed too squinty to be on a retro Veedub. I don't remember the exact size, but Xb class would be a winner now.
Atomicbri 9:31AM (9/07/2008)
That actually would be a good idea!
Torrent 7:11PM (9/06/2008)
Why do I find this better looking than any minivan on the market?
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Yaroukh 8:01PM (9/06/2008)
and how many concepts are currently on the market?
Torrent 4:46AM (9/07/2008)
I'm just saying.... It's so nerdy and unusual.... That I actually like it... I guess that makes me nerdy and unusual, too.
zamafir 9:24AM (9/07/2008)
Serious? how many concepts? in an article about VAG?
Hrm. TT? LeMans aka the R8? Nuvellari aka the A5? Iroc aka scirocco? I could go on an on.
Sure, it's fun to be smug, and the majority of the car industry has a crap chance of putting concepts into production, but no volume automaker puts as many concepts into production as Audi/VW. Last I read it was something stupid like 70%.