Brazilian Kombi going away / Last Bus made in Brazil

[chicagovw]

The hold up is that VW could not move very many Eurovans when they did sell them here. I think sales peaked at like 5,000 in its best year, which was near the bottom of what the Vanagon did, which was also known for not exactly lighting sales charts on fire. VW has become the rental car company of European carmakers, at least with their US lineup. As for the Bay being outdated, even the Brazilian one, sure, I would agree on many points. But I have three that are used every day year round in my plumbing business, all late model Type 4 engine models (two of which are FI), and they hold up as well of better than our newer vans-including an E350 Diesel, a Sprinter, a Chevy Express and an Astro. I would gladly buy a new one if it were available as it would fit the bill for the same reasons they did back when they were sold in the US, and for the same reason Brazilians bought them at a rate of 240 a day until recently-hard working, reliable, inexpensive to run vans. They are also a great advertisement. It is in some ways a shame that VW did not update them, but I am sure that to bring them to truly modern standards, it would require a complete redesign-although as Brazil's best selling light commercial vehicle, I am not sure why they didn't do that.

[tootype2crazy]

X2 on bays being reliable. Build the engine right, use the right oil and change it regularly, do the maintenance on the suspension, and replace worn out parts and they just keep going and going. I drove my 79 for my business for 10 years and did a lot of driving in that time. That engine from that bus has 250K miles and recently I took it out to do a valve job and replace the rings and everything inside looked as good as new. It's now in my 78 happily chugging along. I wish VW would wise up and build a utility van in the style of the bay and split. They tried to go to upscale with the vanagon and the eurovan and that is what made them so unappealing to the public imho.
_________________
air-cooled or nothing for me
1978 Sunroof Deluxe Bus (daily driver)
1978 Transporter (mom's, making into a camper)
1970 Single Cab 2.1 turbo/EFI 6 Rib, 78 front beam, vanagon backing plates on rear (project)
2001 GTI VR6 (wife's)

[chicagovw]

Yeah it seems like the ones I have are bulletproof. Very little work needed to keep them going-even in the hands of employees who are pretty brutal. I have not once had any of them strand any of us. Wish I could say the same for the Sprinter. Other vans may be more up to date, but if it can be relied upon what good is it? I would hop into any of my buses and drive across the country and wound not even feel the need to check the oil before leaving. I suppose it's unrealistic to think an automaker would go-or could go- backwards with a very basic vehicle. But the bus is going to leave a void that vw is not going to fill again

[kevhum]

Great news.Looks like they could be continuing production of the Kombi. A reprieve has been given http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/iconic-volkswagen-kombi-camper-not-dead-yet

[obnoxiousblue]

I'm ALL for it, but my confusion is such: What is the logic in instituting new legislation which forces manufacturers to design stronger, safer, vehicles? Vehicles with the capacity to prevent accidents and safeguarding occupants if an accident should occur. If only to just exempt unsafe vehicles because it is a high volume seller which was a long time staple of the local scenery? Of course ABS and airbags weren't available on the original model in 1950... I'm sure that there is more to this than just the short word were reading here now, likely this is just an extension on time frame rather than a whole exemption from the rule. Else, why shouldn't Ford or any other number of manufacturers in Brazil be granted the same opportunities to grandfather in models designed before 2014 rather than built after 2014. It seems unlikely that with the motives pressed into such legislation that the Brazilian Feds would so easily just toss their hands up on a limitless reprieve just for the Kombi. But, that's just the catch... If it saves the Bus, I'm all for whatever underhanded deals need occur.
_________________
Mike
1964 Beetle
2001 Eurovan Camper

[alikatcraig]

I am sure that if the willpower was there that the bus could be upgraded. I understand that the last Brazil built bugs all had anti-lock brakes as standard. Porsche was called in to review the safety on the Mexican built bug, and the upgrades for side impact protection were of minimal cost on the production line, but the bean counters won out. Anything to keep production going will help our parts supply - they will stop making spare parts pretty quick if VW Mexico is anything to go by.
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1967 Ghia
1971 Deluxe Microbus
1974 Convertible Bug
1973 Standard Bug
1998 Mexican Bug

[chicagovw]

I believe you are correct on Brazilian Beetles having anti lock brakes. My understanding is that some time before the Beetle ceased production in Mexico, Porsche had also completed development work on air bags for that car as VW of American had considered re introducing the car to the USA in the early-mid 90s. VW of Mexico was really trying to convince VWAG to do this. Cars today are really built so differently than cars of 10, 20 years ago though. Beyond air bags and abs, the old style VW does not have modern style crumple zones (I do realize they have crumple zone up front, but not like say a 2013 Jetta might have). Safety has moved along so fast in the past 20 years. The first generation New Beetle was one of the safest cars in its class in 98, but by the end it was marginal compared to competition.

[obnoxiousblue]

I think it just comes down to coin.
I think for VW to re-engineer the Kombi to accommodate the new systems, ABS and airbags, as well as redesign the underpinnings of the front end to have sensors and direct forces away from the airbags and passenger compartment (so those airbags can do their job) is probably a very large expense. One that frankly might not pay off for VW when it comes to modifying old tooling, to make an old design perform new. VW has made it's money on the Kombi, ten fold.
Especially what with this new talk of time extensions/exemptions for VW. I don't foresee the Bazilian Feds giving VW a green light to build the Kombi indefinitely.
The concept that lawmakers have the foresight to enact such a law, and so willingly fold to allow (what may arguably be one of the most coveted though unsafe mass produced vehicles in 2013) the Kombi to continue seems to directly undermine the reasons for writing such legislation as it is.

I for one, am torn...
Would we as a "group" prefer to see the Kombi return with stipulations on redesign for safety that could (and probably would) have detrimental impact on the bus' we all have come to love OR recognize that we as VW owners have been historically VERY lucky in that we've seen our models produced for decades beyond US importation outside our borders, that's not something many other auto enthusiasts can boast. I'm not sure I would want to see the Kombi bastardized to accommodate ABS and airbags in lieu of letting it die a loved, peaceful death.
If the Brazilian Feds give a green light, for production as it was built in 2013 with no constraint or limits on time then I think it's a win.
_________________
Mike
1964 Beetle
2001 Eurovan Camper

[tootype2crazy]

Personally I would love to see a bus built with ABS and airbags just for the novelty of it. It would be cool to inspect how they do.
_________________
air-cooled or nothing for me
1978 Sunroof Deluxe Bus (daily driver)
1978 Transporter (mom's, making into a camper)
1970 Single Cab 2.1 turbo/EFI 6 Rib, 78 front beam, vanagon backing plates on rear (project)
2001 GTI VR6 (wife's)

[Wildthings]

For the most part the design for air bags and anti lock brakes could be borrowed for any of many other vehicles on the road. In the big picture this would add little to the cost of a Kombi. Compared with the cost to retool the entire factory to build something else the cost would be trivial.

Even if they wanted to improve the front suspension to something more modern they could do so with a bolt on system similar to the one being built by the one British company.

[wanderglobe]

Nice little video from CBC news.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/share/share.html?ID=2427991862
_________________
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Owner of Dante the Hellrider
1973 Bay Window Automatic
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Website: www.wanderglobe.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/wanderglobe
YouTube: www.youtube.com/myvwtravels

[cc79westie]

That was great to watch. The allure of these vehicles will only grow and get the attention of generations yet to come.
_________________
1979 Westfalia (Sage Green)
1966 Pontiac GTO
1977 Chevy Monza 5.0 V-8
1984 Datsun/Nissan 300ZX
1989 Plymouth Reliant K

[74 orange ghia]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/last-vw-camper-vans-roll-off-the-assembly-line-in-brazil-1.2481578

[klunderstruck]

Good job Mr. Saltzman. These guys (myself included) are members of the Bayutiful Bus Club (Binbrook Chapter)

[obnoxiousblue]

Hu?
_________________
Mike
1964 Beetle
2001 Eurovan Camper

[klunderstruck]

sorry, i was referring to the video

[obnoxiousblue]

OH! Lol ok, I didn't make the connection.
_________________
Mike
1964 Beetle
2001 Eurovan Camper

[streamr]

[obnoxiousblue]

You got it! Enjoy!

Remember to post back pictures with your bus and sticker using the #cryingbus and #baypridealliance tags on any social media sites you use!
_________________
Mike
1964 Beetle
2001 Eurovan Camper

[levi20AE]

Related
Cool to see that conversions are still being made of a little while longer.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537353/La...icles.html
_________________
1973 Campmobile http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524511&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
20th AE VW GTI - 369hp 340tq @ 26 PSI
1982 Rabbit Pickup - German AAZ 1.9TD - daily with lots of MPGs