WHY IS THIS VAN SMILING?
An encounter with a Volkswagen legend on American roads
During our travels across America, I began encountering a rather unusual celebrity.
Not a movie star or a politician, but a van.
A Volkswagen Bus, to be precise.
I hadn’t gone looking for one.
Yet they kept appearing at intersections, parking lots and roadside stops.
And they all seemed to be smiling!
One was an old green-and-white beauty.
Another, a red vintage model, looked as though it had just stepped out of a family album.
But the real showstopper was a yellow van belonging to the Painted Ladies Tour Co.
Decorated with flowers and sporting eyelashes above its headlights, it looked ready for a beauty pageant.
I almost expected it to ask me to photograph its better side.
Now, Volkswagen has another famous family member: the Beetle.
Smaller, curvier and perhaps more fashionable, the Beetle has always enjoyed its share of admirers.
But I suspect the Bus has a few things to say about that.
“Yes, yes. I know the Beetle is famous.
Lovely curves, adorable face and all that.
But can it carry your family, luggage, picnic baskets, guitars and perhaps the neighbourhood dog?
“I may not be as fancy, but I have a personality of my own!”
Originally introduced in 1950 as the Volkswagen Type 2, the Bus began life as a practical people-and-goods carrier.
But it soon became an icon of the 1960s and 70s counterculture, associated with road trips, flower power, music and freedom.
And then, decades later, there they were again — the familiar VW vans, this time in their modern, two-tone electric avatar: the ID. Buzz.
Same familiar family face, contemporary technology and a new lease of life.
I wondered what the old Bus would say.
“Electric, you say? Good for the youngster! But I hope it remembers that personality matters more than technology.”
Perhaps that’s the secret of this enduring Volkswagen family.
The Beetle and the Bus don’t need to compete.
Each has its own charm.
And the Bus?
It has never needed to be the fastest, fanciest or most fashionable vehicle on the road.
It simply knows how to make an entrance.
And apparently, how to keep smiling!
