Last night, I stumbled on an article saying that VW Type 2 production, which ended in 1979 in Germany and 1994 in Mexico, is finally being halted in Brazil after 56 total years of production (!!). This will have made it the longest running production model in automotive history. Up to 78hp from the original 28, and with various modernizing touches, you still can’t escape the look and feel of the old bus everyone is used to seeing. Brazilian production is being phased out due to new safety regulations, but that won’t keep VW from charging $35,000 for the last 600 built. Nevermind that kind of nonsense, we can find you one for a tenth of the price, with this 1971 bay window bus in Joplin, MS for $3800.
Posts Tagged ‘volkswagen’
Last off the Line – 1971 VW Bay Window Bus
September 10, 2013Schwalbenschwanz – 1975 VW Rabbit “Swallowtail”
September 6, 2013Well, in a strange coincidence, two of the most enduring cars of my childhood are showing up here. We already had a pair of Saab 99s, and now there’s a great VW Rabbit just itching to be featured. Introduced to North America not long after it came out in Europe, it was revolutionary as the first modern front-wheel-drive economy hatchback to be tremendously successful. And the first Rabbits in North America had a unique, if unremarkable design feature the later cars didn’t, known as the swallow tail (Schwalbenschwanz is the literal German translation). You can see it below on this Phoenix red Rabbit on VW Vortex for $2000 in Washington state.
Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet – 1978 VW Rabbit C
May 31, 2013Seems I’m always looking to recreate the past or something – yesterday afternoon, while digging through listings for a completely different car, I stumbled upon a car from my past. Ordinarily, I would curse the advertiser for using misleading keywords on their listing, but in this case, it’s a 1978 VW Rabbit C, which is very close to the 1980 VW Rabbit L on which I learned to drive. In a way, it’s quite surprising how rare these have become, given their historical significance. However, they were cheap drivers for most people (including my parents), so most rusted to pieces or cost more to repair than they were worth. Fortunately, that fate didn’t befall this car, a 1978 model in the most basic “C” trim level, available in Tacoma, WA for $2000.


