The all-electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz was first shown as a concept at the 2017 North American International Auto Show. The production vehicle was unveiled in March 2022 with production beginning in June for European delivery in the second half of the year. The US version had its North American launch in Huntington Beach, California in June 2023, and availability of a long-wheelbase version was slated for the first quarter of 2024. I have already seen a few on the road and one of my neighbors up the hill has a white/yellow one. It looks pretty cool.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“I’m gonna beat it on down the line.”—The Grateful Dead
The legendary Jerry Garcia (1942 – 1995) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work with the Grateful Dead, which came to prominence during the counterculture era in the 1960s. He performed with the Grateful Dead during their entire thirty-year career (1965–1995.).
The VW Microbus was also a symbol of the 1960s. Officially known (depending on body style) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, more informally, as the Bus it was a forward control panel van that introduced by Volkswagen in 1950 as its second model, following the Type 1 aka Beetle. As such, it was given the factory designation Type 2.
Like the Beetle, the bus has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including “microbus and, because of its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, it remains an iconic vehicle for many people today.
How I Made this Photograph: This automotive homage to Jerry Garcia began as a photograph of an unrestored VW bus at the annual ‘VW’s on the Green’ car show—when I was also showing my 2004 VW GTI 337— with a Canon EOS 10D and the EF 22-55mm f/4-5.6 USM lens (at 37mm.) The exposure was 1/250 sec at f/10 and ISO 200 with a plus one-stop exposure compensation. The JPEG file was first processed by using Photoshop’s Zoom feature and then Color Efex was used to create the final psychedelic look.
For more of the VW Bus, read my review of Volkswagen Beetles and Buses. Or better yet, pick up a copy from Amazon. New copies are $35.99. with used copies starting around twenty-four bucks. The Kindle version is $319.99 for those preferring a digital format.