The Hippie Mobile Turns 60!

Perhaps no other vehicle evokes images of the 60’s and 70’s counterculture movement as does the VW Bus, which began production on this date in 1950. This, of course, means it is within 5 years of retirement age—and has been eligible for AARP membership for a decade!

Yeah, this “almost” senior citizen was once the stereotype for the transportation of hippies. The VW nameplate was often modified to become a peace sign, the paint job became either a homemade canvas featuring large petal flowers or perhaps a total psychedelic makeover inspired by banned substances that were arguably as much the fuel for this machine as the gasoline itself.

Known officially as the Volkswagen Type 2 (the Beetle was the Type 1), the microbus was reportedly the brainchild of Dutch businessman Ben Pon, who was an importer of Beetles to the Netherlands and the man who foresaw a market for a small bus. In 1947, he sketched out his idea of a boxy utilitarian vehicle with a rear-mounted engine.

An economical solution for transporting young people to anti-war rallies and rock concerts like Woodstock, this rather un-sexy vehicle became an icon for the young generation. This fact was not lost on Volkswagen, which featured an ad with the front of the bus shedding a tear upon the death of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia in 1995.

Check out the two TV ads for earlier versions of the VW bus:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcwIWxASw-E




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq1gollgvm8



Reliable if not attractive, the VW bus became a symbol of a political and social movement not envisioned by its creator. Indeed, it was the VW bus’ customer base that supplanted whatever corporate-crafted image was portrayed in commercials with an image that better represented the reality of its use.

Visions of pot smoke billowing out of the VW bus whenever the doors opened and long-haired, love-bead laden hippies in bellbottom jeans and tie-dye T-shirts stumbled out somehow overtook whatever images the marketing team at VW cooked up.

“Hey dude….groovy bus…man.”

I have a sudden craving for Doritos.

If you’d like my blog in your weekday box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com