A History Of//Timeline of the Transporters

Type 2 T1 - 1950-1967

Type 2 T2 - 1967-1979

Type 2 T3 - 1979-1992

Type 2 T4 - 1990-2003

Type 2 T5 - 2003-present.

Timeline of the split screen and bay window generations of VW camper vans. This shows the dates of different models production.

A History of//Ben Pon

Ben Pon was a Dutch businessman. In 1947, Pon's Automobielhandel ("Pon's Car Dealership"), became the first dealer outside of Germany to sell vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen.

Ben's father, Mijndert Pon, owned a shop (founded in 1898) that sold sewing machines, household articles and tobacco goods at Arnhemseweg (Arnhem Road) in Amersfoort. Later, he added Opel bicycles and motorized bicycles to his range of goods. Beginning in 1920, Pon sold Opel and Ford automobiles as well as Continental tires. Ben and his brother Wijnand took over the shop in 1931 and renamed it Pon's Automobielhandel. On August 8, 1947, The Pons became Volkswagen's general importer for the Netherlands. During their first year they received 51 Volkswagen Beetles from Wolfsburg. The company also became an importer of Porsches in 1948.

A sketch made by Pon inspired the engineers at Volkswagen to develop the VW Type 2 Transporter (a van, commonly called the "VW Bus"), a vehicle that became a cultural icon for the Hippie generation of the 1960s.

In 1949, the first Beetle was shipped to the United States. Half a million were to follow by 1960. A mere two years later there were one million Beetles in the U.S. It has not been ascertained that Ben Pon was significantly involved in this success story, even though he was among the first to export them into the U.S. It cannot even be proved that he sold the first Beetle in the United States. He was, in fact, unable to find a partner for a distributorship and left the country with an unpaid hotel bill, but eventually it made him a multimillionaire and one of the richest people in the Netherlands.

In 1971, the dealership was separated from the export division and ran under the name of Pon Dealer. Audi later became a partner of Pon's. The business continued to grow, and in 1980 he incorporated Pon Holdings: an exempt private company with approximately 9,000 employees.

Ben Pon's son is former Formula One racing driver Ben Pon, Jr.

A History of//Specific Models

Type 2 T1

Samba Bus
The term Samba in VW circles refers to a specific model of the Type 2 bus which was manufactured with the highest trim level available. A Samba is a Standard microbus with additions that include trim strips along the beltline and a dash clock. They were marketed for touring the Alps,as they had small skylight windows embedded into the vehicle roof to add viewing windows. Samba buses began production in 1951 and were all fitted with a large Golde sunroof as standard.

Panel Van
Known as the Volkswagen Type 2. This was the very first model of this soon to be extended family of Volkswagen Transporters. It was introduced in 1949, being the second car model for car manufacture Volkswagen.

Kombi
Launched in May 1950. The Kombi came with side windows and removable seats. This made it the perfect vehicle for both transportation and use as a camper van; hence the name Kombi.

Microbus
Launched at the same time as the Kombi, they both share the same characteristics and initial looks. But the microbus has only the one purpose of transportation. The overall finish of this model is a much higher specification to the Kombi, it is meant to feel more like a traditional car.

Pick up
Put in production in 1952. This model was very popular with the building trade and many working businesses. The vehicle was hard waring and reliable, which suited the market right and could withstand the amount of abuse it would get from the users.

Crew cab was added to the range in 1958.

High Roof Panel Van
A later addition to the range of VWs, the high roof was added in 1962. It was popular with the rag trade as garment rails could be fitted in the load area and provided the hanging space needed. It was also a good transporter for many companies with a higher capacity load.

A very rare model nowadays and prove hard to find.

Westfalia
1951 west was launched. This was the first conversion model to put to market by conversion company Westfalia. It was taken by a storm, the public loved the characteristic tony fittings and furnishings to make it feel from home to home.

Type 2 T2

Microbus
Launched in August 1967. Many would say a less appealing body style to this generation but the model was still well received. A sliding door and step were added to this model

Pick Up
Single cab and double cabs were available from the beginning of the production of the new T2 generation. Again as the previous T1 model, this was used mainly by the working trade.

Panel Van
1970.

Westfalia

Type 2 T3

Panel Van
launched in 1979 after much testing and developing the model came with a brand new aerodynamic shape. It had a much larger loading area, with a huge tailgate and larger sliding door.

Pick up - single and double
1979

Microbus
1979

Westfalia




Type 2 T4
The T4 range was launched in 1990.

Panel Van
Kombi
Mulitvan
Westfalia
Pick up




Type 2 T5
The fifth and last generation of the 'transporter'. The T5 range was put into production in 2002 and now was seen as a commercial or transporter vehicle. The T5 had these models on offer:

panel van
high roofed
half panel
pick up
crew cab
kombi
shuttle

A History of//VW & Cultural Identities

Hippie Culture

Hippie Bus
Any Volkswagen bus of the 1960' and 1970's. Although most VW Buses that are driven by hippies nowadays are of the 1968 to 1979 Bay Window body style. The 1950 to 1967 Split window VW Bus however is the original mode of transportation for transporting at least 7 tie-dies.
I wouldn't consider a VW Vanagon from the 80's a hippie bus. Although, these day it might be the only option for some hippies looking for a Volkswagen van.

Can also be used to discribe the crazy, psychedelic painted school buses used to transport large amounts of hippie. Buses from the 40's through the 60's were typically used in the 70's. The Further Bus for example. However, hippie bus is most used for discribing VWs.

WHY A VW?

In a hippie commune every person is a generalist; no one specializes in anything. The hippie may be cultivating rhubarb in the morning, sewing a patch on his tie-dye in the afternoon, tending to the sheep in the evening and so on. The hippie's lack of specialization in any one skill or task prevents him from becoming, in the Marxist lexicon, "alienated" from his labor.

This alienation of the worker from the finished product of his labor is one of the features of the division of labor which prevails in, indeed gives rise to, the capitalist system which Marx bemoaned.

This brings us to the Volkswagen Beetles and Busses that are now such a part of hippie folklore. Volkswagens were touted as "people’s cars" designed to be mechanically simple and reliable such that anyone with a basic set of tools could learn to be his own Volkswagen mechanic. This design philosophy fit well into the hippie philosophy of primitive subsistence, which was the necessary result of the hippie’s rejection of the division of labor.

The Volkswagen provided the hippie with mobility and, in the case of the Bus, an instant flop house, and usually could be kept running without resorting to the services of a professional mechanic. By the late sixties, the Beetle had been sold for almost twenty years with only a few design modifications. This enabled the hippie mechanic to easily mix and match parts from different vehicles made in different years to keep at least one VW running. This is why hippies loved Volkswagens.

Comically, the new Volkswagen Beetle is a slap in the face to the communal hippie. Gone are the "only a mother could love" looks of the old Beetles; they have been replaced by the retro chic lines of the new Beetle, produced to appeal to alienated suburban wage earners.

The new Beetle’s mechanicals are all state-of-the-art and would not take well to the tinkering of a dilettante hippie. So hippies of today who continue to wallow in their primitive ways pine for the old Beetles which are, like themselves, both primitive and wholly out of date.

As for the unstable, unsafe VW Bus, it has been discontinued while the modern minivans of Dodge, Toyota, Ford, etc. thrive by offering safe, affordable family transportation for suburbanites.

THE SYMBOL
Arguably, the ultimate symbol of hippie culture in cars is a used VW camper van. Many of the VW badges are replaced with the peace sign and painted in a variety of bright designs. Undoubtedly one of the top 10 hippie mobiles of all time, this remains the most prevalent and best known hippie car.

Another Volkswagen possessing hippie credentials is the Beetle. For some this could be simply an age and sound-alike tribute to the Beatles who revolutionized the music industry back in the 60′s. Others find that its unique shape appeals and endless examples decorated in multiple colours grace our roads today.

IMAGES

Surfers

As the surfing culture grew from the late 1950s onwards and into the mid 1960's, the VW camper conversions were gaining popularity with various different groups in society, most notably those with a surfboard stuck permanently under one arm, unless they were in the sea, of course. Campers and surfers became symbols of a relaxed, carefree lifestyle that was epitomised by the roaring of waves and the humming of the boxed-in rear engine. That the two suited each other there can be no doubt. 

The camper gave the surfer a place to keep his board and somewhere to stay when he travelled to the coast in pursuit of his other passion. The VW became a convenient and ever-faithful mode of transport even if it could overheat due to its air-cooled engine finding the travelling hard going. But surfers weren't just satisfied with surfing the sea, they developed the idea of the skateboard so they could continue their activities on land. In turn, the VW followed and began another lengthy and extraordinary relationship with another culture crazed enthusiast, the skateboarder.

This in time developed to include snowboarders too and its still a cherished vehicle for all three. Surfers have remained loyal to the VW camper for almost 40 years and judging by the number who still turn up in them by the beach there seems to be no sign of the love affair abating anytime soon.

A History of//VW Brochures

Through looking on VW camper van forums i came across a thread of old brochures for various models. Here i found one for the type 2 T2 Model variants and another for the commercials of VW transporters. These show promising layouts that i could use as inspiration for my outcomes of the project. I found these really interesting to look at and study.





This brochure is of the Volkswagen Type 2 T2 model variants.




This brochure is about the VW commercials.




Through looking through VW forums i found a thread which had this full brochure on, it is from 1953 for the full transporter line.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/type2.php

Here we have an article on one of the conversions of the Eurovette camper van. This was done by the company of Devon, a official VW camper van conversion specialist.

A History of//Old VW Ads

Old VW camper van ads, found on various websites.

These ads are very interesting and looking at the design of them is really inspirational. They are completely different to how anything is today, but i do think that i like them a lot. There is a humour used within the ads on the main tag line. This could prove a good format to use for my own project or something along these lines maybe?

After finding this book in a shop i had a quick look through and found more images of old VW ads.