Wolfsburg, Germany

The Volkswagen Type 2, officially known as the Transporter or Kombi (short for Kombinationskraftwagen) and informally as the Bus (US), Camper (UK), Bulli, Kleinbus, microbus, minibus, and sometimes even hippie van, was a panel van introduced in 1950 by German automaker Volkswagen as its second model, following and initially deriving from VW’s first model, the Type 1 (Beetle).

Some 61 years after its introduction, the Type 2 is still to be seen everywhere (and is still manufactured in Brazil, where last month the 1.5-millionth unit rolled out of the factory). Perhaps it’s because I have many friends with them and that I myself have owned a few (including Bettie Blue, a Type 3 now safely tucked away for the winter) that I seem to encounter these perpetually iconic charmers everywhere I look (both on the roads and throughout popular culture)… thanks to climber friend Gerald Brandt for some of the links/sources of the images shown above (click on images for links to articles and more images).

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